Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play

Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Play
Drama Desk Award ; for Outstanding Play
Awarded for	Outstanding Play
Location	New York City
Country	United States
Presented by	Drama Desk
First award	1955
Currently held by	Purpose (2025)
Website	dramadesk.org

The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. The award was initially introduced in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, before being removed from the ceremony between 1960 and 1974. The award returned in the 1975 ceremony, with its current title.

Winners and nominees

1950s

Year	Play	Writer
1955
	Le Bal des Voleurs	Jean Anouilh
	The Merchant of Venice	William Shakespeare
	Twelfth Night	William Shakespeare
	The Way of the World	William Congreve
	The White Devil	John Webster
1956
1956	The Iceman Cometh	Eugene O'Neill
1957–59	—

1960s

Year	Play	Writer
1960–69	not awarded

1970s

Year	Play	Writer
1970–74	not awarded
1975
	*Equus*	Peter Shaffer
	Same Time, Next Year	Bernard Slade
	Absurd Person Singular	Alan Ayckbourn
	All Over Town	Murray Schisgal
	Hosanna	Michel Tremblay
	In Praise of Love	Terence Rattigan
	Naomi Court	Michael Sawyer
	The National Health	Peter Nichols
	P.S. Your Cat Is Dead	James Kirkwood, Jr.
	The Ritz	Terrence McNally
	Seascape	Edward Albee
	Sizwe Banzi Is Dead / The Island	Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona
1976
	Streamers	David Rabe
	Kennedy's Children	Robert Patrick
	Lamppost Reunion	Louis Larusso
	Medal of Honor Rag	Tom Cole
	Vanities	Jack Heifner
1977
	A Texas Trilogy	Preston Jones
	Otherwise Engaged	Simon Gray
	American Buffalo	David Mamet
	Comedians	Trevor Griffiths
	Gemini	Albert Innaurato
	G. R. Point	David Berry
	No Man's Land	Harold Pinter
	The Shadow Box	Michael Cristofer
	The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie	Albert Innaurato
1978
	Da	Hugh Leonard
	Fifth of July	Lanford Wilson
	The Gin Game	Donald L. Coburn
	Landscape of the Body	John Guare
	The Merchant	Arnold Wesker
	The Water Engine	David Mamet
1979
	The Elephant Man	Bernard Pomerance
	Nevis Mountain Dew	Steve Carter
	On Golden Pond	Ernest Thompson
	Talley's Folly	Lanford Wilson
	Wings	Arthur Kopit

1980s

Year	Play	Writer
1980
	Children of a Lesser God	Mark Medoff
	Home	Samm-Art Williams
	The Irish Hebrew Lesson	Wolf Mankowitz
	Night and Day	Tom Stoppard
	Talley's Folly	Lanford Wilson
	Teibele and Her Demon	Isaac Bashevis Singer and Eve Friedman
1981
	Amadeus	Peter Shaffer
	Crimes of the Heart	Beth Henley
	Fifth of July	Lanford Wilson
	Mass Appeal	Bill C. Davis
1982
	"Master Harold"...and the Boys	Athol Fugard
	A Soldier's Play	Charles Fuller
	The Dance and the Railroad	David Henry Hwang
	The Dining Room	A. R. Gurney
	Family Devotions	David Henry Hwang
	Grown Ups	Jules Feiffer
1983
	Torch Song Trilogy	Harvey Fierstein
	Brighton Beach Memoirs	Neil Simon
	Edmond	David Mamet
	Extremities	William Mastrosimone
	Geniuses	Jonathan Reynolds
	True West	Sam Shepard
1984
	The Real Thing	Tom Stoppard
	And a Nightingale Sang	C.P. Taylor
	A Private View	Václav Havel
	Glengarry Glen Ross	David Mamet
	Isn't It Romantic	Wendy Wasserstein
	Noises Off	Michael Frayn
1985
	As Is	William M. Hoffman
	Biloxi Blues	Neil Simon
	Digby	Joseph Dougherty
	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	August Wilson
1986
	A Lie of the Mind	Sam Shepard
	Aunt Dan and Lemon	Wallace Shawn
	Benefactors	Michael Frayn
	Execution of Justice	Emily Mann
	Marriage of Bette and Boo	Christopher Durang
	Precious Sons	George Furth
1987
	Fences	August Wilson
	Broadway Bound	Neil Simon
	The Common Pursuit	Simon Gray
	Driving Miss Daisy	Alfred Uhry
	Les Liaisons Dangereuses	Christopher Hampton
	North Shore Fish	Israel Horovitz
	Wild Honey	Michael Frayn
1988
	M. Butterfly	David Henry Hwang
	Boys' Life	Howard Korder
	Joe Turner's Come and Gone	August Wilson
	The Road to Mecca	Athol Fugard
	Speed-the-Plow	David Mamet
	Woman in Mind	Alan Ayckbourn
1989
	The Heidi Chronicles	Wendy Wasserstein
	The Cocktail Hour	A. R. Gurney
	The Film Society	Jon Robin Baitz
	Only Kidding!	Jim Geoghan
	Reckless	Craig Lucas
	Shirley Valentine	Willy Russell

1990s

Year	Play	Writer
1990
	The Piano Lesson	August Wilson
	The Lisbon Traviata	Terrence McNally
	Prelude to a Kiss	Craig Lucas
	The Secret Rapture	David Hare
	Some Americans Abroad	Richard Nelson
1991
	Lost in Yonkers	Neil Simon
	La Bête	David Hirson
	Six Degrees of Separation	John Guare
	The Wash	Philip Kan Gotanda
1992
	Marvin's Room	Scott McPherson
	A Small Family Business	Alan Ayckbourn
	Dancing at Lughnasa	Brian Friel
	Lips Together, Teeth Apart	Terrence McNally
	Mad Forest	Caryl Churchill
	Sight Unseen	Donald Margulies
1993
	Angels in America: Millennium Approaches	Tony Kushner
	Jeffrey	Paul Rudnick
	Joined at the Head	Catherine Butterfield
	Oleanna	David Mamet
	The Sisters Rosensweig	Wendy Wasserstein
	Three Hotels	Jon Robin Baitz
1994
	Angels in America: Perestroika	Tony Kushner
	All in the Timing	David Ives
	The Kentucky Cycle	Robert Schenkkan
	The Lights	Howard Korder
	Pterodactyls	Nicky Silver
	Three Tall Women	Edward Albee
1995
	Love! Valour! Compassion!	Terrence McNally
	Arcadia	Tom Stoppard
	The Cryptogram	David Mamet
	Missing Persons	Craig Lucas
	Raised in Captivity	Nicky Silver
	subUrbia	Eric Bogosian
1996
	Master Class	Terrence McNally
	The Model Apartment	Donald Margulies
	Molly Sweeney	Brian Friel
	Seven Guitars	August Wilson
	Sylvia	A. R. Gurney
	Valley Song	Athol Fugard
1997
	How I Learned to Drive	Paula Vogel
	Dealer's Choice	Patrick Marber
	The Last Night of Ballyhoo	Alfred Uhry
	The Skriker	Caryl Churchill
	This is Our Youth	Kenneth Lonergan
1998
	The Beauty Queen of Leenane	Martin McDonagh
	'Art'	Yasmina Reza
	As Bees In Honey Drown	Douglas Carter Beane
	Collected Stories	Donald Margulies
	Side Man	Warren Leight
	Three Days of Rain	Richard Greenberg
1999
	Wit	Margaret Edson
	Betty's Summer Vacation	Christopher Durang
	Closer	Patrick Marber
	Not About Nightingales	Tennessee Williams
	The Ride Down Mt. Morgan	Arthur Miller
	Snakebit	David Marshall Grant

2000s

Year	Play	Writer
2000
	Copenhagen	Michael Frayn
	Contact with the Enemy	Frank D. Gilroy
	Dinner with Friends	Donald Margulies
	Dirty Blonde	Claudia Shear
	Jitney	August Wilson
	The Tale of the Allergist's Wife	Charles Busch
2001
	Proof	David Auburn
	Boy Gets Girl	Rebecca Gilman
	Comic Potential	Alan Ayckbourn
	The Invention of Love	Tom Stoppard
	Lobby Hero	Kenneth Lonergan
	The Unexpected Man	Yasmina Reza
2002
	The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?	Edward Albee
	Metamorphoses	Mary Zimmerman
	Franny's Way	Richard Nelson
	The Shape of Things	Neil LaBute
	Thief River	Lee Blessing
	Topdog/Underdog	Suzan-Lori Parks
2003
	Take Me Out	Richard Greenberg
	Buicks	Julian Sheppard
	Our Lady of 121st Street	Stephen Adly Guirgis
	Peter and Vandy	Jay DiPietro
	Talking Heads	Alan Bennett
	Yellowman	Dael Orlandersmith
2004
	I Am My Own Wife	Doug Wright
	The Beard of Avon	Amy Freed
	The Distance from Here	Neil LaBute
	Humble Boy	Charlotte Jones
	Moby-Dick	Julian Rad
	The Tricky Part	Martin Moran
2005
	Doubt	John Patrick Shanley
	Democracy	Michael Frayn
	Pentecost	David Edgar
	The Pillowman	Martin McDonagh
	Sailor's Song	John Patrick Shanley
	Sin (A Cardinal Deposed)	Michael Murphy
2006
	The History Boys	Alan Bennett
	Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams	Terrence McNally
	The Lieutenant of Inishmore	Martin McDonagh
	No Foreigners Beyond This Point	Warren Leight
	The Pavilion	Craig Wright
	Stuff Happens	David Hare
2007
	The Coast of Utopia	Tom Stoppard
	The Accomplices	Bernard Weinraub
	Blackbird	David Harrower
	Frost/Nixon	Peter Morgan
	Radio Golf	August Wilson
	Some Men	Terrence McNally
2008
	August: Osage County	Tracy Letts
	Dividing the Estate	Horton Foote
	From Up Here	Liz Flahive
	Horizon	Rinde Eckert
	Intimate Exchanges	Alan Ayckbourn
	Rock 'n' Roll	Tom Stoppard
2009
	Ruined	Lynn Nottage
	Becky Shaw	Gina Gionfriddo
	Body Awareness	Annie Baker
	Fifty Words	Michael Weller
	Lady	Craig Wright
	reasons to be pretty	Neil LaBute

2010s

Year	Play	Writer
2010
	Red	John Logan
	Circle Mirror Transformation	Annie Baker
	Clybourne Park	Bruce Norris
	Happy Now?	Lucinda Coxon
	My Wonderful Day	Alan Ayckbourn
	Next Fall	Geoffrey Nauffts
2011
	War Horse	Nick Stafford
	A Bright New Boise	Samuel D. Hunter
	A Small Fire	Adam Bock
	Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo	Rajiv Joseph
	Good People	David Lindsay-Abaire
	The Motherfker with the Hat	Stephen Adly Guirgis
	Other Desert Cities	Jon Robin Baitz
2012
	Tribes	Nina Raine
	The Big Meal	Dan LeFranc
	By the Way, Meet Vera Stark	Lynn Nottage
	Chinglish	David Henry Hwang
	Completeness	Itamar Moses
	The Lyons	Nicky Silver
	Unnatural Acts	Members of Plastic Theatre
2013
	Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike	Christopher Durang
	The Assembled Parties	Richard Greenberg
	Belleville	Amy Herzog
	Falling	Deanna Jent
	Finks	Joe Gilford
	The Flick	Annie Baker
	Sorry	Richard Nelson
2014
	All the Way	Robert Schenkkan
	Core Values	Steven Levenson
	Domesticated	Bruce Norris
	The Explorers Club	Nell Benjamin
	The Night Alive	Conor McPherson
	Outside Mullingar	John Patrick Shanley
	Regular Singing	Richard Nelson
2015
	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time	Simon Stephens
	You Got Older	Clare Barron
	Airline Highway	Lisa D'Amour
	The City of Conversation	Anthony Giardina
	Between Riverside and Crazy	Stephen Adly Guirgis
	My Manãna Comes	Elizabeth Irwin
	Let the Right One In	Jack Thorne
2016	The Humans	Stephen Karam
	The Christians	Lucas Hnath
	John	Annie Baker
	King Charles III	Mike Bartlett
	The Royale	Marco Ramírez
2017
	Oslo	J. T. Rogers
	If I Forget	Steven Levenson
	Indecent	Paula Vogel
	A Life	Adam Bock
	Sweat	Lynn Nottage
2018
	Admissions	Joshua Harmon
	Mary Jane	Amy Herzog
	Miles for Mary	The Mad Ones
	People, Places and Things	Duncan Macmillan
	School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play	Jocelyn Bioh
2019
	The Ferryman	Jez Butterworth
	Fairview	Jackie Sibblies Drury
	Lewiston/Clarkston	Samuel D. Hunter
	Usual Girls	Ming Peiffer
	What the Constitution Means to Me	Heidi Schreck

2020s

Year	Play	Writer
2020
	The Inheritance	Matthew Lopez
	Cambodian Rock Band	Lauren Yee
	Greater Clements	Samuel D. Hunter
	Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven	Stephen Adly Guirgis
	Heroes of the Fourth Turning	Will Arbery
2021	No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City^[1]
2022
	Prayer for the French Republic	Joshua Harmon
	The Chinese Lady	Lloyd Suh
	Cullud Wattah	Erika Dickerson-Despenza
	English	Sanaz Toossi
	Sanctuary City	Martyna Majok
	Selling Kabul	Sylvia Khoury
2023
	Leopoldstadt	Tom Stoppard
	A Case for the Existence of God	Samuel D. Hunter
	Fat Ham	James Ijames
	Love	Alexander Zeldin
	Prima Facie	Suzie Miller
	Wish You Were Here	Sanaz Toossi
2024
	Stereophonic	David Adjmi
	Infinite Life	Annie Baker
	Jaja's African Hair Braiding	Jocelyn Bioh
	Mother Play	Paula Vogel
	Swing State	Rebecca Gilman
	The Ally	Itamar Moses
2025^[2]
	Purpose	Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
	Blood of the Lamb	Arlene Hutton
	Deep Blue Sound	Abe Koogler
	Grangeville	Samuel D. Hunter
	John Proctor is the Villain	Kimberly Belflower
	Liberation	Bess Wohl

References

^ Evans, Greg (2021-05-05). "Broadway To Reopen Sept. 14, Says Gov. Andrew Cuomo; Broadway League "Cautiously Optimistic"". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
^ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 30, 2025). "Boop! Leads 2025 Drama Desk Award Nominations With 11 Nods Including Outstanding Musical; Read the Full List Here". Retrieved May 5, 2025.

[1] Evans, Greg (2021-05-05). "Broadway To Reopen Sept. 14, Says Gov. Andrew Cuomo; Broadway League "Cautiously Optimistic"". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-12-03.

[2] Culwell-Block, Logan (April 30, 2025). "Boop! Leads 2025 Drama Desk Award Nominations With 11 Nods Including Outstanding Musical; Read the Full List Here". Retrieved May 5, 2025.

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