The
Drama Desk Special Award is presented by the Drama
Desk, a committee comprising New York City
theatre critics, writers, and editors.
It honors
an individual or an organization that has made a significant
contribution to Broadway
, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, or legitimate
not-for-profit theatre.
It was not until the 21st Annual Drama Desk Awards in 1975 that a
special award was presented. The first recipients were
Donald Sinden for
London Assurance and
Tovah Feldshuh for
Yentl.
Additional winners
- 1976
- Hartman Theatre Company for Outstanding Contribution by a New
Theater Company
- Queens Theater in the Park for Outstanding Contribution by a
New Theater Company
- 1978
- Off Off Broadway Theater Movement for Outstanding Contribution
to Theater
- 1980
- 1982
- 1983
- 1984
- 1985
- 1986
- 1987
- Stanley Lebowsky for musical direction and commitment to
theater
- Paul Davis and Frank Verlizzo for inspired art work for
theatrical productions
- Henry Cohen, Donald Rose, and Robert Kimball for rescuing
classic Broadway scores
- 1988
- Actors' Equity for 75 years of
championing the professional actor
- Theatre on Film and Tape Archive for the preservation of our
theatrical heritage
- Yale Repertory Theatre
for nurturing plays of significance
- Michael Feinstein for
celebrating American musical theater songs
- 1989
- 1990
- The Fund for New American Plays for support of American
playwrights and theaters
- Jule Styne for a lifetime of glorious
theater music
- Kevin Haney for his makeup for
Tru and other shows
- 1991
- Brooklyn Academy of Music
for bringing international productions to New
York
- James McMullan for consistently
inspired art work for theater
- New Dramatists for decades of nurturing American
playwrights
- Harold Rome for his distinctive
contribution to musical theatre
- 1993
- 1994
- John A. Willis for fifty years of devotion to theater
and its artists
- Janet Hayes Walker for twenty-five years at the York Theatre
Company
- 1995
- Eileen Atkins
- Otis L. Guernsey, Jr.
- The Non-Traditional Casting Project
- 1995
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
- 1999
- 2000
- 2001
- 2002
- Paul Huntley for Lifetime Achievement
- Billy Rosenfield for preserving musical theatre recordings
- Mint Theater Company for presenting/preserving little known
classics
- Worth
Street Theater Company for its Stage Door Canteen shows at Ground
Zero
- 2003
- 2004
- 2005
- Keen Company for plays that build upon our theatrical
heritage
- The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival for fifty
years of exceptional theater contributions
- 2006
- 2007
- John Kander and Fred Ebb for forty-two years of excellence in
advancing the art of the musical theatre
- Austin Pendleton - a
Renaissance man of the American theatre
- Transport Group for its breadth of vision and its presentation
of challenging productions
- Folksbiene for preserving for
ninety-two consecutive seasons the cultural legacy of Yiddish theatre in America
- 2008
- Edward Albee, "whose provocative
plays, including this season's Peter and Jerry, enrich the
American theater"
- James Earl Jones, who has been
"a commanding force on the stage for nearly half a century"
- Playwrights Horizons "for
ongoing support to generations of theater artists and undiminished
commitment to producing new work"
- 59E59 Theaters, "whose imaginative curatorial vision has
created a stimulating environment to nurture a diverse range of
artists"
- 2009
- Liza Minnelli, "a beloved musical
theater icon, for her enduring career of sustained excellence, and
her glorious performance in Liza's at The Palace...!"
- Atlantic Theater Company
and artistic director Neil Pepe "for exceptional
craftsmanship, dedication to excellence and productions that
engage, inspire and enlighten"
- TADA! Youth Theater "for providing an
invaluable contribution to the future of the theater. The company
makes outstanding training and experience accessible and affordable
to young people and mounts productions remarkable for their quality
and professionalism"
- Forbidden Broadway
"at the end of its nearly three-decade run and the creators, casts,
designers who made it an unparalleled New York institution
cherished for its satire and celebration of Broadway"
External links
/New York
Shakespeare Festival for puppetry at
the Public Theater
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