The Drama League has announced its 2026 Special Recognition Honorees, who will be recognized at The 92nd Annual Drama League Awards for their outstanding lifetime contributions to the theatre industry. The annual luncheon ceremony will be held May 15 at 11 AM at The Ziegfeld Ballroom, hosted by Frank DiLella (NY1's On Stage).
Olivier and Grammy nominee Caissie Levy, currently back on Broadway as Mother in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of Ragtime, will receive the award for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater. Levy made her Broadway debut 20 years ago in Hairspray and has subsequently been seen in Wicked, Hair, Ghost the Musical, Les Miserables, Frozen, Leopoldstadt, and Caroline, or Change. She also starred in the West End production of Next to Normal.
Tony-winning director David Cromer will be honored with the Founders Award for Excellence in Directing for his expertise, which this season includes The Fear of 13 and Bug on Broadway, Meet the Cartozians at Second Stage, and Caroline at MCC Theater. Cromer won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical in 2018 for The Band's Visit.
For her work as executive producer of the Apollo Theatre, Kamilah Forbes will be honored with the Contribution to the Theater Award, celebrating her visionary excellence and transformative artistic achievements in American theatre. And, the Gratitude Award will be presented to Tony nominee and Olivier winner Scott Ellis, in recognition of his leadership at Roundabout Theatre Company and his contributions to Broadway and the greater theatrical landscape. This season on Broadway, he is the director of the forthcoming Fallen Angels and the recent Art.
Nominations for the 2025-2026 Broadway and Off-Broadway season will be revealed April 20 at 11 AM at Lincoln Center's New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Honoring the outstanding accomplishments of the theatrical community, The Drama League Awards will 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, Outstanding Direction of a Play, Outstanding Direction of a Musical, Founders Award for Excellence in Directing, Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater, Contribution to the Theater Award, and The Gratitude Award.
To be eligible for nomination, Broadway and Off-Broadway productions must have started previews between April 21, 2025, and April 18, 2026.
The Drama League Awards are among the oldest theatrical honors in America, having been first presented in 1922 and subsequently formalized in 1935. It recognizes work playing Broadway and Off-Broadway. The awards are determined by Drama League members, a group that includes award-winning actors, designers, directors, playwrights, producers, industry veterans, critics, and dedicated audiences from across the nation.
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. Recent winners have included Nicole Scherzinger for Sunset Blvd., Annaleigh Ashford for Sweeney Todd, Glenda Jackson for Three Tall Women, Ben Platt for Dear Evan Hansen, and Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton.
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