June 8, 2022 – The Guild congratulates the nominees and winners of the 66th Annual Drama Desk Awards, which honor achievement by professional theatre artists of the 2021-2022 Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off Broadway season. What sets the Drama Desk Awards apart is that they are voted on and bestowed by theatre critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theatre.
In keeping with the Drama Desk’s mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off Broadway between July 2, 2021, and May 1, 2022. Only live performances were eligible; if performances were also available for streaming, 21 or more unique live performances were required.
Award winners are indicated with an asterisk.
2022 Drama Desk Awards Nominees and Winners:
OUTSTANDING Play
Cullud Wattah by Erika Dickerson-Despenza, The Public Theater
English by Sanaz Toossi, Atlantic Theater Company
* Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon, Manhattan Theatre Club
Sanctuary City by Martyna Majok, New York Theatre Workshop
Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury, Playwrights Horizons
The Chinese Lady by Lloyd Suh, The Public Theater
OUTSTANDING Musical
Harmony, book by Bruce Sussman, music and lyrics by Barry Manilow, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Intimate Apparel, libretto by Lynn Nottage, music by Ricky Ian Gordon, Lincoln Center Theater
* Kimberly Akimbo, book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Jeanine Tesori, Atlantic Theater Company
Six, book, music, and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss
The Hang, book and lyrics by Taylor Mac, music by Matt Ray, HERE Arts Center
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A Play
for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange
* How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel, Manhattan Theatre Club
Lackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Manhattan Theatre Club
Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morriseau, Manhattan Theatre Club
Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, Roundabout Theatre Company
Twilight: Lost Angeles, 1992 by Anna Deavere Smith, Signature Theatre
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Assassins music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman, Classic Stage Company
Baby, book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire, lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., Out of the Box Theatrics
Caroline, or Change book and lyrics by Tony Kushner, music by Jeanine Tesori, Roundabout Theatre Company
* Company, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth
OUTSTANDING MUSIC
* Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
Jason Howland, Paradise Square
Matt Ray, The Hang, HERE Arts Center
Carrie Rodriguez, ¡Americano!
Jeanine Tesori, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
OUTSTANDING LYRICS
Amanda Green, Mr. Saturday Night
Taylor Mac, The Hang, HERE Arts Center
* Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel, 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, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
* Bruce Sussman, Harmony, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
(Ed. Note: We acknowledge and congratulate these performers who also wrote these shows.)
Alex Edelman, Just for Us, Cherry Lane Theatre
Arturo Luís Soria, Ni Mi Madre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
* Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, New York Theatre Workshop
OUTSTANDING ADAPTATION
* Merry Wives by Jocelyn Bioh, The Public Theater
The Alchemist by Jeffrey Hatcher, Red Bull Theater
Harold S. Prince Lifetime Achievement Award
In four decades as playwright, novelist, actor, and director, Alice Childress (1912-1994) challenged racism with engrossing stories and memorable characters. When a New York producer demanded revisions to soften the impact of Trouble in Mind after an initial run off-Broadway and prior to its Broadway debut, Childress withdrew the script. 65 years later, the Drama Desk celebrates the long-delayed Broadway premiere of this timeless masterpiece and salutes Childress as a towering figure in contemporary theatre history.