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| Drama Desk Special Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Special Award |
| Location | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Drama Desk |
| First award | 1976 |
| Website | dramadesk.org (defunct) |
TheDrama Desk Special Award is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements by an individual or an organization that has made a significant contribution to the theatre across collectiveBroadway,off-Broadway oroff-off-Broadway productions inNew York City.
The award was first presented in 1976; in 2012, theDrama Desk Award Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award was added as a component of the Special Award, and those award winners are included in this article.
| Year | Recipient and Contribution | |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | ||
| Hartman Theatre Company | ||
| Outstanding Contribution by a New Theatre Company | ||
| Queens Theatre in the Park | ||
| Outstanding Contribution by a New Theatre Company | ||
| 1977 | N/a | |
| 1978 | ||
| Off-Off Broadway Theatre Movement | ||
| Outstanding Contribution to Theatre | ||
| Year | Recipient and Contribution | |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | ||
| La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club | ||
| Performances by International Companies | ||
| 1981 | N/a | |
| 1982 | ||
| Jonathan Tunick | ||
| N/a | ||
| Ridiculous Theatrical Company | ||
| N/a | ||
| The Royal Shakespeare Company | ||
| The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | ||
| 1983 | ||
| WPA Theatre | ||
| N/a | ||
| Douglas Watt | ||
| Distinguished Achievement | ||
| Richard Wilbur | ||
| His English Translation ofThe Misanthrope | ||
| 1984 | ||
| Alan Schneider | ||
| Serving a Wide Range of Playwrights | ||
| Michael Bennett,Joseph Papp and theShubert Organization | ||
| The 3,389th Performance ofA Chorus Line | ||
| B. H. Barry | ||
| Consistent Excellence in Fight Staging | ||
| Equity Library Theatre | ||
| Showcasing Theater Professionals | ||
| InterArt Theater | ||
| Nurturing Female Theater Artists | ||
| 1985 | ||
| Gerard Alessandrini | ||
| Forbidden Broadway | ||
| Ridiculous Theatrical Company | ||
| Quick Change Wizardry inThe Mystery of Irma Vep | ||
| Claudette Colbert andRex Harrison | ||
| The Continuing Pleasure of Their Company | ||
| Veterans Ensemble Theater Company | ||
| Giving Voice to Trauma ofVietnam | ||
| 1986 | ||
| Thomas Z. Shepard | ||
| Preserving Musical Theatre Heritage on Record | ||
| Agnes de Mille | ||
| Her Enduring Legacy of Cherished Choreography | ||
| Joyce Theater | ||
| The American Theater Exchange Program | ||
| The New Amsterdam Theater Company | ||
| Distinguished Concert Productions | ||
| Donald Pippin | ||
| Musical Direction and Commitment to Theater | ||
| Jessica Tandy andHume Cronyn | ||
| Their Continuing Theatrical Partnership | ||
| 1987 | ||
| Stanley Lebowsky | ||
| Musical Direction and Commitment to Theater | ||
| Paul Davis andFrank Verlizzo | ||
| Inspired Art Work for Theatrical Productions | ||
| Henry Cohen, Donald Rose and Robert Kimball | ||
| Rescuing Classic Broadway Scores | ||
| 1988 | ||
| Actors' Equity | ||
| 75 years of Championing the Professional Actor | ||
| Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT) | ||
| The Preservation of Our Theatrical Heritage | ||
| Yale Repertory Theatre | ||
| Nurturing Plays of Significance | ||
| Michael Feinstein | ||
| Celebrating American Musical Theater Songs | ||
| 1989 | ||
| Paul Gemignani | ||
| N/a | ||
| Bernard Gersten | ||
| N/a | ||
| Manhattan Theatre Club | ||
| N/a | ||
| John A. McGlinn | ||
| N/a | ||
| Gregory Mosher | ||
| N/a | ||
| Jerome Robbins | ||
| N/a | ||
| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
|---|---|
| 1990 | |
| The Fund for New American Plays | |
| Support of American Playwrights and Theaters | |
| Jule Styne | |
| A Lifetime of Glorious Theater Music | |
| Kevin Haney | |
| His Makeup forTru and Other Shows | |
| 1991 | |
| Brooklyn Academy of Music | |
| Bringing International Productions to New York | |
| James McMullan | |
| Consistently Inspired Art Work for Theater | |
| New Dramatists | |
| Decades of Nurturing American Playwrights | |
| Harold Rome | |
| His Distinctive Contribution to Musical Theatre | |
| 1992 | N/a |
| 1993 | |
| Early Stages | |
| N/a | |
| The Public Theater /New York Shakespeare Festival | |
| Puppetry at the Public Theater | |
| RCA Victor Records | |
| N/a | |
| 1994 | |
| John A. Willis | |
| Fifty Years of Devotion to Theater and its Artists | |
| Janet Hayes Walker | |
| Twenty-Five Years at the York Theatre Company | |
| 1995 | |
| Eileen Atkins | |
| N/a | |
| Otis Guernsey Jr. | |
| N/a | |
| The Non-Traditional Casting Project | |
| N/a | |
| Barrow Group | |
| Off-Off Broadway Excellence | |
| 1996 | |
| George C. Scott | |
| Lifetime Devotion to Theatre | |
| Repertorio Español | |
| Providing Spanish-Language Entertainment | |
| Signature Theatre Company | |
| The Concept of Annually Serving One Playwright | |
| Theatreworks USA | |
| Thirty-Five Years of Entertaining Children and Parents | |
| 1997 | |
| The MoscowSovremennik Theatre Company | |
| Into the Whirlwind andThree Sisters | |
| 1998 | |
| Vineyard Theatre | |
| Quality Work and the New S.P.A.C.E. Program | |
| Arthur Miller | |
| Lifetime Achievement in the Theater | |
| 1999 | |
| Al Hirschfeld | |
| Lifetime Achievement | |
| Sony Classical | |
| Its Columbia Broadway Masterworks Series | |
| The Actors' Fund of America | |
| N/a |
| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
|---|---|
| 2000 | |
| Alexander H. Cohen(posthumously),Barnard Hughes andHelen Stenborg | |
| Lifetime Achievement | |
| 2001 | |
| Reba McEntire | |
| Her Performance inAnnie Get Your Gun | |
| Seán Campion andConleth Hill | |
| Their Performances inStones in His Pockets | |
| 2002 | |
| Paul Huntley | |
| Lifetime Achievement | |
| Billy Rosenfield | |
| Preserving Musical Theatre Recordings | |
| Mint Theater Company | |
| Presenting and Preserving Little Known Classics | |
| Worth Street Theater Company | |
| Its Stage Door Canteen Shows atGround Zero | |
| 2003 | |
| Brooklyn Academy of Music | |
| Bringing International Works to New York | |
| 2004 | |
| The Flea Theater | |
| N/a | |
| Classical Theatre of Harlem | |
| N/a | |
| Dakin Matthews | |
| Henry IV | |
| 2005 | |
| Keen Company | |
| Plays That Build Upon Our Theatrical Heritage | |
| The Public Theater /New York Shakespeare Festival | |
| Fifty Years of Exceptional Theater Contributions | |
| 2006 | |
| BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop | |
| Nurturing, Developing and Promoting New Talent for the Musical Theater | |
| York Theatre Company | |
| Its Vital Contributions to Theater by Developing and Presenting New Musicals | |
| Sh-K-Boom Records / Ghostlight Records | |
| Dedication to the Preservation of Musical Theater Through Cast Recordings | |
| 2007 | |
| John Kander andFred Ebb | |
| Forty-Two Years of Excellence in Advancing the Art of the Musical Theatre | |
| Austin Pendleton | |
| A Renaissance Man of the American Theatre | |
| Transport Group | |
| Its Breadth of Vision and its Presentation of Challenging Productions | |
| Folksbiene (National Yiddish Theatre) | |
| Preserving for Ninety-Two Consecutive Seasons the Cultural Legacy ofYiddish theatre in America | |
| 2008 | |
| Edward Albee | |
| His Provocative Plays, Including This Season'sPeter and Jerry, Which Enrich the American Theater | |
| James Earl Jones | |
| A Commanding Force on the Stage for Nearly Half a Century | |
| Playwrights Horizons | |
| Ongoing Support to Generations of Theater Artists and Undiminished Commitment to Producing New Work | |
| 59E59 Theaters | |
| Whose Imaginative Curatorial Vision Has Created a Stimulating Environment to Nurture a Diverse Range of Artists | |
| 2009 | |
| Liza Minnelli | |
| Her Enduring Career of Sustained Excellence, and Her Performance inLiza's at The Palace...! | |
| Atlantic Theater Company and artistic director Neil Pepe | |
| Exceptional Craftsmanship, Dedication to Excellence and Productions That Engage, Inspire and Enlighten | |
| TADA! Youth Theater | |
| Providing an Invaluable Contribution to the Future of the Theater. | |
| Forbidden Broadway | |
| Its Satire and Celebration of Broadway |
| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
|---|---|
| 2010 | |
| The Cast, Creative Team and Producers ofHorton Foote'sThe Orphans' Home Cycle | |
| The Breadth of Vision, Which Inspired the Exceptional Direction, Performances, Sets, Lighting, Costumes, Music and Sound That Made it the Theatrical Event of This Season | |
| Jerry Herman | |
| Enchanting and Dazzling Audiences with His Exuberant Music and Heartfelt Lyrics for More Than Half a Century | |
| Godlight Theatre Company | |
| Consistent Originality and Excellence in Dramatizing Modern Literature, and Especially for the Vibrant Theatricality of its Innovative Productions | |
| Ma-Yi Theater Company | |
| More Than Two Decades of Excellence and for Nurturing Asian-American Voices in Stylistically Varied and Engaging Theater | |
| 2011 | |
| A. R. Gurney | |
| His Enduring, Keenly Observed Portraits of American Life Over a Prolific Four-Decade-Long Career | |
| Reed Birney | |
| Versatile and Finely Nuanced Performances Over the Past 35 Years, and for His Exceptional Work This Season inTigers Be Still,A Small Fire andThe Dream of the Burning Boy | |
| The New Group and Artistic Director Scott Elliott | |
| Presenting Contemporary New Voices and for Uncompromisingly Raw and Powerful Productions | |
| The Pearl Theatre Company | |
| Notable Productions of Classic Plays and Nurturing a Stalwart Resident Company of Actors | |
| Creative Team ofWar Horse | |
| Thrilling Stagecraft | |
| 2012 | |
| Mary Testa | |
| Over Three Decades of Consistently Outstanding Work, Including Her Tour-de-Force Performance in This Season'sQueen of the Mist | |
| Nick Westrate | |
| His Versatility inUnnatural Acts,Love's Labor's Lost, andGalileo was a Highlight of the Season | |
| New Victory Theater | |
| Providing Enchanting, Sophisticated Children's Theater That Appeals to the Child in All of Us, and for Nurturing a Love of Theater in Young People | |
| Stephen Karam (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) | |
| The Profoundly MovingSons of the Prophet Confirmed His Status as One of the Most Promising Playwrights of His Generation | |
| 2013 | |
| TheNew York Musical Theatre Festival and Isaac Robert Hurwitz | |
| A Decade of Creating and Nurturing New Musical Theater, Ensuring the Future of This Essential Art Form | |
| Wakka Wakka Productions | |
| Sophisticated Puppet Theater, as Represented by This Season'sSAGA, That Explores with Wit, Imagination, and Insight Serious Issues of Our Times | |
| Jayne Houdyshell | |
| Her Artistry as an Exceptionally Versatile and Distinctive Broadway and Off-Broadway Performer | |
| Samuel D. Hunter | |
| His Emphatic and IndelibleThe Whale Affirms His Arrival as a Distinguished Dramatist Who Depicts the Human Condition | |
| Maruti Evans (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) | |
| His Ingenious Lighting Designs, Reflecting an Exquisite and Bold Theatrical Aesthetic. This Season'sThe Pilo Family Circus andTiny Dynamite Confirm His Incandescent Creativity | |
| 2014 | |
| Soho Rep | |
| Nearly Four Decades of Artistic Distinction, Innovative Production and Provocative Play Selection | |
| Veanne Cox | |
| 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'sThe Old Friends andThe Most Deserving | |
| Ed Sylvanus Iskandar (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) | |
| His Visionary Directorial Excellence. This Season'sThe Golden Dragon andThe Mysteries Exemplify His Bold and Strikingly Original Imagination | |
| 2015 | |
| Bess Wohl (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) | |
| Her writing expresses sensitivity, compassion, and humor with a sure hand. | |
| John Douglas Thompson | |
| His exceptional versatility inTamburlaine the Great andThe Iceman Cometh | |
| Ensemble Studio Theatre | |
| Unwavering commitment to producing new works by American playwrights since 1968, and enriching this season with productions ofWhen January Feels Like Summer,Winners, andFive Times in One Night. Its Youngblood program fostered and nurturedHand to God, setting Tyrone off on his devilish path to Broadway | |
| Andy Blankenbuehler | |
| His inspired and heart-stopping choreography inHamilton | |
| 2016 | |
| Sheldon Harnick | |
| Camp Broadway | |
| Danai Gurira (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) | |
| 2017 | |
| Phil LaDuca | |
| Lila Neugebauer (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) | |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 |
| Year | Recipient and Contribution | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||
| Mary Bacon (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) | ||
| Continued her versatile career of compassionate, searing work with numerous companies, with two of Off-Broadway's most humane performances this season inCoal Country andNothing Gold Can Stay | ||
| The Actors Fund,Seth Rudetsky, and James Wesley | ||
| Connecting members of the theater community and lifting spirits during the coronavirus crisis. | ||
| The Public Theater's Mobile Unit | ||
| The current Mobile Unit tours free Shakespeare throughout the five boroughs, including prisons, homeless shelters, and community centers, reminding audiences new and old that the play really is the thing. | ||
| WP Theater and Julia Miles | ||
| The largest, most enduring American company (and its founder) that nurtures and produces works by female-identified creators | ||
| Claire Warden | ||
| For her pioneering work as an intimacy choreographer on recent productions, and her leadership in the rapidly emerging movement of intimacy direction. Co-founder of Intimacy Directors International, contributing to theater experiences that are safer for performers and more authentic for contemporary audiences. | ||
| 2021 | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in New York City[1] | |
| 2022 | ||
| Dede Ayite | ||
| Dede Ayite seems to have costumed half the actors of this theater season with her designs for Merry Wives, Seven Deadly Sins, The Last of the Love Letters, Chicken and Biscuits, Slave Play, Nollywood Dreams, American Buffalo, and How I learned to Drive. Whether dressing working-class Marylanders of the 1960s, amateur criminals of the 1970s, or West African immigrants in today’s Harlem, Ayite has a knack for conveying characters’ means, values, and aspirations before the actors utter a word. | ||
| Heather Christian | ||
| With the category-defying Oratorio for Living Things, Heather Christian aims to encompass all human existence in a single inventive and startlingly beautiful work. In times of pandemic, war, and social upheaval, Christian’s work (directed by Lee Sunday Evans and brought to life by a superb cast and creative team) is an awe-inspiring reminder that, even in the darkest times, there will always be artistic peaks to scale. | ||
| 2023 | No award presented. | |
| 2024 | ||
| How to Dance in Ohio's Authentic Autism Access Team | ||
| Sammi Cannold, Nicole D'Angelo, Becky Leifman, Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt, Liz Weber, and Jeremy Wein – for their steadfast support of autistic theatermakers, and their strides toward true accessibility for neurodiverse individuals both on and offstage. | ||
| Isabella Byrd | ||
| During this season, Byrd illuminated two Broadway shows done in the round, An Enemy of the People and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Off Broadway, her spotlight on quiet, small-scale stories both enchanted us in Primary Trust and mesmerized us in Infinite Life, with a parking-lot sky that marked the passage of time. | ||
| 2025 | ||
| Ensemble ofLiberation | ||
| The ensemble ofRoundabout Theatre Company's Liberation (Betsy Aidem, Audrey Corsa, Kayla Davion, Susannah Flood, Kristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio, Charlie Thurston, and Adina Verson) for bringing to vibrant life the specific and universal stories of women staring across the social battle lines of the 1970s from their perch "somewhere in Ohio" in Bess Wohl's beautiful new play. | ||
| Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater | ||
| Pregones (founded in 1979) and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (founded in 1967) merged in 2014 to become a powerhouse producer of Latinx shows on two NYC stages: one in Manhattan's Theater District, the other in the South Bronx, both evoking an atmosphere of warmth and inclusivity. This season brought the blazing world premiere of Matthew Barbot’s the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo), a history-inspired fantasia about two Puerto Rican freedom fighters that deftly explores colonialism while riffing on Waiting for Godot, plus dozens of one-offs showcasing Latinx artists and culture. | ||
| Stacey Derosier | ||
| For her deeply intimate and consistently gorgeous work across this season’s Off-Broadway stages. Whether lighting the minimalist theatricality of The Welkin and Grangeville, or the rich naturalism of The Counter and Danger and Opportunity, Derosier shows us not only that less is often so much more, but also that just a single light can have such a profound impact in the darkness. | ||
| Danger and Opportunity | ||
| The team behind Danger and Opportunity – playwright Ken Urban, director Jack Serio, and ensemble Juan Castano, Julia Chan, andRyan Spahn – for their genuinely serious, deeply moving consideration of the messy implications of a three-way relationship, done in an imaginatively immersive way that made such a small-scale story feel like a meaningful event. | ||