“Hamilton,” “The Humans” and Lin-Manuel Miranda were among the winners of the 2016 Drama League Awards, which anointed a quintet of winners that are also in the running for the Tony Awards.
“Hamilton” took the award for new musical and “Humans” scored new play, while in the revival categories, “The Color Purple” won for musical and “A View from the Bridge” for play. Miranda, the creator-star of “Hamilton,” walked away with the Drama League’s one performance award, beating out a long list of nominees that included Lupita Nyong’o, Jessica Lange, Michelle Williams, Jeff Daniels, Anne Hathaway, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Zachary Levi.
In many cases, the League voters — made up of the organization’s thousands of theatergoer-members — selected winners from a pool of nominees that looked a lot like the Tony awards races, so the victories with the League could represent trending momentum. But it’s not an exact science: Unlike the Broadway-centric Tony Awards, many Off Broadway shows were also considered, and “Shuffle Along,” the musical that earned 10 Tony noms, wasn’t considered for the League awards this year because of its late opening date.
In addition to the competitive awards, the League doled out special honors to Sheldon Harnick (“Fiddler on the Roof,” “She Loves Me”), Deaf West Theater (“Spring Awakening”) and Ivo van Hove, the director of “View from the Bridge” and the current “The Crucible.”
Winners of the Drama League Awards — handed out every year by the nonprofit focused on theater development, support and education — were announced as part of a gala luncheon May 20. Levi, current appearing in Broadway’s “She Loves Me,” co-hosted with “Noises Off” cast member Megan Hilty.
The full list of 2016 Drama League Awards follows.
2016 DRAMA LEAGUE AWARDS WINNERS
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
“Hamilton”
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY
“The Humans”
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
“The Color Purple”
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY
“A View From The Bridge”
DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE AWARD
Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton”
DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSICAL THEATER
Sheldon Harnick
UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEATER
Deaf West Theater
FOUNDERS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DIRECTING
Ivo van Hove
