Presented on Sunday, May 17 at the historic Town Hall in New York City – for the first time since the Covid pandemic – the 2026 Drama Desk Awards were hosted by Titanique’s Marla Mindelle. This year’s Drama Desk Awards were the largest gathering of Drama Desk winners and nominees, past and present, ever assembled for this celebration of artists, institutions, and communities that have defined seventy years of New York theater – from the Off-Off-Broadway movement to the great Broadway houses, from the city's longest-running musicals to its boldest new work.
Dane Lafferty, Jen Schriever, and Michael Arden repeated their Outer Critics Circle Award wins for The Lost Boys, for which this trio is also nominated for Tonys this year.
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And the 2026 Drama Desk design winners are:
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play
• Chloe Lamford, Death of a Salesman
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical
• Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play
• Paul Tazewell, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical
• Qween Jean, CATS: The Jellicle Ball
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play
• Jack Knowles, Death of a Salesman
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical
• Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys
Outstanding Sound Design of a Play
• Tom Gibbons, Oedipus
Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical
• Mikhail Fiksel, Mexodus (includes looping systems architecture)
Outstanding Projection and Video Design
• Tal Yarden, Oedipus
Outstanding Puppetry
• Axtell Expressions, Amaze
The Harold S. Prince Award
Among other special awards, the 2026 Harold S. Prince Award was presented to Tom Schumacher, former president of Disney Theatrical Productions, for his outstanding contributions to the theater.
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