The nominations for the 2019 Drama Desk Awards were announced April 25 by NY1's Frank DiLella and Roma Torre. As previously reported, Michael Urie will host the 64th annual ceremony, set for June 2 at Town Hall.
The Broadway revival of Oklahoma!, seen earlier this season at St. Ann's Warehouse, led the pack with 12 nominations, including nods in Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Director for Daniel Fish, and for five of its stars. Tootsie and Ars Nova's Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future followed closely behind with 11 and nine nominations, respectively.
The Drama Desk is an organization of writers, editors, publishers, and broadcasters covering theatre in New York City. The Awards are one of few major theatre honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories.
See below for the list of nominations:
Outstanding Play
Fairview
The Ferryman
Lewiston/Clarkson
Usual Girls
What the Constitution Means to Me
Outstanding Musical
Be More Chill
The Hello Girls
The Prom
Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Tootsie
Outstanding Revival of a Play
Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine
Henry VI: Shakespeare’s Trilogy in Two Parts
Our Lady of 121st Street
Summer and Smoke
The Waverly Gallery
Uncle Vanya
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Carmen Jones
Fiddler on the Roof
Kiss Me, Kate
Merrily We Roll Along
Oklahoma!
Outstanding Actor in a Play
Jeff Biehl, Life Sucks
Edmund Donovan, Lewiston/Clarkston
Raúl Esparza, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Russell Harvard, I Was Most Alive With You
Jay O. Sanders, Uncle Vanya
Outstanding Actress in a Play
Midori Francis, Usual Girls
Zainab Jah, Boesman and Lena
Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery
Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton
Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me
Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, The Prom
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Damon Daunno, Oklahoma!
Santino Fontana, Tootsie
Steven Skybell, Fiddler on the Roof
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show
Beth Leavel, The Prom
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Oklahoma!
Anika Noni Rose, Carmen Jones
Stacey Sargeant, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Charles Browning, Fairview
Arnie Burton, Lewiston/Clarkston
Hampton Fluker, All My Sons
Tom Glynn-Carney, The Ferryman
Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Harriett D. Foy, The House That Will Not Stand
Megan Hill, Eddie and Dave
Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a Mockingbird
Ruth Wilson, King Lear
Alison Wright, Othello
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Corbin Bleu, Kiss Me, Kate
André De Shields, Hadestown
Sydney James Harcourt, Girl from the North Country
George Salazar, Be More Chill
Patrick Vaill, Oklahoma!
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Stephanie Hsu, Be More Chill
Leslie Kritzer, Beetlejuice
Soara-Joye Ross, Carmen Jones
Sarah Stiles, Tootsie
Ali Stroker, Oklahoma!
Mary Testa, Oklahoma!
Outstanding Director of a Play
Sarah Benson, Fairview
Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, The Jungle
Sam Mendes, The Ferryman
Tyne Rafaeli, Usual Girls
Taylor Reynolds, Plano
Jeff Wise, Life Sucks
Outstanding Director of a Musical
Noah Brody, Merrily We Roll Along
Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown
Scott Ellis, Tootsie
Daniel Fish, Oklahoma!
Joel Grey, Fiddler on the Roof
Outstanding Choreography
Camille A. Brown, Choir Boy
Warren Carlyle, Kiss Me, Kate
Denis Jones, Tootsie
Lorin Latarro, Twelfth Night
Rick and Jeff Kuperman, Alice by Heart
David Neumann, Hadestown
Outstanding Music
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Joe Iconis, Be More Chill
Peter Mills, The Hello Girls
Mark Sonnenblick, Midnight at the Never Get
Shaina Taub, Twelfth Night
David Yazbek, Tootsie
Outstanding Lyrics
Chad Beguelin, The Prom
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Joe Iconis, Be More Chill
Peter Mills, The Hello Girls
David Yazbek, Tootsie
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Scott Brown and Anthony King, Beetlejuice
Andrew R. Butler, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Robert Horn, Tootsie
Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, The Prom
Dominique Morisseau, Ain’t Too Proud
Outstanding Orchestrations
Larry Blank, Fiddler on the Roof
Simon Hale, Girl From the North Country
Daniel Kluger, Olahoma!
Charlie Rosen, Be More Chill
Daryl Waters, The Cher Show
Outstanding Music in a Play
Paul Castles and Jongbin Jung, Wild Goose Dreams
Justin Ellington, Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie
Justin Ellington, The House That Will Not Stand
Nick Powell, The Lehman Trilogy
Jason Michael Webb and Fitz Patton, Choir Boy
Outstanding Set Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, The Jungle
Es Devlin, Girls & Boys
Maruti Evans, The Peculiar Patriot
Mimi Lien, Fairview
Matt Saunders, "Daddy"
Outstanding Set Design for a Musical
Rachel Hauck, Hadestown
Laura Jellinek, Oklahoma!
Laura Jellinek, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
David Korins, Beetlejuice
Rae Smith, Girl From the North Country
Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Dede M. Ayite, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Dede M. Ayite, If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka
Ásta Bennie Hostetter, Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie
Toni-Leslie James, Bernhardt/Hamlet
Nicole Slaven, Henry VI: Shakespeare’s Trilogy in Two Parts
Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
William Ivey Long, Beetlejuice
William Ivey Long, Tootsie
Bobby Frederick Tilley II, Be More Chill
Michael Krass, Hadestown
Bob Mackie, The Cher Show
Paloma Young, Alice by Heart
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play
Amith Chandrashaker, Boesman and Lena
Amith Chandrashaker, Fairview
Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
Jon Clark, The Jungle
Simon Cleveland, Spaceman
Yi Zhao, The House That Will Not Stand
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical
Adam Honoré, Carmen Jones
Bradley King, Hadestown
Jamie Roderick, Midnight at the Never Get
Barbara Samuels, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Scott Zielinski, Oklahoma!
Outstanding Projection Design
Peter England, King Kong
Katherine Freer, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Luke Halls, The Lehman Trilogy
Alex Basco Koch, Be More Chill
Peter Nigrini, Beetlejuice
Joshua Thorson, Oklahoma!
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Tyler Kieffer, Plano
Fitz Patton, Choir Boy
Nick Powell, The Ferryman
Jane Shaw, I Was Most Alive With You
Mikaal Sulaiman, Fairview
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Simon Baker, Girl from the North Country
Drew Levy, Oklahoma!
Brian Ronan, Tootsie
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, Hadestown
Mikaal Sulaiman, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Outstanding Wig and Hair Design
Campbell Young Associates, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Cookie Jordan, Eddie and Dave
Paul Huntley, Tootsie
Charles G. LaPointe, Beetlejuice
Charles G. LaPointe, The Cher Show
Outstanding Solo Performance
Mike Birbiglia, The New One
Carey Mulligan, Girls & Boys
Liza Jessie Peterson, The Peculiar Patriot
Erin Treadway, Spaceman
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Unique Theatrical Experience
All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914
Love’s Labor’s Lost
The B-Side: Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons
What to Send Up When it Goes Down
Outstanding Fight Choreography
U. Jonathan Toppo, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Claire Warden, "Daddy"
Claire Warden, Slave Play
Outstanding Puppet Design
Michael Curry, Beetlejuice
Sonny Tilders, King Kong
Tschabalala Self, "Daddy"
NOTE: The Broadway revival of The Boys in the Band was not eligible for awards as the production opted not to accommodate nominators due to limited availability. Similarly, many aspects of this season's Broadway productions of Hadestown, Choir Boy, and Torch Song were not considered after being eligible in previous years for their Off-Broadway premieres.
The Drama Desk also announced recipients of the Ensemble Award and Sam Norkin Awards:
Ensemble Award
Dance Nation: Purva Bedi, Eboni Booth, Camila Canó-Flaviá, Dina Shihabi, Ellen Maddow, Christina Rouner, Thomas Jay Ryan, Lucy Taylor, and Ikechukwu Ufomadu
Sam Norkin Award
Montana Levi Blanco, costume designer for this season's Fairview, The House That Will Not Stand, Fabulation, Or the Re-Education of Undine, Eddie and Dave, "Daddy," and Ain’t No Mo’
Mia Katigbak, artistic director of NAATCO and performer in this season's Henry VI: Shakespeare’s Trilogy in Two Parts, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Peace for Mary Francis, and Recent Alien Abductions
Repertorio Español, Off-Broadway company bringing Latinx theatre to Gramercy under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director René Buch