A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder won the most awards, taking 7 wins
Drama Desk was founded in 1949 to explore key issues in the theater and to bring together critics and writers in an organization to support the ongoing development of theater in New York. The organization began presenting its awards in 1955, and it is the only critics' organization to honor achievement in the theater with competition among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions in the same categories.
Outstanding Play
Winner: Robert Schenkkan, All the Way
Nominees:
Nell Benjamin, The Explorers Club
Steven Levenson, Core Values
Conor McPherson, The Night Alive
Richard Nelson, Regular Singing
Bruce Norris, Domesticated
Robert Schenkkan, All the Way
John Patrick Shanley, Outside Mullingar
Outstanding Musical
Winner: A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Nominees:
A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Aladdin
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Fun Home
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Rocky
The Bridges of Madison County
Outstanding Revival of a Play
Winner: Twelfth Night
Nominees:
I Remember Mama
London Wall
No Man's Land
Of Mice and Men
The Cripple of Inishmaan
The Model Apartment
Twelfth Night*
*Shakespeare’s Globe Production
Outstanding Revival of a Musical or Revue
Winner: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Nominees:
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Les Misérables
Violet
Outstanding Actor in a Play
Winner: Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Nominees:
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Hamish Linklater, The Comedy of Errors
Ian McKellen, No Man's Land
David Morse, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin
Chris O'Dowd, Of Mice and Men
Daniel Radcliffe, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Denzel Washington, A Raisin in the Sun
Outstanding Actress in a Play
Winner: Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Nominees:
Barbara Andres, I Remember Mama
Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Laurie Metcalf, Domesticated
J. Smith-Cameron, Juno and the Paycock
Harriet Walter, Julius Caesar
Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Winner: Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch & Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder (TIE)
Nominees:
Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Adam Jacobs, Aladdin
Andy Karl, Rocky
Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Steven Pasquale, The Bridges of Madison County
Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Winner: Jessie Mueller, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Nominees:
Sutton Foster, Violet
Idina Menzel, If/Then
Jessie Mueller, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Kelli O'Hara, The Bridges of Madison County
Margo Seibert, Tamar of the River
Barrett Wilbert Weed, Heathers: The Musical
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Winner: Reed Birney, Casa Valentina
Nominees:
Reed Birney, Casa Valentina
Chuck Cooper, Choir Boy
Peter Maloney, Outside Mullingar
Bobby Moreno, Year of the Rooster
Bill Pullman, The Jacksonian
Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Winner: Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie
Nominees:
Betty Buckley, The Old Friends
Julia Coffey, London Wall
Diane Davis, The Model Apartment
Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie
Jan Maxwell, The Castle
Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Winner: James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin
Nominees:
Danny Burstein, Cabaret
Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical Joshua Henry, Violet
James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin
Rory O’Malley, Nobody Loves You
Bobby Steggert, Big Fish
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Winner: Anika Larsen, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical & Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder (TIE)
Nominees:
Stephanie J. Block, Little Miss Sunshine
Anika Larsen, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Adriane Lenox, After Midnight
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Laura Osnes, The Threepenny Opera
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Outstanding Director of a Play
Winner: Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night
Nominees:
Joe Calarco, A Christmas Carol
Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night
Thomas Kail, Family Furniture
Bill Rauch, All the Way
Anna D. Shapiro, Domesticated
Julie Taymor, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Outstanding Director of a Musical
Winner: Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Nominees:
Sam Gold, Fun Home
Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Bartlett Sher, The Bridges of Madison County
Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Alex Timbers, Rocky
Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Outstanding Choreography
Winner: Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Nominees:
Warren Carlyle, After Midnight
Steven Hoggett, Kelly Devine, Rocky
Danny Mefford, Love's Labour's Lost
Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin
Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Sonya Tayeh, Kung Fu
Outstanding Music
Winner: Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Nominees:
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Andrew Lippa, Big Fish
Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Alan Menken, Aladdin
Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, Heathers: The Musical
Jeanine Tesori, Fun Home
Outstanding Lyrics
Winner: Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Nominees:
Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin, Aladdin
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Michael Friedman, Love's Labour's Lost
Michael Korie, Far from Heaven
Lisa Kron, Fun Home
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Winner: Robert L. Freedman, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Nominees:
Chad Beguelin, Aladdin
Robert L. Freedman, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, Murder for Two
Lisa Kron, Fun Home
Douglas McGrath, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Marsha Norman, The Bridges of Madison County
Outstanding Orchestrations
Winner: Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
Nominees:
Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Big Fish
Steve Sidwell, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Michael Starobin, If/Then
Jonathan Tunick, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Outstanding Music in a Play
Winner: Nico Muhly, The Glass Menagerie
Nominees:
Lewis Flinn, The Tribute Artist
Elliot Goldenthal, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Rob Kearns, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle
Tom Kochan, Almost, Maine
Nico Muhly, The Glass Menagerie
Duncan Sheik, A Man's a Man
Outstanding Revue
Winner: After Midnight
Nominees:
After Midnight
I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Musik from the Weimar and Beyond
Le Jazz Hot: How the French Saved Jazz
Til Divorce Do Us Part
What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined
Outstanding Set Design
Winner: Christopher Barreca, Rocky
Nominees:
Christopher Barreca, Rocky
Alexander Dodge, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Richard Hoover, Small Engine Repair
Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Ian MacNeil, A Doll's House
Donyale Werle, The Explorers Club
Outstanding Costume Design
Winner: William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Nominees:
Constance Hoffman, A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Zane Pihlstrom, Nutcracker Rouge
Loren Shaw, The Mysteries
Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night
David C. Woolard, The Heir Apparent
Outstanding Lighting Design
Winner: Christopher Akerlind, Rocky
Nominees:
Christopher Akerlind, Rocky
Jane Cox, Machinal
David Lander, The Civil War
Peter Mumford, King Lear
Brian Tovar, Tamar of the River
Japhy Weideman, Macbeth
Outstanding Projection Design
Winner: Aaron Rhyne, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Nominees:
Robert Massicotte and Alexis Laurence, Cirkopolis
Sven Ortel, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Aaron Rhyne, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Shawn Sagady, All the Way
Austin Switser, Sontag: Reborn
Ben Rubin, Arguendo
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Winner: Brian Ronan, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Nominees:
Kai Harada, Fun Home
Peter Hylenski, Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Peter Hylenski, Rocky
Brian Ronan, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Dan Moses Schreier, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder
Jon Weston, The Bridges of Madison County
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Winner: Matt Tierney, Machinal
Nominees:
M.L. Dogg, The Open House
Katie Down, The Golden Dragon
Paul James Prendergast, All the Way
Dan Moses Schreier, Act One
Christopher Shutt, Love and Information
Matt Tierney, Machinal
Outstanding Solo Performance
Winner: John Douglas Thompson, Satchmo at the Waldorf
Nominees:
David Barlow, This is My Office
Jim Brochu, Character Man
Hannah Cabell, Grounded
Debra Jo Rupp, Becoming Dr. Ruth
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned
John Douglas Thompson, Satchmo at the Waldorf
Unique Theatrical Experience
Winner: Cirkopolis
Nominees:
Charlatan
Cirkopolis
Mother Africa
Nothing to Hide
Nutcracker Rouge
The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill Vol. 2
Special Awards
Each year, the Drama Desk votes special awards to recognize excellence and significant contributions to the theater. For 2013-2014, these awards are:
- To Soho Rep.: For nearly four decades of artistic distinction, innovative production, and provocative play selection.
- To Veanne Cox: For her ability to express the eccentricities, strengths, and vulnerabilities of a range of characters, and notably for her comedic flair as evidenced in this season’s The Old Friends and The Most Deserving.
- To Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: For his visionary directorial excellence. This season’s The Golden Dragon and The Mysteries exemplify his bold and strikingly original imagination.
- To the ensembles of Off-Broadway’s The Open House and Broadway’s The Realistic Joneses and to the creator of both plays, Will Eno: For two extraordinary casts and one impressively inventive playwright.
- The Open House: Hannah Bos, Michael Countryman, Peter Friedman, Danny McCarthy, and Carolyn McCormick
- The Realistic Joneses: Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, and Marisa Tomei
