Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play
- Jessica Chastain,
- Sean Hayes
- (2023)
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City.
From 1955 to 1974, acting awards were given only for lead performances, without making distinctions between roles in plays and musicals, nor between actors and actresses. From 1975 to 2022, acting awards were presented in eight categories: separate categories by gender; further divided by lead or featured performer; producing four acting awards each for plays and musicals.
In 2023, the Drama Desk organization announced that, starting with that year's awards, the eight acting categories had been retired and replaced with four gender neutral categories with twice the winners and nominees: separate categories by lead or featured performer; producing two acting categories each for plays and musicals.[1] The former awards for Outstanding Actor in a Play and Outstanding Actress in a Play were merged to create this Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play category.
Nominees
2020s
| Year | Actor | Title | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 [2] | |||
| Sean Hayes | Good Night, Oscar | Oscar Levant | |
| Jessica Chastain | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer | |
| Hiran Abeysekera | Life of Pi | Pi | |
| Kyle Beltran | A Case for the Existence of God | Keith | |
| Will Brill | A Case for the Existence of God | Ryan | |
| Brittany Bradford | Wedding Band | Julia Augustine | |
| Sharon D. Clarke | Death of a Salesman | Linda Loman | |
| Denise Manning | Amani | Amani | |
| Audra McDonald | Ohio State Murders | Suzanne Alexander | |
| Wendell Pierce | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | |
| John Douglas Thompson | Endgame | Hamm | |
| Kara Young | Twelfth Night | Viola | |
| 2024 [3] | |||
| Nicole Cooper | Macbeth (an undoing) | Lady Macbeth | |
| William Jackson Harper | Primary Trust | Kenneth | |
| Jessica Lange | Mother Play | Phyllis | |
| Rachel McAdams | Mary Jane | Mary Jane | |
| Tobias Menzies | The Hunt | Lucas | |
| Leslie Odom, Jr. | Purlie Victorious | Purlie Victorious Judson | |
| Sarah Paulson | Appropriate | Antoinette "Toni" Lafayette | |
| A.J. Shively | Philadelphia, Here I Come! | Gareth “Gar” O’Donnell | |
| Juliet Stevenson | The Doctor | Ruth Wolff | |
| Michael Stuhlbarg | Patriots | Boris Berezovsky |
References
- ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 26, 2023). "Drama Desk Awards Go Gender Neutral". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ Gordon, David (April 27, 2023). "Shucked, Some Like It Hot Lead 2023 Drama Desk Award Nominations". Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "Dead Outlaw, The Outsiders Lead 2024 Drama Desk Award Nominations; See the Full List". Playbill. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
