Tony-winning actor Nathan Lane will be honored with the Harold S. Prince Award at the 2024 Drama Desk Awards, set to be held June 10 at NYU Skirball Center. Named for the late, legendary director-producer, the award is a lifetime achievement honor that the Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway honors have bestowed since the 2020 ceremony.
Also receiving a special honor at the 2024 ceremony will be outgoing Lincoln Center Theater Artistic Director André Bishop. He will be given the inaugural William Wolf Award, named for the late arts journalist and critic, in recognition of his "achievement, high standards, and innovation, including generosity and 'giving back' to the entertainment community."
“We’re delighted to honor Nathan Lane and André Bishop,” say Drama Desk Co-Presidents David Barbour and Charles Wright in a joint statement. “Nathan is one of the most versatile actors on the English-speaking stage, with range from musical theatre to works of Eugene O'Neill and Tony Kushner. André, at the helm of two distinguished theatre companies, has nurtured and championed a myriad of important artists—especially playwrights. It’s a privilege to celebrate their achievements.”
Dead Outlaw and The Outsiders are the most nominated productions going into this year's Drama Desks with 11 and nine nominations, respectively. See the full list of nominations here.
Additional non-competitive special awards will be given out at the June 10 ceremony, along with Lane and Bishop's wins, with the cast of Stereophonic earning the Ensemble Award and Oh, Mary! writer and star Cole Escola the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award. Additionally earning special recognition: the Autistic Representation Team from Broadway's How to Dance in Ohio, lighting designer Isabella Byrd, and press agent Irene Gandy, the latter for career achievement.
The Drama Desk Awards, recognizing the best of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway, is one of several NYC theatre awards systems to go gender neutral with its performance categories. All performance categories include twice as many nominees as when the categories were gendered, and two winners will be named in each. A tie could lead to more than two winners in one category.
The Awards are voted on by theatre critics, journalists, editors, and publishers. This year's nominating committee comprised Martha Wade Steketee, Linda Armstrong, Dan Dinero, Peter Filichia, Kenji Fujishima, Margaret Hall, and Charles Wright.
