A Guide to NYC Theatre Awards Season
Written by Producer & TMS Mentor, Jonathan Hogue
It’s May in the NYC theatre industry, which can only mean one thing…
Awards season is in full swing!
If you take a walk through the theatre district right now, you’ll see plenty of new signage in front of Broadway theaters boasting awards tallies and major nominations. Naturally, the Tonys are in the biggest font. Savvy producers, marketers, and press agents use these nominations to push their shows to the top of the priority list for the average ticket buyer.
But awards season is much bigger than just the Tony Awards. And if you’re an off-Broadway show, the Tonys are largely irrelevant. While there are many smaller awards bodies that recognize specific achievements - like the Chita Rivera Awards for dance or the Dorian Awards for productions with LGBTQ+ representation - there are five major awards bodies that carry the most prestige for a show’s profile.
Let’s break them down.
Lucille Lortel Awards: These awards recognize exclusively off-Broadway plays and musicals. Categories include new works and revivals, with gender-neutral performance categories (still divided by lead/featured and play/musical), along with nominations for direction, choreography, and design that are not split by play or musical. The Lortels also include Best Ensemble and Best Solo Show categories, which are unique among major awards. While most categories have five nominees, some may include six or seven. Nominations are announced at the beginning of April, and the awards are presented in early May at a public ceremony.
Drama League Awards: These awards recognize both Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals. Categories include new works and revivals, as well as separate awards for directors of plays and musicals. While production and director categories are divided by play/musical and new work/revival, they are not separated by Broadway versus off-Broadway productions (and generally show a historical bias toward Broadway), with categories that can feature anywhere from 10 to 12 nominees. These awards do not recognize designers or writing categories like Book or Score. For performers, there is a single category called “Distinguished Performance", which can include 50 or more nominees competing for one award, though past winners are no longer eligible. Nominations are announced in mid-April, and the awards are presented in mid-May at a public ceremony.
Outer Critics Circle Awards: These awards honor both Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals. Among all awards bodies, the OCCAs feature the widest range of production categories, divided by Broadway/off-Broadway, play/musical, and new/revival, with an additional category recognizing “new American plays, preferably written by a new playwright.” Performance categories are gender-neutral and divided by lead/featured, Broadway/off-Broadway, and play/musical. Director categories are split by play/musical but not by Broadway/off-Broadway. Additional categories include Book of a Musical, Score, Orchestrations, and Design, which combine Broadway/off-Broadway and play/musical distinctions. Nominations are announced in mid-April, winners are announced in mid-May, and a ceremony celebrating them takes place in late May.
Drama Desk Awards: These awards recognize Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals and are often considered “the Tonys for off-Broadway,” representing the highest honor an off-Broadway production can receive. Categories are divided by musical/play and new/revival, but Broadway and off-Broadway productions compete together, making them especially competitive, with typically five to six nominees per category. Performance awards are gender-neutral, divided by lead/featured and play/musical, and can include 10 to 12 nominees, with two winners often selected per category (last year, Featured Performer in a Musical had three winners). Traditional categories include Director (play and musical), Design (play and musical), Orchestrations, Book, and Music, alongside unique honors such as Best Lyrics, Projection Design, Wig and Hair, Puppetry, Fight Choreography, Revues, Adaptations, and Unique Theatrical Experiences. Special honors are also given to specific productions, often recognizing full ensembles, as well as individual artists of special merit. Notably, shows previously nominated in past seasons for off-Broadway runs are ineligible if they later transfer directly to Broadway. Nominations are announced in late April, and the awards are presented in early June at a public ceremony.
Tony Awards: These awards recognize exclusively Broadway plays and musicals and are considered the highest honor a Broadway production can receive. For currently running productions, they can significantly impact commercial appeal and long-term success. Categories are generally limited to a maximum of five nominees, though some may have fewer depending on eligibility. Awards are divided by play and musical across performance, direction, and design categories. Most notably, performance categories are divided by gender, while still separated by play and musical. Nominations are announced on the first Tuesday in May, and the awards are presented in early to mid-June (usually the second Sunday of June) in a televised ceremony.
It’s always exciting to see which shows are recognized at these awards, as each awards body has its own distinct voting group and tastes. Keep a close eye on the early winners as they're announced over the next few weeks... you may start to see frontrunners emerge that could shape your predictions for Tony night!
