The 88th annual Drama League Awards, celebrating Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre, will be presented May 20, 2022, at The Ziegfeld Ballroom. The annual luncheon ceremony resumes in-person festivities after presenting the 2020 and 2021 awards in virtual ceremonies due to the pandemic.

Nominations for the 2021–2022 Broadway and Off-Broadway season will be announced April 25. Productions will need to have been in previews at some point between March 16, 2021, and April 23, 2022, to be eligible.

The 2022 awards ceremony will include the inclusion of the Drama League's first competitive awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play and Outstanding Direction of a Musical. Drama League Awards will also be bestowed in the following categories: Distinguished Performance Award, Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Founders Award for Excellence in Directing, Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater, Contribution to the Theater Award, and The Gratitude Award.

“The Drama League’s mission is to be America’s full-time creative home for directors, offering opportunities to these artists they can’t get anywhere else,” said Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks. “For many years, we’ve offered the Founders Award in Directing as a lifetime achievement recognition. But in this time, it felt important for us to also recognize the extraordinary directors who are leading productions with vision and excellence. We can’t wait to welcome these artists to the party!”

The Drama League provides life-long artistic resources for directors and a platform for dialogue with audiences. The awards were first presented in 1922 and formalized in 1935.