| Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding Actor in a Musical |
| Location | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Drama Desk |
| First award | 1975 |
| Final award | 2022 |
| Website | dramadesk.org (defunct) |
TheDrama Desk Award for OutstandingActor in aMusical was an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in theatre across collectiveBroadway,off-Broadway andoff-off-Broadway productions inNew York City. The award was one of eight new acting awards first presented in 1975, when Drama Desk retired an earlier award that had made no distinction between work inplays and musicals, nor between actors and actresses, nor between lead performers and featured performers.
After the 2022 ceremony, all eight acting categories introduced in 1975 were retired. The award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, along withOutstanding Actress in a Musical, were replaced in 2023 with thegender neutral category ofOutstanding Lead Performance in a Musical.
| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | |||
| John Cullum | Shenandoah | Charlie Anderson | |
| Tim Curry | The Rocky Horror Show | Dr. Frank N. Furter | |
| Joel Grey | Goodtime Charley | Charley | |
| Raúl Juliá | Where's Charley? | Charley Wykeham | |
| 1976 | |||
| Ian Richardson | My Fair Lady | Henry Higgins | |
| Raúl Juliá | The Threepenny Opera | Macheath | |
| Jerry Orbach | Chicago | Billy Flynn | |
| Nicol Williamson | Rex | Henry VIII, King of England | |
| 1977 | |||
| Lenny Baker | I Love My Wife | Alvin | |
| Barry Bostwick | The Robber Bridegroom | Jamie Lockhart | |
| Yul Brynner | The King and I | The King of Siam | |
| Robert Guillaume | Guys and Dolls | Nathan Detroit | |
| Reid Shelton | Annie | Oliver Warbucks | |
| 1978 | |||
| Ken Page | Ain't Misbehavin' | Performer | |
| Gary Bayer | A History of the American Film | Jimmy | |
| Henderson Forsythe | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas | Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd | |
| Richard Kiley | Man of La Mancha | Don Quixote /Cervantes | |
| 1979 | |||
| Len Cariou | Sweeney Todd | Sweeney Todd | |
| Joel Grey | The Grand Tour | S. L. Jacobowsky | |
| Charles Repole | Whoopee! | Henry Williams | |
| Peter Walker | My Old Friends | Peter Schermann |
| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | |||
| Larry Owens | A Strange Loop | Usher | |
| David Aron Damane | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | JJ | |
| Chris Dwan | Enter Laughing | David Kolowitz | |
| Joshua Henry | The Wrong Man | Duran | |
| Francis Jue | Soft Power | DHH | |
| 2021 | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in New York City[2] | ||
| 2022 | |||
| Jaquel Spivey | A Strange Loop | Usher | |
| Billy Crystal | Mr. Saturday Night | Buddy Young, Jr. | |
| Myles Frost | MJ | MJ | |
| Rob McClure | Mrs. Doubtfire | Daniel Hillard | |
| Chip Zien | Harmony: A New Musical | Elder Rabbi | |
|
|
[note: citation provides nominations, does not confirm who winner was]