The 65th annual Drama Desk Awards will be televised during a special presentation of Spectrum News NY1’s “On Stage” on May 31 instead of a traditional ceremony due to the coronavirus outbreak. The awards show will also stream on NY1 and the Drama Desk Awards’ websites.
“Though these are challenging times, we knew we wanted to find some way to honor this year’s Drama Desk Award nominees and recipients, as well as to bring some small sense of normalcy and hope to New York’s theater community,” said Matt Britten, Drama Desk Awards executive producer in a statement. “I want to thank NY1, as well as the team at Joey Parnes Productions, for stepping up to make this happen for the New York theater community and theater fans everywhere. Good things happen when you work with good people.”
More details about the telecast will be announced in the coming weeks. The Drama Desk Awards honor Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions.
Nominations, announced on Tuesday, had musicals “Soft Power” and “The Wrong Man” leading the way. Hollywood actors like Ruth Negga (“Hamlet”), Rose Byrne (“Medea”) and David Alan Grier (“A Soldier’s Play”) are up for their performances. Other plays and musicals with multiple nominations include “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” “The Secret Life of Bees,” “The Inheritance,” “West Side Story” and “Moulin Rouge!”
The Drama Desk Awards are presented by the Drama Desk organization, partnering with Broadway Brands. The ceremony is produced in consultation with Joey Parnes Productions.
(Pictured: “The Wrong Man”)
