New York, NY – The 2018 Drama Desk Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, April 26th, at Feinstein’s/54 Below in midtown Manhattan.
Actors Jane Krakowski (30 Rock, She Loves Me, Nine, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid, Guys and Dolls, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) were on hand to read the names that are in the running for the 63rd annual Awards, to be presented on June 3rd at The Town Hall.
The Drama Desk stands out because its awards for outstanding achievement encompass not only Broadway productions, but Off- and Off-Off Broadway as well, putting all three in competition in the same categories. Also, the awards are voted on by those without a vested interest in the results: theater critics, journalists, and editors and publishers that cover theater.
Charles Wright, president of the Drama Desk, told LaborPress that theater, which includes musicals and plays, is not just “for an elite,” as we sometimes think of it, perhaps because it has become, for some, prohibitively expensive in its Broadway form. However, Off and Off-Off Broadway are much less expensive, and, he tells us, “it is all over the boroughs, in different spaces, price ranges, and even free.” Theater people, he says, have a unique way of using and adapting to all situations in the service of pursuing their art.
Charles Wright, president of the Drama Desk, told LaborPress that theater, which includes musicals and plays, is not just ‘for an elite…’
With the ever-increasing prices of movies and even cable, theater offers an alternative – the chance to see a unique, live experience, one that will be different in subtle ways in every performance. There is no substitute to seeing actors, without cuts and edits, bring a character to life. It is also a way to see the results of the labor of those behind the scenes – stagehands, lighting designers, costume designers, musicians and many more – and to support them in their working life.
Drama Desk Awards categories honoring these unseen yet dedicated professionals include Outstanding Set Design, Costume Design, Orchestrations, Lighting Design, Projection Design, Sound Design, and Wig and Hair.
