The Dramatists Guild of America honored the recipients of their 2023 Awards with a ceremony at Joe’s Pub on Monday May 15, at which playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists celebrated their fellow theatre writers.
This year’s DG award recipients include Nissy Aya (the Lanford Wilson Award), Dave Harris (The Horton Foote Award), Candrice Jones (the Lanford Wilson Award) and Marc Shaiman (the Frederick Loewe Award). They join previously announced winners Iakowi:he’ne’ Oakes (The Lucille Lortel Foundation Indigenous Theatermaker Award), Samuel D. Hunter (the Hull-Warriner Award), Sanaz Toossi (the Hull-Warriner Award), Caridad Svich (the Flora Roberts Award), Jules Feiffer (the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award), Gretchen Cryer (the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award), and Nancy Ford (the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award).
The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund also presented Defender Awards to Brooklyn Public Library and Friends of George’s, uplifting champions of free speech who have fought back against book banning and the Tennessee drag law.
During the evening, the audience was also treated to performances of songs written by past and current DG awardees. These included:
Kayla Pecchioni performed “At the Old Majestic Nickel Matinee” from Some Like It Hot with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman.
Colton Ryan performed “A Quiet Thing” from New York, New York (originally from Flora the Red Menace) with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.
Jillian Louis performed “Natural High” from I’m Getting My Act Together... with music by Nancy Ford and lyrics by Gretchen Cryer.
A full list of recipients is below:
The Frederick Loewe Award is funded by the Frederick Loewe Foundation and presented annually by the Dramatists Guild Council to a composer recognizing achievement in a theatrical score presented On or Off-Broadway during the previous theatrical season. This year’s recipient is Marc Shaiman for Some Like It Hot.
The Lanford Wilson award was established by the estate of Lanford Wilson and presented by the Dramatists Guild Council to a dramatist based primarily on their work as an early career or “emerging” playwright. This year’s Lanford Wilson Award went to two playwrights: Nissy Aya and Candrice Jones.
Sponsored by the Richenthal Foundation, the Horton Foote Award honors a dramatist or dramatists whose work seeks to plumb the ineffable nature of being human. This year’s recipient is Dave Harris.
Iakowi:he’ne’ Oakes is the first ever Lortel Indigenous Theatermaker Awardee. She is receiving this inaugural award on behalf of the incredible advocacy work that she has done as founder and director of The North American Indigenous Center of New York. Administered by the Dramatists Guild Foundation, The Lucille Lortel Foundation Indigenous Theatermaker Award is presented to an Indigenous theatre institution or organization for their work and commitment to the preservation and upliftment of Indigenous theatermakers located in New York or Connecticut.
The Hull-Warriner Award is presented annually by the Dramatists Guild Council to an author or team of authors in recognition of their play dealing with controversial subjects involving the fields of political, religious, or social mores of the times. This year’s Hull-Warriner Award was presented to two recipients: Samuel D. Hunter for A Case for the Existence of God and Sanaz Toossi for English.
The finalists for this year’s Hull-Warriner Award are Joshua Harmon for Prayer for the French Republic, James Ijames for Fat Ham, Mona Mansour for The Vagrant Trilogy, and Bruce Norris for Downstate.
The Flora Roberts Award, administered by the Dramatists Guild Foundation, is presented to a dramatist in recognition of distinguished work in the theatre and to encourage the continuation of that work. The recipient of this year’s award is Caridad Svich.
The Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award is presented by the Dramatists Guild Council in recognition of distinguished lifetime achievement in theatrical writing. Previous recipients include Edward Albee, Pearl Cleage, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, Horton Foote, Micki Grant, John Guare, A.R. Gurney, Sheldon Harnick & Jerry Bock, Tina Howe, John Kander & Fred Ebb, Adrienne Kennedy, Terrence McNally, Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, Stephen Sondheim, Joseph Stein, Paula Vogel, August Wilson, and Lanford Wilson. Career Achievement Awards have also been presented to Marsha Norman and Stephen Schwartz. The Dramatists Guild gave two Lifetime Achievement Awards this year, to Jules Feiffer and to the writing team of Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford.