The 69th Annual Drama Desk Awards, honoring work on Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway, will be presented on June 1 at NYU Skirball Center. The nominations will be announced on April 30. To be eligible for consideration, productions must open no later than April 27.
All performance categories will be gender-neutral: Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play, Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play and Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical.
Each of these categories has twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories and voters will cast two votes for each category. These categories will also have two winners each. If there is a tie, there may be more than two winners in a category.
“We are thrilled to be back again this year Executive Producing the Drama Desk Awards and honored to be benefiting the essential Entertainment Community Fund to raise much needed funds, particularly as our colleagues in the non-profit community face so much uncertainty for continued support,” said co-executive producers Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jenen in a join statement. “It is especially gratifying to produce an event which celebrates the remarkable artistry gracing our stages in a manner that is fully inclusive to our entire NYC theater community, and entirely gender neutral.”
First bestowed in 1955 (as the Vernon Rice Awards), the Drama Desk Awards are voted on by theater critics, journalists, editors and publishers covering theater.
