I really don’t understand what the drama desk is, other than their nominations create a lot of drama. They kind of ignore Broadway but embrace it a bit. They’re into esoteric stuff, most of it off Broadway and already closed so no one can see anyway. They actually gave the abominable Diana: The Musical three nominations. They really liked “Six” and “MJ” but of course they didn’t like “The Music Man” or “Funny Girl” because those are the shows that audiences go to.

DRAMA DESK 2022 NOMINATIONS:
Outstanding game
Cullud Wattah, by Erika Dickerson-Despenza, The Public Theatre
English, by Sanaz Toossi, Atlantic Theater Company
Prayer for the French Republic, by Joshua Harmon, Manhattan Theater Club
Sanctuary City, by Martyna Majok, New York Theater Workshop
Selling Kabul, by Sylvia Khoury, Playwrights Horizons
The Chinese Lady, by Lloyd Suh, The Public Theatre

Outstanding musical
Harmony, National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene
Intimate Clothing, Lincoln Center Theater
Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
six
The Hang, HERE Arts Center

Excellent revival of a play
for colored girls who’ve been contemplating suicide/ when the rainbow is enough
How I Learned to Drive, Manhattan Theater Club
Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theater Club
Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theater Club
Trouble in the Head, Roundabout Theater Company
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Assassins, Classic Stage Company
Baby, out of the box theater
Caroline or Change, Roundabout Theater Company
company

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Brandon J. Dirden, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theater Club
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out, Second Stage Theater
Jacob Ming-Trent, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theater Club
John Douglas Thompson, The Merchant of Venice, Theater for a New Audience

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Tala Ashe, English, Atlantic Theater Company
Ruth Negga, Macbeth
Andrea Patterson, Cullud Wattah, The Public Theater
Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theater Club
Shannon Tyo, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater
Michelle Wilson, Confederates, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Billy Crystal, Mr. Saturday Night
Myles Frost, MJ
Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire
Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop
Chip Zien, Harmonie, National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Kearstin Piper Brown, Lingerie, Lincoln Center Theater
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Sharon D. Clarke, Caroline or Change, Roundabout Theater Company
Jeanna de Waal, Diana
Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play
Joshua Boone, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theater Club
Chuck Cooper, Mind Trouble, Roundabout Theater Company
Daniel K. Isaac, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater
Billy Eugene Jones, On Sugarland, New York Theater Workshop
Ron Cephas Jones, Clydes, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play
Francis Benhamou, Prayer for the French Republic, Manhattan Theater Club
Stephanie Berry, On Sugarland, New York Theater Workshop
Sonnie Brown What You Are Now Ensemble Studio Theater
Page Leong, Out of Time, NAATCO and The Public Theater
Kenita R. Miller, for girls of color who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enough
Kara Young, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theatre

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical
Justin Austin, intimate apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Matt Doyle, company
Jared Grimes, funny girl
Tavon Olds Sample, MJ

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical
Judy Kuhn, Assassins, Classic Stage Company
Tamika Lawrence, Black No More, The New Group
Patti LuPone, Company
Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Jennifer Simard, Company

Outstanding Director of a Play
Knud Adams, English, Atlantic Theater Company
Saheem Ali, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
Rebecca Frecknall, Sanctuary City, New York Theater Workshop
Taibi Magar, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre
Whitney White, On Sugarland, New York Theater Workshop

Outstanding Director of a Musical
John Doyle, Assassins, Classic Stage Company
Marianne Elliott, Company
Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, six
Bartlett Sher, intimate apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding choreography
Ayodele Casel (tap choreography), Funny Girl
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, Six
Bill T. Jones, Garrett Coleman and Jason Oremus (Irish + Hammerstep), Gelan Lambert and Chloe Davis (staff), Paradise Square
Liam Steel, company
Christopher Wheeldon, Michael Balderrama (Contributor), Rich + Tone Taleuega (Michael Jackson Movement), MJ

Outstanding Music
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, six
Jason Howland, Paradise Square
Matt Ray, The Hang, HERE Art Center
Carrie Rodriguez, ¡Americano!
Jeanine Tesori, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Excellent lyrics
Amanda Green, Mr. Saturday night
Taylor Mac, The Hang, HERE Art Center
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, six
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Lynn Nottage, Lingerie, Lincoln Center Theater
Shaina Taub, Suffs, The Public Theater

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, Mr. Saturday Night
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, six
Lynn Nottage, Lingerie, Lincoln Center Theater
Bruce Sussman, Harmony, National Yiddish Theater Folksbee

Outstanding orchestrations
Tom Curran, six
Greg Jarrett, Assassins, Classic Stage Company
Mark Hartman and Yasuhiko Fukuoka, The Streets of New York, Irish Repertory Theatre
Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, MJ

Outstanding music in a play
Te’La and Kamauu, Thoughts of a Colored Man
Bill Sims Jr., Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theater Club
Michael Thurber and Farai Malianga (percussion compositions), Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)

Outstanding Scenic Design for a Play
Beowulf Boritt, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
Wilson Chin, pass over
Marsha Ginsberg, English, Atlantic Theater Company
Takeshi Kata, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater
Junghyun Georgia Lee, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, New York Theater Workshop

Outstanding Scenic Design for a Musical
Emma Bailey, six
Beowulf Boritt, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater
Bunny Christie, company
David Zinn, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Linda Cho, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater
Gregory Gale, Fairycakes
Tilly Grimes, The Alchemist, Red Bull Theater
Qween Jean, On Sugarland, New York Theater Workshop
Jennifer Moeller, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
Machine Dazzle, The Hang, HERE Arts Center
Susan Hilferty, Funny Girl
Santo Loquasto, The Music Man
Gabriella Slade, Six
Catherine Zuber, intimate apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Outstanding lighting design for a play
Christopher Akerlind, Clydes, Second Stage Theatre
Reza Behjat, English, Atlantic Theater Company
Isabella Byrd, Sanctuary City, New York Theater Workshop
Amith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French Republic, Manhattan Theater Club
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Cullud Wattah, The Public Theater

Outstanding lighting design for a musical
Natascha Katz, Diana
Natasha Katz, MJ
Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater
Jennifer Tipton, Undergarments, Lincoln Center Theater

Outstanding projection design
59 Productions, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater
David Bengali, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre
Stephania Bulbarella and Alex Basco Koch, Space Dogs, MCC Theater
Shawn Duan, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater
Sven Ortel, Thoughts of a colored person

Outstanding sound design for a play
Tyler Kieffer, Seven Deadly Sins, Tectonic Theater Project and Madison Wells Live
Hidenori Nakajo and Ryan Rumery, Autumn Royal, Irish Repertory Theatre
Ben and Max Ringham, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Jamie Lloyd Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Mikaal Sulaiman, Sanctuary City, New York Theater Workshop
Lee Kinney, Selling Kabul, Playwright’s Horizons

Outstanding sound design for a musical
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Company
Paul Gatehouse, six
Kai Harada, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Gareth Owen, MJ

Excellent wig and hair
Matthew B. Armentrout, Paradise Square
David Brian Brown, Mrs. Doubtfire
Paul Huntley, Diana
Charles G. LaPointe, MJ

Outstanding solo performance
Alex Edelman, Just for Us, Cherry Lane Theatre
Arturo Luis Soria, Ni Mi Madre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre
Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, New York Theater Workshop

Unique theater experience
Seven Deadly Sins, Tectonic Theater Project & Madison Wells Live

Excellent customization
Merry Wives, by Jocelyn Bioh, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
The Alchemist, by Jeffrey Hatcher, Red Bull Theater

Outstanding doll design
Amanda Villalobos, Wolf Play, Soho Rep.
James Ortiz, The Skin of Our Teeth, Lincoln Center Theater
Rockefeller Productions, Winnie the Pooh, The Hundred Acre Theater

Harold S. Prince Lifetime Achievement Award:
In four decades as a playwright, novelist, actress and director, Alice Childress (1912-1994) challenged racism with compelling stories and memorable characters. When a New York producer requested revisions to soften Trouble in Mind’s impact, Childress withdrew the script after a first off-Broadway appearance and before his Broadway debut. 65 years later, the Drama Desk celebrates the long-delayed Broadway premiere of this timeless masterpiece, honoring Childress as a pre-eminent figure in contemporary theater history.

Ensemble price:
In Six, Adrianna Hicks, Andrea Macasaet, Brittney Mack, Abby Mueller, Samantha Pauly and Anna Uzele bring to musical life the women who married England’s King Henry VIII. The imaginative result is a vivid dramatization of their individually purposeful and collectively empowering journeys.