Justin Guarini & Roger Bart are set to announce the 2023 Drama League Awards Nominees.
TV and stage star Justin Guarini (Once Upon a One More Time, “American Idol”) and Tony Award Winner Roger Bart (The Producers, Back to the Future: The Musical) will host the 2023 Drama League Awards Nominations Announcement on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 11:00AM at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY).
The 89th Annual Drama League Awards, the historic, highly anticipated annual luncheon ceremony, as well as its pre-event industry reception, will be presented at The Ziegfeld Ballroom (141 W 54th St, NYC) on Friday, May 19, 2023, at 12:00PM.
As previously announced, André De Shields, Lear deBessonet, The Drama Book Shop, and Darin Oduyoye are this year’s Special Recognition Honorees. Tony Award winner André DeShields (Hadestown) will receive the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater Award for his outstanding work on stage as part of the musical theater community.
The Drama Book Shop (Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeffrey Seller, and James L. Nederlander) will be honored with the Contribution to the Theater Award for its unwavering commitment to furthering the art of the American theater through the stewardship of a vital, century-long creative home for artists to thrive.
Encores! Artistic Director and Public Works founder Lear deBessonet (Into the Woods) will be honored with the Founders Award for Excellence in Directing for her incredible contributions to the field of directing.
J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management chief communications officer Darin Oduyoye will be presented with the annual Gratitude Award in recognition of his leadership and commitment to the theater industry, through the support of many productions as part of the J.P. Morgan Next List and his work on the board of Beyond the Stage Door, a comprehensive educational program dedicated to guiding students from diverse backgrounds into theater management careers.
Keeping in the tradition of honoring the outstanding accomplishments of the theatrical community, as they have since 1935, Drama League Awards will be bestowed in the following categories:
● Distinguished Performance Award
● Outstanding Production of a Play
● Outstanding Production of a Musical
● Outstanding Revival of a Play
● Outstanding Revival of a Musical
● Outstanding Direction of a Play
● Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Broadway and Off-Broadway productions will need to have been in previews between April 21, 2022 – April 23, 2023, to be eligible for this season’s Drama League Awards.
The 2022 Awards Ceremony featured performances from Hugh Jackman, Patti LuPone, Billy Crystal, and more dazzling the audience of over 400. It also saw the introduction of new Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play (recipient Kate Whoriskey for Clyde’s) and Outstanding Direction of a Musical (recipient Marianne Elliott for Company), which honor the mission of The Drama League, which serves as the nation’s only full-time creative and career development home for directors.
