Drama League Award nominations: 47 performers compete for Distinguished Performance

The Drama League today announced the nominations for the 2023 Drama League Awards. Honoring achievements on and Off-Broadway, the nominations were announced this morning by Roger Bart (“Back to the Future: The Musical”) and Justin Guarini (“Once Upon A One More Time”) at the New York Library for the Performing Arts. Winners will be revealed at the 89th Annual Drama League Awards ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on Friday, May 19, 2023.

“I don’t think I’ve experienced a theater season in New York ever like this one,” noted Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks. “There’s been a range, a breadth, an expansion of possibility that has been truly astonishing to witness. Theater makers have inspired not only with their creativity, but also with their drive and determination to serve audiences with vision and talent. These nominees reflect the promise and greatness inherent in the work of theater folk, and I can’t help but be deeply proud.”

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The Drama League previously announced the 2023 Special Recognition Award Recipients: Tony Award winner André De Shields will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater Award; director Lear deBessonet will receive the Founders Award for Excellence in Directing; The Drama Book Shop (Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeffrey Seller, and James L. Nederlander) will receive the Contribution to the Theater Award; and Darin Oduyoye will receive the Gratitude Award.

The League grants prizes for productions and directors, but what makes them unique is their “Distinguished Performance” award. Up to 50 performers are nominated for the honor each year in a category that combines roles of all genders and sizes. An actor can only win this prize once in their career, and once they have prevailed they can not be nominated again. This year, 47 performers are nominated for this coveted prize.

The full list of nominations is below:

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY

THE BANDAGED PLACE
Roundabout Theatre Company
Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
Written by Harrison David Rivers
Directed by David Mendizábal

COST OF LIVING
Manhattan Theatre Club
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Written by Martyna Majok
Directed by Jo Bonney

DARK DISABLED STORIES
The Bushwick Starr/The Public Theater
Written by Ryan J. Haddad
Directed by Jordan Fein

DOWNSTATE
Playwrights Horizons
Written by Bruce Norris
Directed by Pam MacKinnon

ELYRIA
Atlantic Theater Company
Written by Deepa Purohit
Directed by Awoye Timpo

FAT HAM
American Airlines Theatre
Written by James Ijames
Directed by Saheem Ali

GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR
Belasco Theatre
Written by Doug Wright
Directed by Lisa Peterson

LEOPOLDSTADT
Longacre Theatre
Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Patrick Marber

LIFE OF PI
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
Based on the novel by Yann Martel; Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti
Directed by Max Webster

PETER PAN GOES WRONG
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields; Based on ‘Peter Pan’ by J.M. Barrie
Directed by Adam Meggido

PRIMA FACIE
John Golden Theatre
Written by Suzie Miller
Directed by Justin Martin

PUBLIC OBSCENITIES
Soho Rep
Written and Directed by Shayok Misha Chowdhury

SUMMER, 1976
Manhattan Theatre Club
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Written by David Auburn
Directed by Daniel Sullivan

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY

A DOLL’S HOUSE
Hudson Theatre
Written by Henrik Ibsen; In a new version by Amy Herzog
Directed by Jamie Lloyd

OHIO STATE MURDERS
James Earl Jones Theatre
Written by Adrienne Kennedy
Directed by Kenny Leon

HAMLET/ORESTEIA
Park Avenue Armory
Written by Aeschylus and William Shakespeare; Oresteia adapted by Robert Icke
Directed by Robert Icke

THE PIANO LESSON
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Written by August Wilson
Directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson

A RAISIN IN THE SUN
The Public Theater
Written by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Robert O’Hara

THE SIGN IN SIDNEY BRUSTEIN’S WINDOW
Brooklyn Academy of Music/James Earl Jones Theatre
Written by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Anne Kauffman

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY
Second Stage Theater – Hayes Theater
Written by Larissa FastHorse
Directed by Rachel Chavkin

TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
John Golden Theatre
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Kenny Leon

WEDDING BAND: A LOVE/HATE STORY IN BLACK AND WHITE
Theatre for a New Audience
Written by Alice Childress
Directed by Awoye Timpo

WOLF PLAY
MCC Theater
Written by Hansol Jung
Directed by Dustin Wills

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

& JULIET
Stephen Sondheim Theatre
Book by David West Read; Music by Max Martin; Lyrics by Max Martin; Music and Lyrics by Max Martin and Friends: Klas Åhlund, Dido Armstrong, Jon Bon Jovi, Andreas Carlsson, Robyn Carlsson, Jessica Cornish, Cathy Dennis, Lukasz Gottwald, Ariana Grande, Allan Grigg, Amethyst Amelia Kelly, Claude Kelly, Savan Kotecha, Benjamin Levin, Brian Littrell, Tove Lo, Demetria Lovato, Kristian Lundin, Bonnie McKee, Lisa Miskovsky, Alecia Moore, Ali Payami, Katy Perry, Denniz PoP, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Richard S. Sambora, Kesha Sebert, Shellback, Peter Anders Svensson, Abel Tesfaye, Justin Timberlake, Henry Walter, Rami Yacoub and Anton Zaslavski
Directed by Luke Sheppard

A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: A NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL
Broadhurst Theatre
Music by Neil Diamond; Lyrics by Neil Diamond; Book by Anthony McCarten
Directed by Michael Mayer

DREAMING ZENZILE
New York Theatre Workshop
Written by Somi Kakoma, based on the life of Miriam Makeba
Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz

NEW YORK, NEW YORK
St. James Theatre
Music by John Kander and Fred Ebb; Lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb; Written by David Thompson; Co-Written by Sharon Washington; Additional lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Directed by Susan Stroman

SHUCKED
Nederlander Theatre
Book by Robert Horn; Music by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally; Lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally
Directed by Jack O’Brien

SOME LIKE IT HOT
Shubert Theatre
Book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin; Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman; Based on the screenplay “Some Like it Hot” by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
Directed by Casey Nicholaw

TITANIQUE
Daryl Roth Theatre
Book by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, and Tye Blue; Music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Nicholas Connell
Directed by Tye Blue

WHITE GIRL IN DANGER
Tony Kiser Theater
Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson
Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz

WISE CHILDREN’S WUTHERING HEIGHTS
Based on the novel by Emily Brontë
Adapted and directed by Emma Rice

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

BOB FOSSE’S DANCIN’
Music Box Theatre
Music orchestrated by Jim Abbott; New music by David Dabbon; Text consultation and additional material by Kirsten Childs
Directed by Wayne Cilento

CAMELOT
Lincoln Center Theatre
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; Music by Frederick Loewe; Book by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the original book by Alan Jay Lerner; Based on ‘The Once and Future King’ by T. H. White
Directed by Bartlett Sher

INTO THE WOODS
St. James Theatre
Music by Stephen Sondheim; Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by James Lapine
Directed by Lear deBessonet

A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE
Classic Stage Company
Book by Terrence McNally; Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Directed by John Doyle

PARADE
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Book by Alfred Uhry; Music by Jason Robert Brown; Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown; Co-Conceived by Harold Prince
Directed by Michael Arden

1776
Roundabout Theatre Company – American Airlines Theatre
Music by Sherman Edwards; Lyrics by Sherman Edwards; Book by Peter Stone; Based on a concept by Sherman Edwards
Directed by Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Music by Stephen Sondheim; Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by Hugh Wheeler; From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Directed by Thomas Kail

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY

Jo Bonney, “Cost of Living”
Shayok Misha Chowdhury, “Public Obscenities”
Anne Kauffman, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”
Kenny Leon, “Topdog/Underdog”
Jamie Lloyd, “A Doll’s House”
David Mendizábal, “the bandaged place”
Awoye Timpo, “Elyria,” and “Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White”
Dustin Wills, “Wolf Play”

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Lileana Blain-Cruz, “Dreaming Zenzile, and White Girl In Danger”
Lear DeBessonet, “Into The Woods”
Thomas Kail, ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Casey Nicholaw, “Some Like It Hot”
Jack O’Brien, “Shucked”
Bartlett Sher, “Camelot”
Susan Stroman, “New York, New York”

NOMINEES FOR THE DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Topdog/Underdog”
Hiran Abeysekera, “Life of Pi”
Annaleigh Ashford, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Sara Bareilles, “Into the Woods”
Stephanie Berry, “the bandaged place”
Brittany Bradford, “Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story In Black And White”
Danielle Brooks, “The Piano Lesson”
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”
Marylouise Burke, “Epiphany”
D’Arcy Carden, “The Thanksgiving Play”
Jessica Chastain, “A Doll’s House”
Sharon D. Clarke, “Death of a Salesman”
Jodie Comer, “Prima Facie”
Jordan E. Cooper, “Ain’t No Mo'”
Lorna Courtney, “& Juliet”
Micaela Diamond, “Parade”
K. Todd Freeman, “Downstate”
J. Harrison Ghee, “Some Like It Hot”
Josh Groban, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Ryan J. Haddad, “Dark Disabled Stories”
Corey Hawkins, “Topdog/Underdog”
Sean Hayes, “Good Night, Oscar”
Stephen McKinley Henderson, “Between Riverside and Crazy”
Oscar Isaac, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”
Tarra Conner Jones, “White Girl in Danger”
Esco Jouléy, “Wolf Play”
Somi Kakoma, “Dreaming Zenzile”
David Krumholtz, “Leopoldstadt”
Linda Lavin, “You Will Get Sick”
Laura Linney, “Summer, 1976”
Jefferson Mays, “A Christmas Carol”
Patina Miller, “Into the Woods”
Marla Mindelle, “Titanique”
Arian Moayed, “A Doll’s House”
Gargi Mukherjee, “Public Obscenities”
Alex Newell, “Shucked”
Jeremy Pope, “The Collaboration”
Colton Ryan, “New York, New York”
Phillipa Soo, “Camelot”
Marcel Spears, “Fat Ham”
Katy Sullivan, “Cost of Living”
Will Swenson, “A Beautiful Noise”
John Douglas Thompson, Endgame”
Anna Uzele, “New York, New York”
John David Washington, “The Piano Lesson”
Betsy Wolfe, “& Juliet”
David Zayas, “Cost of Living”

The Drama League also wishes to acknowledge the previous recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award who appeared in Broadway or Off-Broadway productions this season. As the Award can only be won once in a performer’s lifetime, they are ineligible to be nominated; however, their exemplary work is recognized and applauded.

Danny Burstein, “Pictures From Home”
Norbert Leo Butz, “Cornelia Street”
Kathleen Chalfant, “The Year of Magical Thinking”
Neil Patrick Harris, “Peter Pan Goes Wrong”
Nathan Lane, “Pictures From Home”
Audra McDonald, “Ohio State Murders”
Bebe Neuwirth, “The Bedwetter”
Ben Platt, “Parade”

It’s important to note that because the Drama League Awards include both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in their honors, their eligibility does not always match up with the Tony Awards. Top Tony contender “Kimberly Akimbo” was considered last season for its Off-Broadway run. The production of “Cost of Living,” having originated Off-Broadway prior to the pandemic and substantially similar in production elements, including its principal producer, was deemed a transfer by the Eligibility Committee and was eligible in the Outstanding Production of a Play category. The productions of “Between Riverside and Crazy,” “The Thanksgiving Play,” and “Wolf Play,” deemed materially different from their pre-pandemic productions, including different producing entities, were considered revivals and are eligible for Outstanding Revival of a Play.

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