Drama Desk Special Award
| Drama Desk Special Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Special Award |
| Location |
 United States |
| Presented by | Drama Desk |
| Currently held by | Soho Rep, Veanne Cox, Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, the Ensembles of The Open House, The Realistic Joneses and Will Eno (2014) |
| Official website | DramaDesk.org |
The Drama 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 among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions.
Winners and nominees
1970s
| 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 | ||
1980s
| 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 of The Misanthrope | ||
| 1984 | ||
| Alan Schneider | ||
| Serving a Wide Range of Playwrights | ||
| Michael Bennett, Joseph Papp and the Shubert Organization | ||
| The 3,389th Performance of A 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 in The Mystery of Irma Vep | ||
| Claudette Colbert and Rex Harrison | ||
| The Continuing Pleasure of Their Company | ||
| Veterans Ensemble Theater Company | ||
| Giving Voice to Trauma of Vietnam | ||
| 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 and Hume Cronyn | ||
| Their Continuing Theatrical Partnership | ||
| 1987 | ||
| Stanley Lebowsky | ||
| Musical Direction and Commitment to Theater | ||
| Paul Davis and Frank 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 | ||
1990s
| 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 for Tru 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 Moscow Sovremennik Theatre Company | |
| Into the Whirlwind and Three 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 |
2000s
| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
|---|---|
| 2000 | |
| Alexander H. Cohen (posthumously), Barnard Hughes and Helen Stenborg | |
| Lifetime Achievement | |
| 2001 | |
| Reba McEntire | |
| Her Performance in Annie Get Your Gun | |
| Seán Campion and Conleth Hill | |
| Their Performances in Stones 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 at Ground 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 and Fred 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 of Yiddish theatre in America | |
| 2008 | |
| Edward Albee | |
| His Provocative Plays, Including This Season's Peter 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 in Liza'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 |
2010s
| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
|---|---|
| 2010 | |
| The Cast, Creative Team and Producers of Horton Foote's The 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 | |
| Outstanding Ensembles of In Transit and The Normal Heart | |
| Their Performances | |
| 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 in Tigers Be Still, A Small Fire and The 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 of War Horse | |
| Thrilling Stagecraft | |
| 2012 | |
| Mary Testa | |
| Over Three Decades of Consistently Outstanding Work, Including Her Tour-de-Force Performance in This Season's Queen of the Mist | |
| Nick Westrate | |
| His Versatility in Unnatural Acts, Love's Labor's Lost, and Galileo 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 | |
| The Profoundly Moving Sons of the Prophet Confirmed His Status as One of the Most Promising Playwrights of His Generation | |
| The Cast of Sweet and Sad | |
| Outstanding Ensemble Performance | |
| 2013 | |
| The New 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's SAGA, 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 Indelible The Whale Affirms His Arrival as a Distinguished Dramatist Who Depicts the Human Condition | |
| Maruti Evans | |
| His Ingenious Lighting Designs, Reflecting an Exquisite and Bold Theatrical Aesthetic. This Season's The Pilo Family Circus and Tiny 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's The Old Friends and The Most Deserving | |
| Ed Sylvanus Iskandar | |
| His Visionary Directorial Excellence. This Season's The Golden Dragon and The Mysteries Exemplify His Bold and Strikingly Original Imagination | |
| The Ensembles of Off-Broadway's The Open House and Broadway's The Realistic Joneses and Will Eno | |
| Two Extraordinary Casts and One Impressively Inventive Playwright |
See also
References
- "Drama Desk Award for Special Award". Internet Broadway Database. 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
External links
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