I really don;’t understand what the Drama Desk is, except their nominations make for a lot of drama. They kind of ignore Broadway but embrace it a little bit. They go for esoteric stuff, most of it from off Broadway, and already closed so no one can see it anyway. They actually gave three nominations to the hideous, “Diana: The Musical.” They really liked “Six” and “MJ” but of course had no love for “The Music Man” or “Funny Girl” because those are the shows the audience is going to.

2022 DRAMA DESK NOMINATIONS:
Outstanding Play
Cullud Wattah, by Erika Dickerson-Despenza, The Public Theater
English, by Sanaz Toossi, Atlantic Theater Company
Prayer for the French Republic, by Joshua Harmon, Manhattan Theatre Club
Sanctuary City, by Martyna Majok, New York Theatre Workshop
Selling Kabul, by Sylvia Khoury, Playwrights Horizons
The Chinese Lady, by Lloyd Suh, The Public Theater

Outstanding Musical
Harmony, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Six
The Hang, HERE Arts Center

Outstanding Revival of a Play
for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
How I Learned to Drive, Manhattan Theatre Club
Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theatre Club
Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theatre Club
Trouble in Mind, Roundabout Theatre Company
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Assassins, Classic Stage Company
Baby, Out of the Box Theatrics
Caroline, or Change, Roundabout Theatre Company
Company

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Brandon J. Dirden, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theatre Club
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out, Second Stage Theater
Jacob Ming-Trent, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theatre Club
John Douglas Thompson, The Merchant of Venice, Theatre for a New Audience

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Tala Ashe, English, Atlantic Theater Company
Ruth Negga, Macbeth
Andrea Patterson, Cullud Wattah, The Public Theater
Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theatre Club
Shannon Tyo, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater
Michelle Wilson, Confederates, Signature Theatre

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Billy Crystal, Mr. Saturday Night
Myles Frost, MJ
Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire
Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop
Chip Zien, Harmony, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Kearstin Piper Brown, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Sharon D. Clarke, Caroline, or Change, Roundabout Theatre Company
Jeanna de Waal, Diana
Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Joshua Boone, Skeleton Crew, Manhattan Theatre Club
Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind, Roundabout Theatre Company
Daniel K. Isaac, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater
Billy Eugene Jones, On Sugarland, New York Theatre Workshop
Ron Cephas Jones, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Francis Benhamou, Prayer for the French Republic, Manhattan Theatre Club
Stephanie Berry, On Sugarland, New York Theatre Workshop
Sonnie Brown, what you are now, Ensemble Studio Theatre
Page Leong, Out of Time, NAATCO and The Public Theater
Kenita R. Miller, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Kara Young, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Justin Austin, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Matt Doyle, Company
Jared Grimes, Funny Girl
Tavon Olds-Sample, MJ

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Judy Kuhn, Assassins, Classic Stage Company
Tamika Lawrence, Black No More, The New Group
Patti LuPone, Company
Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Jennifer Simard, Company

Outstanding Director of a Play
Knud Adams, English, Atlantic Theater Company
Saheem Ali, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
Rebecca Frecknall, Sanctuary City, New York Theatre Workshop
Taibi Magar, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre
Whitney White, On Sugarland, New York Theatre Workshop

Outstanding Director of a Musical
John Doyle, Assassins, Classic Stage Company
Marianne Elliott, Company
Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, Six
Bartlett Sher, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Choreography
Ayodele Casel (tap choreography), Funny Girl
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, Six
Bill T. Jones, Garrett Coleman, and Jason Oremus (Irish + Hammerstep), Gelan Lambert and Chloe Davis (associates), Paradise Square
Liam Steel, Company
Christopher Wheeldon, Michael Balderrama (associate), Rich + Tone Taleuega (Michael Jackson movement), MJ

Outstanding Music
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
Jason Howland, Paradise Square
Matt Ray, The Hang, HERE Arts Center
Carrie Rodriguez, ¡Americano!
Jeanine Tesori, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Lyrics
Amanda Green, Mr. Saturday Night
Taylor Mac, The Hang, HERE Arts Center
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Shaina Taub, Suffs, The Public Theater

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel, Mr. Saturday Night
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six
Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater
Bruce Sussman, Harmony, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene

Outstanding Orchestrations
Tom Curran, Six
Greg Jarrett, Assassins, Classic Stage Company
Mark Hartman and Yasuhiko Fukuoka, The Streets of New York, Irish Repertory Theatre
Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, MJ

Outstanding Music in a Play
Te’La and Kamauu, Thoughts of a Colored Man
Bill Sims Jr., Lackawanna Blues, Manhattan Theatre Club
Michael Thurber and Farai Malianga (drum compositions), Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)

Outstanding Scenic Design for a Play
Beowulf Boritt, Merry Wives, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
Wilson Chin, Pass Over
Marsha Ginsberg, English, Atlantic Theater Company
Takeshi Kata, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater
Junghyun Georgia Lee, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, New York Theatre Workshop

Outstanding Scenic Design for a Musical
Emma Bailey, Six
Beowulf Boritt, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater
Bunny Christie, Company
David Zinn, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Linda Cho, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater
Gregory Gale, Fairycakes
Tilly Grimes, The Alchemist, Red Bull Theater
Qween Jean, On Sugarland, New York Theatre Workshop
Jennifer Moeller, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater

Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
Machine Dazzle, The Hang, HERE Arts Center
Susan Hilferty, Funny Girl
Santo Loquasto, The Music Man
Gabriella Slade, Six
Catherine Zuber, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play
Christopher Akerlind, Clyde’s, Second Stage Theater
Reza Behjat, English, Atlantic Theater Company
Isabella Byrd, Sanctuary City, New York Theatre Workshop
Amith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French Republic, Manhattan Theatre Club
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Cullud Wattah, The Public Theater

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical
Natasha Katz, Diana
Natasha Katz, MJ
Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater
Jennifer Tipton, Intimate Apparel, Lincoln Center Theater

Outstanding Projection Design
59 Productions, Flying Over Sunset, Lincoln Center Theater
David Bengali, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Signature Theatre
Stephania Bulbarella and Alex Basco Koch, Space Dogs, MCC Theater
Shawn Duan, The Chinese Lady, The Public Theater
Sven Ortel, Thoughts of a Colored Man

Outstanding Sound Design for a Play
Tyler Kieffer, Seven Deadly Sins, Tectonic Theater Project and Madison Wells Live
Hidenori Nakajo and Ryan Rumery, Autumn Royal, Irish Repertory Theatre
Ben and Max Ringham, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Jamie Lloyd Company at Brooklyn Academy of Music
Mikaal Sulaiman, Sanctuary City, New York Theatre Workshop
Lee Kinney, Selling Kabul, Playwrights Horizons

Outstanding Sound Design for a Musical
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Company
Paul Gatehouse, Six
Kai Harada, Kimberly Akimbo, Atlantic Theater Company
Gareth Owen, MJ

Outstanding Wig and Hair
Matthew B. Armentrout, Paradise Square
David Brian Brown, Mrs. Doubtfire
Paul Huntley, Diana
Charles G. LaPointe, MJ

Outstanding Solo Performance
Alex Edelman, Just for Us, Cherry Lane Theatre
Arturo Luís Soria, Ni Mi Madre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
Kristina Wong, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, New York Theatre Workshop

Unique Theatrical Experience
Seven Deadly Sins, Tectonic Theater Project & Madison Wells Live

Outstanding Adaptation
Merry Wives, by Jocelyn Bioh, The Public Theater (Free Shakespeare in the Park)
The Alchemist, by Jeffrey Hatcher, Red Bull Theater

Outstanding Puppet Design
Amanda Villalobos, Wolf Play, Soho Rep.
James Ortiz, The Skin of Our Teeth, Lincoln Center Theater
Rockefeller Productions, Winnie the Pooh, The Hundred Acre Theatre

Harold S. Prince Lifetime Achievement Award:
In four decades as playwright, novelist, actor, and director, Alice Childress (1912-1994) challenged racism with engrossing stories and memorable characters. When a New York producer demanded revisions to soften the impact of Trouble in Mind, after an initial run Off Broadway and prior to its Broadway debut, Childress withdrew the script. Sixty-five years later, the Drama Desk celebrates the long-delayed Broadway premiere of this timeless masterpiece and salutes Childress as a towering figure in contemporary theater history.

Ensemble Award:
In Six, Adrianna Hicks, Andrea Macasaet, Brittney Mack, Abby Mueller, Samantha Pauly, and Anna Uzele bring to musical life the women who married England’s King Henry VIII. The fanciful result is a buoyant dramatization of their individually purposeful and collectively empowering journeys.

Celebrating the Tony nominations this year held special excitement: it’s the 75^th anniversary, the first in-person comeback after Covid, a year of re-emergence for shows shuttered in March 2020. Vaxxed, masked, Covid-tested, journalists met with the nominees in a return to Broadway as usual. A dozen or so sat at designated places in a room at the Sofitel Hotel in midtown, just a stone’s throw from the classic stages where many of the nominated would perform for the evening. Handlers offered stars as they worked the various outlets, as in, we have Hugh Jackman, do you want him? Duh. Who doesn’t want Hugh Jackman? Ok, you have two questions.

And so it went, as stars came in and out often yanked, and still, the event was like a master class in theater production, and a recognition of just how hard, and how special live theater is. Lessons are learned in passing. Allowed almost no time with Hugh Jackman, you may get the superficial, how he feels about being nominated. Great. But then, with “Music Man” choreographer Warren Carlyle, you find out “Hugh’s success is not an accident. He worked hard all through the pandemic, rehearsed for the Music Man revival for three years.” A quintessential Broadway vehicle, “The Music Man” is not perceived as a dance show. What changed? Two things, said Carlyle, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. “All the choreography is new, every step out of my head, nothing from past shows. I really went for it.”

Dance is a major part of the new show, “Paradise Square,” where a pivotal plot point is a dance off. The winner receives enough cash to buy his way out of the draft. Representing two factions residing in Manhattan’s slummy Five Points at the time of the Civil War, blacks who may or may not be runaways vs. newly arrived immigrants from Ireland, the actors Sidney Dupont and A. J. Shively vie for the money. As Owen Duignan, Shively’s accent and dance flair are so pronounced, you could easily think he’s fresh from “Riverdance.” No, he explained in flat American cadence, his moves came from training with choreographer Bill T. Jones and an Irish team. Similarly, Dupont, as runaway Washington Henry, displays African-American stylings. Garth Drabinsky came by in his wheelchair, and out of respect for this show that has many nominations and is a favorite among many viewers, no one asked this producer of “Ragtime” and “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” the tough questions about the allegations and lawsuits he’s somehow eluded.

David Morse, Rachel Dratch, Amanda Green, Mare Winningham, Deidre O’Connell, Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz made the scene. The “Mr. Saturday Night” writers attested to Billy Crystal’s writing chops.

Long awaited stars such as Patti LuPone, Sutton Foster, Ruth Negga, never made it into our little interrogation quarters, but if you wandered, seeking a rest room and such, you might get lucky. I did, finding the much praised Joaquina Kalukango of “Paradise Square” at the Sofitel exit. Then again, the real miracle is finding Broadway so vibrant.