During the Gratitude Awards livestream ceremony on April 30, actors Alex Brightman and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer announced the nominees for the 86th annual Drama League Awards. The winners of this year’s special awards include James Lapine (Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater) and Terrence McNally (Unique Contribution to Theater). The league’s artistic director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks and executive director Bevin Ross will announce the competitive winners via livestream in June.
The 10 nominees for Outstanding Production of a Musical include the Broadway shows Girl from the North Country (book by Conor McPherson, music and lyrics by Bob Dylan), Jagged Little Pill (book by Diablo Cody, music and lyrics by Alanis Morissette, music by Glen Ballard), Moulin Rouge! (book by John Logan), Six (book, music, and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss), and Tina (book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins) as well as the Off-Broadways shows Octet (book, music, and lyrics by Dave Malloy), The Secret Life of Bees (book by Lynn Nottage, music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead), Sing Street (book by Enda Walsh, music and lyrics by Gary Clark and John Carney), Soft Power (book and lyrics by David Henry Hwang, music and addl. lyrics by Jeanine Tesori), and A Strange Loop (book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson).
The five nominees for Outstanding Revival of a Musical include the Broadway show West Side Story (book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) as well as the Off-Broadway shows Enter Laughing (book by Joseph Stein, music and lyrics by Stan Daniels), Little Shop of Horrors (book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken), Rock of Ages (book by Chris D’Arienzo), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (book and new lyrics by Dick Scanlan, music and lyrics by Meredith Willson).