Guide to NYC Theater Awards
It’s theater awards season! Here’s our guide to distinguishing the major* awards.
*Are there other awards? Yes. Have a different opinion about which awards are the major theater awards? Let us know. We’re at @maxamoo.
Who awards the award?
The Tony Awards are jointly administered by The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League.
The American Theatre Wing is a non-profit organization that operates educational and outreach programs to support American theater. It created the Tony Awards in 1947. The award is named after Antoinette Perry, a long-time president of the organization.
The Broadway League is a membership trade association for theater owners, operators, and producers in North America. The Broadway League represents Broadway theater* producers in collective bargaining negotiations with theatrical unions and guilds.
*What is Broadway theater? “Broadway” is a technical term for 40 theaters located in New York City, each has 500 or more seats.
Who is eligible for the award?
The Tonys, arguably the most well-known theater award, are given exclusively to Broadway performances and productions. Productions must open prior to a pre-determined date (this year’s date is April 24, 2014) to be eligible for nomination.
What are the award categories?
There are 26 competitive Tony Award categories and several non-competitive awards, including the Regional Theatre Tony Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, and Isabelle Stevenson Award, which recognizes public service by a member of the theater community.
How are winners picked?
A nominating committee of approximately 50 theater professionals selects nominees and then approximately 800 Tony voters pick the winners. Tony voters are members of The Broadway League, The American Theatre Wing board of directors, and representatives of Actors Equity Association, Dramatist Guild, United Scenic Artists, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, Theatrical Council of the Casting Society of America, New York Drama Critics’ Circle, National Association of Talent Representatives, and the Tony Awards Nominating Committee.
When will the awards be announced?
Jonathan Groff and Lucy Liu announced the nominees for the 68th Tony Awards on April 29th, for the list of nominees click here. The awards ceremony is on June 8, 2014 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Actor Hugh Jackman will host. The ceremony is televised and also open to the public, tickets can be purchased here.
Where can I get more information?
At the Tony Awards website.
Who awards the award?
The Off-Broadway League (or formally The League of Off-Broadway Theaters and Producers) is a membership trade association for theaters, producers, and productions performed at Off-Broadway theaters.* The Off-Broadway League represents Off-Broadway theater producers in collective bargaining negotiations with theatrical unions and guilds.
In 1986, The Off-Broadway League established the Lucille Lortel Awards in association with the Lucille Lortel Foundation, a not-for-profit that supports Off-Broadway theaters and seeks to preserve Off-Broadway’s history. The Awards recognize excellence in the Off-Broadway arena.
*What is Off-Broadway theater? “Off Broadway” is a technical term for theaters in New York City with between 100 and 499 seats.
Who is eligible for the award?
To be eligible, a production must be an Off-Broadway League member (i.e. apply for membership and pay annual dues of between $100 and $350), run for at least 21 performances, and open between April 1 and March 31 of the applicable year.
What are the award categories?
This year, for the first time, the acting categories will be separate for performances in musicals and plays. Awards are also given for design, direction, and separately to a play, musical, revival (a single award, the category combines plays and musicals), and solo show. There are also several special honors such as a Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded this year to producer Robyn Goodman, and induction to the Playwrights’ Sidewalk in front of the Lucille Lortel Theater, similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame plaques in the sidewalk, bestowed this year on playwright Richard Nelson.
How are winners picked?
A voting committee comprised of 16 to 20 representatives from the Off-Broadway League, Lortel Foundation, Actors’ Equity Association, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, as well as academics, journalists, and theater professionals selects the nominees and the winners.
When will the awards be announced?
The nominees for the 2014 Lucille Lortel Awards were announced April 1, a full list can be found here. The official ceremony to announce the winners will take place on May 4, 2014 at the NYU Skirball Center, hosted by husband and wife Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally. The ceremony is open to the public, tickets can be purchased here.
Where can I get more information?
At The Lucille Lortel Awards website.
Who awards the award?
The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation
The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 2004, to recognize and promote Off-Off-Broadway theater, sometimes called independent or indie theater, meaning theater performed in venues with 99 or fewer seats.
Who is eligible for the award?
The New York Innovative Theatre Awards honor Off-Off-Broadway productions exclusively. Eligible productions must have a budget of less than $40,000, ticket prices equal to $30 or less, and complete eight performances between June 1 and May 31 of the applicable year.
What are the award categories?
In addition to traditional categories recognizing acting, writing, design, and directing, the New York Innovative Theatre Awards give awards for solo performance, ensemble, and performance art. There are also special awards that recognize achievement apart from specific productions: the Artistic Achievement Award acknowledges significant artistic contributions to the Off-Off-Broadway community; the Stewardship Award is granted for significant contributions to the Off-Off-Broadway community through service, support, and leadership; and the Caffe Cino Fellowship Award, which includes a cash grant, goes to an Off-Off-Broadway theatre company that consistently produces outstanding work.
How are winners picked?
Each eligible performance is seen by three judges from the NYITA judging pool, who give the production a score. The judges’ aggregated scores account for 75% of the show’s rating. The remaining 25% is determined by votes from audience members. The NYITAs are unique because they take audience opinions into account when adjudicating the awards. Audience members are invited to submit an online ballot for each production attended. For more information about the NYITA adjudication process consult this animated powerpoint presentation.
When will the awards be announced?
The awards are announced in the Fall, details for the 10th New York Innovative Theatre Awards are yet to be released.
Where can I get more information?
At the New York Innovative Theater Award website.
Who awards the award?
Founded in 1949, Drama Desk is a not-for-profit organization of editors, critics, reporters, and freelance writers from newspapers, magazines, websites, and blogs that cover New York City theater. Drama Desk hosts regular panel and forum discussions about theater and annually, since 1955, bestows the Drama Desk Awards.
Who is eligible for the award?
The Drama Desk Awards do not distinguish between large and small productions, meaning the cast, creatives, and shows on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway all compete in the same categories.
What are the award categories?
Drama Desk Awards are given in more than thirty categories to individuals and productions, including the usual acting, writing, and directing categories. Drama Desk also recognizes an Outstanding Ensemble and a Unique Theatrical Experience (last year’s award went to Cirque Du Soleil: Totem).
How are winners picked?
A committee of Drama Desk members nominates candidates in each award category. Eligible members of the Drama Desk (anyone with a conflict of interest is disqualified from voting) then vote to pick a winner among the nominees in each category.
When will the awards be announced?
Drama Desk announced the nominees for the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards on April 25, 2014, for the list of nominees click here. Drama Desk will announce the winners on June 1, 2014 at an event hosted by Laura Benanti at Town Hall in New York City. The award ceremony is open to the public. Tickets may be purchased here.
Where can I get more information?
At the Drama Desk Awards website.
Who awards the award?
The Drama League is a membership organization for theater lovers. Artists and appreciators alike are invited to join.
The Drama League is nearly a century old and dedicated to promoting interaction between theater artists and audiences beyond the performance. It organizes annual events, conferences, and seminars; offers discounts and special benefits to its members; and provides training to artists. The Drama League first granted awards for excellence in 1922, making it the oldest theatrical honor in the U.S.
Who is eligible for the award?
Broadway and Off-Broadway productions are eligible for Drama League Awards.
What are the award categories?
There are five competitive categories for a Drama League Award: play; musical; revival of a play; revival of a musical; and performance. The award for performance is bestowed each season on a single performer from Broadway or Off-Broadway and a person can win it only once in a lifetime.
In addition, there are honorary awards for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre, Founders Award for Excellence in Directing, and Unique Contribution to the Theatre.
How are winners picked?
The nominees for the Drama League Awards are chosen by a committee of 6 members who attend each show and then the winners are picked by the entire Drama League membership — thousands of theater professionals, critics, and audience members — from all over the country.
When will the awards be announced?
The Drama League announced the nominees of the 80th Drama League Awards on April 23, 2014, for the list of nominees click here. The winners will be announced at a luncheon hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on May 16, 2014. The ceremony is open to the public, tickets can be purchased here.
Where can I get more information?
Who awards the award?
The Village Voice is a legendary, free, weekly newspaper in New York City established in 1955 by Ed Fancher, Dan Wolf, and Norman Mailer. The Voice created the Village Voice OBIE Awards, or just the Obies, shortly after its founding to recognize New York’s then-burgeoning Off-Broadway theater scene.
Who is eligible for the award?
Performances and productions at Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theaters are eligible for Obies.
What are the award categories?
The Obies have an informal view of categories, except for the Lifetime Achievement Award and Best New American Play Award, no set list of categories recurs annually. Generally, however, awards are given for performance, playwriting, design, music and lyrics, and direction. In addition, the Obies recognize theater companies with cash prize “Obie grants.”
How are winners picked?
A panel of Village Voice critics, guest critics, and New York theater professionals selects the categories and winners — often multiple winners in each category. Michael Feingold, a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism and George Jean Nathan Award winner, chairs the 2014 panel.
When will the awards be announced?
The 59th OBIE Awards ceremony is at Webster Hall on May 19, 2014 and will be hosted by Hamish Linklater and Tamara Tunie. The ceremony is open to the public, tickets can be purchased here.
Where can I get more information?
For more information on the 2014 ceremony visit the Village Voice Obie Awards 2014 webpage. For more information on past award winners visit the Village Voice Obie Awards Archives webpage.