The Drama League touts itself as the oldest theatre awards in America, having been established in 1922. They are infamous for their sole Distinguished Performance Award. Only one performer a year receives the honor, and once won it cannot be awarded to that actor again.
Who will take the acting honor this year? The best bets come from this season's defining performances: Stephen Boyer, Michael Cerveris, Kristin Chenoweth, Bradley Cooper, Kelli O'Hara, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Helen Mirren, Chita Rivera, and Alex Sharp. In my estimation it comes down to Helen Mirren (giving an unstoppable performance as Queen Elizabeth) and Chita Rivera (a nuanced final showcase for one of Broadway's legends).
Nomination Observations.
The marketing team for It Shoulda Been You are probably jumping for joy with their surprise citations here and with the OCC yesterday. Stars Lisa Howard and Tyne Daly made the cut for Distinguished Performance, giving a nice little boost to their Tony chances in their crowded categories. And after a critical drubbing and OCC snub, Finding Neverland was cut a break by the League with nominations for Best Musical, Matthew Morrison, and Kelsey Grammer.
On the other hand, it wasn't a great morning for A Delicate Balance. The show failed to make it into the Revival category, with This is Our Youth seemingly taking its place. Stars Glenn Close and John Lithgow already won the Drama League's performance award, and were thus ineligible. The plays two other Tony hopefuls, Lindsay Duncan and Martha Plimpton, were not nominated.
Complete list of nominees below:
Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play
The Audience
Between Riverside and crazy
Bootycandy
Constellations
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Hand to God
An Octoroon
Punk Rock
Scenes From a Marriage
Wolf Hall, Parts One and Two
Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical
An American in Paris
Finding Neverland
Fun Home
Ghost Quartet
Hamilton
It Shoulda Been You
Something Rotten
The Visit
Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play
Big Love
The Elephant Man
The Heidi Chronicles
The Iceman Cometh
It's Only a Play
Skylight
Tamburlaine, Parts 1 and 2
This is Our Youth
You Can't Take it With You
Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical
Allegro
Into the Woods
The King and I
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century
Nominees for Distinguished Performance
Usman Ally, The Invisible Hand
Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Sterling K. Brown, Father Comes Home from the Wars Parts 1, 2 & 3
Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Kristin Chenoweth, On The Twentieth Century
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Jim Dale, Just Jim Dale
Tyne Daly, It Shoulda Been You
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Renee Fleming, Living on Love
Kelsey Grammer, Finding Neverland
Jake Gyllenhaal, Constellations
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Lisa Howard, It Shoulda Been You
Brian D'Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Big Love
Cush Jumbo, Josephine and I, The River
Andy Karl, On The Twentieth Century
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Lesley Manville, Ghosts
Jan Maxwell, The City of Conversation
Richard McCabe, The Audience
Rob McClure, Honeymoon in Vegas
Ewan McGregor, The Real Thing
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two
Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Helen Mirren, The Audience
Matthew Morrison, Finding Neverland
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Tam Mutu, Doctor Zhivago
Bill Nighy, Skylight
Kelli O'Hara, The King and I
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two
Bryce Pinkham, The Heidi Chronicles
Roger Rees, The Visit
Chita Rivera, The Visit
Alexander Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Douglas Sills, Living on Love
John Douglas Thompson, Tamburlaine, Parts I and II, The Iceman Cometh
Julie White, Airline Highway
Ruth Wilson, Constellations
Tony Yazbeck, On The Town
The Drama League also wishes to acknowledge the previous recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award who appeared in New York productions this season. As the Award can only be won once in a performer's lifetime, they are ineligible this season. Their exemplary work, however, is recognized and applauded.
Kathleen Chalfant, A Walk in the Woods
Stockard Channing, It's Only A Play
Glenn Close, A Delicate Balance
Rosemary Harris, Indian Ink
Hugh Jackman, The River
Cherry Jones, When We Were Young and Unafraid
James Earl Jones, You Can't Take It With You
Nathan Lane, The Iceman Cometh, It's Only A Play
John Lithgow, A Delicate Balance, King Lear
Stockard Channing, It's Only A Play
Glenn Close, A Delicate Balance
Rosemary Harris, Indian Ink
Hugh Jackman, The River
Cherry Jones, When We Were Young and Unafraid
James Earl Jones, You Can't Take It With You
Nathan Lane, The Iceman Cometh, It's Only A Play
John Lithgow, A Delicate Balance, King Lear
Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre
Joel Grey
Unique Contribution to Theatre
WNET: Neil Shapiro and David Horn
Founders Award for Excellence in Directing
Stephen Daldry
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