Nominations for the 2018 Drama League Awards were announced April 18. Among the nominees were 55 actors recognized for the coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The 84th annual ceremony will take place May 18 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square.
The Drama League Awards are among the oldest theatrical honors in America, having been first presented in 1922 and subsequently formalized in 1935. The ceremony culminates in the presentation of the Distinguished Performance Award, which goes to one artist a year and can only be won once in an artist’s lifetime.
As previously announced, the ceremony will also honor Idina Menzel with the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater Award, Casey Nicholaw with the Founders Award for Excellence in Directing, and the National Endowment for the Arts with the Unique Contribution to the Theater Award.
See below for the complete list of nominees.
DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD
Jelani Alladin, Frozen
Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Annaleigh Ashford, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Laura Benanti, Meteor Shower
MaameYaa Boafo, School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two
Juan Castano, Oedipus El Rey
Billy Crudup, Harry Clarke
Eisa Davis, Kings
Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Noma Dumenzweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two
Deanna Dunagan, The Treasurer
Eve Ensler, In The Body of the World
Chris Evans, Lobby Hero
Johnny Flynn, Hangmen
Alfie Fuller, Is God Is
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Rebecca Hall, Animal
Harriet Harris, The Low Road
Brian Tyree Henry, Lobby Hero
Joshua Henry, Carousel
Tom Hollander, Travesties
Oscar Isaac, Hamlet
Chukwudi Iwuji, The Low Road
Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women
Joshua Jackson, Children of a Lesser God
Hailey Kilgore, Once On This Island
LaChanze, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Katrina Lenk, The Band’s Visit
Robert Sean Leonard, Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo
Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
Elizabeth Marvel, Julius Caesar
James McArdle, Angels in America
Laurie Metcalf, Three Tall Women
Jessie Mueller, Carousel
Patti Murin, Frozen
Alex Newell, Once On This Island
Sahr Ngaujah, Mlima’s Tale
Seth Numrich, Travesties
Deirdre O’Connell, Fulfillment Center
Ashley Park, Mean Girls and KPOP
Billie Piper, Yerma
Karen Pittman, Pipeline
Condola Rashad, Saint Joan
Lauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God
Roslynn Ruff, X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation
Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower
Tony Shalhoub, The Band’s Visit
Paul Sparks, Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living
John Douglas Thompson, Julius Caesar
Michael Urie, Torch Song and The Government Inspector
Denzel Washington, The Iceman Cometh
Dianne Wiest, Happy Days
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Animal
Hangmen
Harry Potter and The Cursed Child: Parts One and Two
In the Body of the World
Is God Is
Meteor Shower
Oedipus El Rey
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
Until the Flood
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Angels in America
Children of a Lesser God
Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo
Hamlet
The Iceman Cometh
Lobby Hero
Saint Joan
Three Tall Women
Torch Song
Travesties
Yerma
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
The Band's Visit
Bella: An American Tall Tale
Frozen
Hundred Days
KPOP
Mean Girls
SpongeBob SquarePants
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A BROADWAY OR OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Carousel
My Fair Lady
Once On This Island
Pacific Overtures
As the Distinguished Performance Award can only be awarded to an individual once in an artist's lifetime, the League gave special recognition to six former recipients who appeared in productions this year but were deemed ineligible: Norbert Leo Butz (My Fair Lady, The Whirligig), Kathleen Chalfant (For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday), Nathan Lane (Angels in America), John Lithgow (Stories By Heart), Bernadette Peters (Hello, Dolly!), and Mark Rylance (Farinelli and the King).
Flip through photos of the announcements below:
