The Drama Desk Awards will honor Gavin Creel and Brian Stokes Mitchell with special accolades. Creel will posthumously receive the Harold S. Prince Award for Lifetime Achievement while Mitchell will receive the William Wolf Award. The previously announced Drama Desk Awards ceremony will take place on June 1 at 7:30 p.m. at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.
The Harold S. Prince Award, named for the late Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning producer and director, honors lifetime contribution and impact to New York theater, while the inaugural Wolf Award, named for the late, longtime president of the Drama Desk, acknowledges those whose “achievements represent extraordinary, commendable contributions to the high standards, innovativeness, and/or humane character of the industry, including instances of unusual largesse and/or ‘giving back’ to the entertainment community.”
For his performance as Cornelius Hackl in the 2017 revival of “Hello, Dolly!,” Creel took home the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical as well as a featured actor Tony Award. Creel also received Tony nods for “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Hair,” and won an Olivier Award for his leading turn as Elder Price in the West End mounting of “The Book of a Mormon,” which was a role he had previously played on tour and later reprised on Broadway. Creel’s additional Broadway credits include “La Cage Aux Folles,” “She Loves Me,” “Waitress” and “Into the Woods.” Creel conceived and wrote “Walk on Through,” a project commissioned by Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Live Arts Department, which played Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater in 2023. Creel co-founded Broadway Impact and was an active supporter of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Creel passed away in 2024 at the age of 48.
Mitchell won the 2000 Outstanding Actor in a Musical Drama Desk, and corresponding Tony, for his turn in the revival of “Kiss Me, Kate.” Mitchell has received two additional nods in this category (for “Ragtime” and “Man of La Mancha”), as well as an Outstanding Actor in a Play nomination for “King Hedley II” and an Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical nod for “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.” For his community efforts, which includes a near-two-decades-long tenure as board chair of the Entertainment Community Fund, Mitchell received the 2016 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award. Mitchell’s résumé also includes performances in “Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “Jelly’s Last Jam.”
“It’s an honor to recognize two remarkable artists whose contributions have greatly influenced the heart and soul of American theater,” said the ceremony’s co-executive producers Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jenen in a statement. “Gavin Creel was a visionary artist whose career was marked by bold choices, emotional depth and a fearless commitment to authenticity, intelligence and heart in every role. Beyond the stage, his leadership in arts activism helped amplify voices and causes that matter deeply to the theater community. Brian Stokes Mitchell has defined excellence in American musical theater for over four decades with his commanding presence and extraordinary talent. Just as impactful is his dedication to service — mentoring young artists, championing the arts and strengthening the theater community through tireless advocacy, particularly as a former board chair of the Entertainment Community Fund for nearly 20 years.”
Nominations for the Drama Desk’s competitive awards were announced on April 30. For the first time, all net proceeds from the awards ceremony will benefit the Entertainment Community Fund.
The Drama Desk is led by co-presidents David Barbour and Charles Wright.
