Annaleigh Ashford, Into the Woods Among Winners at 2023 Drama League Awards

Winners of the 2023 Drama League Awards, celebrating achievement on Broadway and Off, have been announced. The 89th annual awards ceremony was held on May 19 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom.

Broadway productions from the 2022-2023 season swept in all seven categories.

Annaleigh Ashford took home the Distinguished Performance Award for her turn as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. The prize can only be won a single time in a performer’s career.

Into the Woods received two awards: one for director Lear deBessonet and another for Outstanding Revival of a Musical. Some Like It Hot took home the award for Outstanding Production of a Musical, while Leopoldstadt won for Outstanding Production of a Play. A Doll’s House received the Outstanding Revival of a Play award. Anne Kauffman walked away with the award for Outstanding Director of a Play for her work on The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.

In addition, this year’s special honorees included deBessonet, Tony winner André De Shields, the Drama Book Shop and J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management chief communications officer Darin Oduyoye.

A full list of winners and nominees can be found below. Winners are notated in bold.

Outstanding Production of a Play
Leopoldstadt
the bandaged place
Cost of Living
Dark Disabled Stories
Downstate
Elyria
Fat Ham
Good Night, Oscar
Life of Pi
Peter Pan Goes Wrong
Prima Facie
Public Obscenities
Summer, 1976

Outstanding Revival of a Play
A Doll's House
Ohio State Murders
Hamlet/Oresteia
The Piano Lesson
A Raisin in the Sun
The Sign in Sidney Burstein's Window
The Thanksgiving Play
Topdog/Underdog
Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White 
Wolf Play

Outstanding Production of a Musical
Some Like It Hot
& Juliet
A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical
Dreaming Zensile
New York, New York
Shucked
Titanique
White Girl in Danger
Wise Children's Wuthering Heights

Outstanding Revival of a Musical 
Into the Woods
Bob Fosse's Dancin'
Camelot
A Man of No Importance
Parade
1776
Sweeney Todd

Outstanding Direction of a Play
Anne Kauffman, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window 
Jo Bonney, Cost of Living
Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Public Obscenities
Kenny Leon, Topdog/Underdog
Jamie Lloyd, A Doll's House
David Mendizábal, the bandaged place
Awoye Timpo, Elyria, and Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White
Dustin Wills, Wolf Play

Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Lear deBessonet, Into The Woods 
Lileana Blain-Cruz, Dreaming Zenzile, and White Girl In Danger
Thomas Kail, Sweeney Todd
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Jack O'Brien, Shucked
Bartlett Sher, Camelot
Susan Stroman, New York, New York

Distinguished Performance Award
Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Topdog/Underdog
Hiran Abeysekera, Life of Pi
Sara Bareilles, Into the Woods
Stephanie Berry, the bandaged place
Brittany Bradford, Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story In Black And White
Danielle Brooks, The Piano Lesson
Rachel Brosnahan, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
Marylouise Burke, Epiphany
D'Arcy Carden, The Thanksgiving Play
Jessica Chastain, A Doll's House
Sharon D Clarke, Death of a Salesman
Jodie Comer, Prima Facie
Jordan E. Cooper, Ain't No Mo'
Lorna Courtney, & Juliet
Micaela Diamond, Parade
K. Todd Freeman, Downstate
J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot
Josh Groban, Sweeney Todd
Ryan J. Haddad, Dark Disabled Stories
Corey Hawkins, Topdog/Underdog
Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Oscar Isaac, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
Tarra Conner Jones, White Girl in Danger
Esco Jouléy, Wolf Play
Somi Kakoma, Dreaming Zenzile
David Krumholtz, Leopoldstadt
Linda Lavin, You Will Get Sick
Laura Linney, Summer, 1976
Jefferson Mays, A Christmas Carol
Patina Miller, Into the Woods
Marla Mindelle, Titanique
Arian Moayed, A Doll's House
Gargi Mukherjee, Public Obscenities
Alex Newell, Shucked
Jeremy Pope, The Collaboration
Colton Ryan, New York, New York
Phillipa Soo, Camelot
Marcel Spears, Fat Ham
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living
Will Swenson, A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical
John Douglas Thompson, Endgame
Anna Uzele, New York, New York
John David Washington, The Piano Lesson
Betsy Wolfe, & Juliet
David Zayas, Cost of Living
 

Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre
André De Shields

Founders Award for Excellence in Directing
Lear deBessonet

Contribution to the Theater
The Drama Book Shop

The Gratitude Award
Darin Oduyoye

The Drama League is managed under the leadership of artistic director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks and executive director Bevin Ross. The Drama League Awards event chair is Bonnie Comley. The steering committee is chaired by Townsend Teague and also includes Valerie Novakoff Britten, Donna Daniels, Jonathan Demar, Irene Gandy, Sarah Hutton, Kenneth Hyne, Una Jackman, Mary Jain, Paula Kaminsky Davis, Fred Siegel and Kumiko Yoshii.