THE DRAMA LEAGUE AWARDS
The 2021 Awards
That’s a wrap! The 87th Annual Drama League Awards, which streamed on May 21 at 7PM ET, honored the outstanding accomplishments of the theatrical community in an unprecedented season. Congratulations all of the theatremakers who worked tirelessly to connect us all amidst a challenging year of suspension for live arts, and special thanks to our sponsors and supporters who helped us to celebrate this remarkable community. Consider joining The Drama League as a member or making a gift to support our artist and audience-focused mission as stages reopen across the country.
Stay tuned for more updated from The Drama League Awards!
Special Recognition Awards
The Founders Award for Excellence in Directing
Liesl Tommy
Gratitude Award
Iris Smith
Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater
Richard & Demi Weitz
Unique Contribution to Theater Award
The Actors Fund
Outstanding Achievement Awards
Outstanding Digital Theater, Individual Production
The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
Outstanding Digital Theater, Collection or Festival
Theater in Quarantine
Outstanding Interactive or Socially-Distanced Theater
7 Deadly Sins
Outstanding Audio Theater Production
Chonburi International Hotel and Butterfly Club
Outstanding Digital Concert Production
Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
Complete List of Nominees
Outstanding Digital Theater, Individual Production
Belly of the Beast
Directed by Lisa Rothe
Written by Margaret Vandenburg
Daniel Dae Kim/3AD
In partnership with TodayTix and New York Theatre Workshop (New York, NY)
Circle Jerk
Conceived and written by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley
In collaboration with Cat Rodriguez and Ariel Sibert
Directed by Rory Pelsue Produced by Caroline Gart
Fake Friends (New York, NY)
Disclaimer
Written by Tara Ahmadinejad
Directed by Jeff Wood & Tara Ahmadinejad
Created by Piehole
The Public Theater (New York, NY)
Don't Stay Safe
Book and lyrics by Cheryl L. Davis, Music by Douglas J. Cohen
Directed by Christina Franklin
Prospect Theater Company (New York, NY)
Duchess! Duchess! Duchess!
Written by Vivian J.O. Barnes
Directed by Weyni Mengesha
Steppenwolf Theatre Company (Chicago, IL)
The Great Work Begins: Scenes from Angels in America
Written by Tony Kushner
Directed by Ellie Heyman
Presented by amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research)
GRIMMZ Fairy Tales
Created by Christopher Parks, Rahsheem Shabazz, and Ron Lee McGill
Composed by Kofi Osei Williams and Charles Vincent Burwell
Directed by Christopher Parks
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)
Heroes of the Fourth Turning
Written by Will Arbery
Directed by Blanka Zizka
Wilma Theater (Philadelphia, PA)
Last Gasp
Written by Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw
Directed by Lois Weaver
Split Britches (New York, NY)
Presented by La MaMa
The Last 5 Years
Written and Composed by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Jason Michael Webb
Out Of The Box Theatrics (New York, NY)
Where Did We Sit on the Bus?
Written by Brian Quijada
Directed by Matt Dickson
A digital creation by Satya ChĂĄvez and Matt Dickson
Actors Theatre of Louisville (Louisville, KY)
Outstanding Digital Theater, Collection or Festival
1MOVE: Des19ned By...
Created by Alan C. Edwards, Brittany Bland, Christopher Darbassie, Dominique Fawn Hill, Kameron Neal, Mika Eubanks, Nehprii Amenii, nicHi douglas, Nikiya Mathis, Qween Jean, Ramaj Jamar, Taylor Lilly, Teniece Divya Johnson, Teresa L. Williams, Twi McCallum, Ao Li, Chen-Wei Liao, Dina El-Aziz, Edurne Fernandez, Kimie Nishikawa, MarĂa Feuereisen, Megumi Katayama, Ntokozo Fuzunina Kunene, Omar Madkour, Reza Behjat, Riw Rakkulchon, Rodrigo Muñoz, Stefania Bulbarella, Wenzheng (Wen) Zhang, and Yee Eun Nam
Co-Curated by Dede Ayite, Stacey Derosier, Clint Ramos, Cha See, and Paul Tazewell
The Movement Theatre Company (New York, NY)
AFO Solo Shorts (Round 1 and Round 2)
Written, created, and directed by Veronica Barron, Beaudau Karel Banks, Eliza Bent, Ellarose Chary, Jody Christopherson, Jasmine Eileen Coles, Kendra Cui, Darian Dauchan, Toni Ann DeNoble, Tanya Everett, Gina Femia, Freddy Padilla, Nela Fortunato, Raz Golden, Nathan Gebhard, Charles Gershman, Kathryn Grody, Brandon James Gwinn, Katie Melby, Matthew Paul Olmos, Erika Sheffer, Casey Alexander Smith, William Steinberger, Ellie Cooper, Melissa Tien, Rhys Tivey, Emily Waters, Sybil Wigglesworth, Zonia, Tsang Lok Sze, Andrew Lynch, Sandra Daley, Lisa C.M. Lamothe, Annie Henk, Purva Bedi
All For One Theater (New York, NY)
The Manic Monologues
 Originally Created by Zachary Burton and Elisa Hofmeister
Virtual Experience Conceived and Directed by Elena Araoz
McCarter Theater Center in collaboration with Princeton University Health Services, The 24 Hour Plays, and Innovations in Socially Distant Performance at the Lewis Center for the Arts (Princeton, NJ)
Theater In Quarantine
Created by founder Joshua William Gelb (New York, NY) and Katie Rose McLaughlin (New York, NY)
Collaborators: Ian Axness, Eric Berryman, Chris Bell, Liza Birkenmeier, Heather Christian, Alex Falberg, Madeleine George, Sanaz Ghajar, Afra Hines, Sunny Hitt, Veronica Jiao, Raja Feather Kelly, Jon Levin, Johnny G. Lloyd, Nehemiah Luckett, Josh Luxenberg, Grace McLean, Lee Minora, Karen Olivo, Dan O’Neil, Erin Ortman, Gavin Price, Dito Van Reigersberg, Krit Robinson, Scott R. Sheppard, Matt Stevens, The Westerlies , Alex Weston, Ellen Winter and many others.
The Work of Adrienne Kennedy: Inspiration and Influence
Written by Adrienne Kennedy (Sleep Deprivation Chamber by Adam P. Kennedy and Adrienne Kennedy)
Directed by Raymond O. Caldwell, Timothy Douglas, Valerie Curtis-Newton, and Nicole A. Watson
Round House Theatre (Bethesda, MD) in association with McCarter Theater Center (Princeton, NJ); Conceived by Nicole A. Watson
Outstanding Interactive or Socially-Distanced Theater
American Dreams
Written by Leila Buck
Directed by Tamilla Woodard
Created and developed by Leila Buck and Tamilla Woodard with Jens Rasmussen,
In collaboration with Osh Ghanimah, Imran Sheikh, and the company Working Theater (New York, NY)
Carla's Quince
Created by The Voting Project (Ashley Alvarez, Galia Backal, Yadira De La Riva, Jorge Donoso, EstefanĂa Fadul, Michael LeĂłn, MarĂa Peyramaure, Camila PĂ©rez Santiago, and Christina Watanabe)
Directed by EstefanĂa Fadul
With guest artists Jason Aguirre (tech facilitator), Jamie Salinger (stage manager), Haydee Zelideth (costume consultant), and Sebastian Zuniga (performer)
Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse
Concept and Choreography: Adam W. McKinneyÂ
Director: Daniel BanksÂ
App Design: Digital Ant Media
Graphic Design: Troy Lambert
Music by: Third Wind Productions/ Maritri Garrett and David WinderÂ
Guest Artists: Edykah Chilome, Julienne Greer, Sedrick Huckaby, Jordan Jones, Opal Lee, Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr.,
Will Wilson
Associate Producer: Jiles King Production Associate: NaTasha Thompson
Production Manager: Jamelyn Ebelacker
Production Assistant: Lauren Huynh Sound Engineering: Michael Billow and Gregg Powers
A DNAWORKS Production (Fort Worth, TX)
7 Deadly Sins
Written by Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Moisés Kaufman, Rogelio Martinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Carmen Pelaez, and Aurin Squire
Conceived and directed by Michel Hausmann
Greed directed by Moisés Kaufman
Wrath directed by Jade King Carroll
Miami New Drama (Miami Beach, FL)
A Thousand Ways (Part 1)
Created by 600 HIGHWAYMEN | Abigail Browde & Michael Silverstone (Brooklyn, NY)
ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann, Executive Producer
Wild Thyme
Written by Liz Duffy Adams
Produced by West Hyler and Shelley Butler Artistic Stamp (New York, NY)
Outstanding Audio Theater Production
Chonburi International Hotel and Butterfly Club
Written by Shakina Nayfack
Directed by Laura Savia
Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA) and Audible
Outstanding Digital Concert Production
Breathing Free: A Visual Album
Director: Ethan Heard; Filmmaker: Anaiis Cisco; Creative Producer: Ras Dia; Co-music Directors: Daniel Schlosberg & Jacob Ashworth; Arrangers: Daniel Schlosberg & Sean Mayes; Movement Director: Emma Jaster; Featuring: Derrell Acon, Curtis Bannister, Kelly Griffin, Randy Castillo, Tamrin Goldberg, Brian âHallowdreamzâ Henry, and more than 100 incarcerated singers and 70 volunteers from six prison choirs
Heartbeat Opera (New York, NY)
Myths and Hymns (Chapters 1 and 2)
Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel
Conceived and supervised by Ted Sperling
Directed by Greg Anderson, Sammi Cannold, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Lear deBessonet, Khristian Dentley, Doug Fitch, Anne Kauffman, and Ted Sperling
Presented by Mastervoices
Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical
Conceived by The #RatatouilleMusical Community
Featuring Work by Danny Bernstein, Gabbi Bolt, Kevin Chamberlin, RJ Christian, Nathan Fosbinder, Emily Jacobsen, Sophia James, Katie Johantgen, Daniel Mertzlufft, Alec Powell, Blake Rouse and Jessica Siswick
Adapted for the stage by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley
Directed by Lucy Moss
Presented by Seaview
In association with TodayTix Presents, TikTok
Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Produced by Stephen Sondheim, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Bill Curran, RaĂșl Esparza, John Gore and Paul Wontorek
Directed by Paul Wontorek
Benefit for ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty)
Presented by Broadway.com
The Drama League is grateful for support from its generous donors and current Drama League Awards Sponsors including Iris Smith; Sceneworks Studios; Stan Ponte; BroadwayHD (Bonnie Comley & Stewart F. Lane); Kathy Henderson; Paula Kaminsky Davis; JoAnn Weisel; Talu Productions & Lakeview Productions (Una Jackman & Jay Alix); Tony Benten; Bank of America; and Mary Jain.
