Norm Lewis Will Announce the 69th Drama Desk Awards Nominations This Week

Stage and screen star Norm Lewis will announce the 69th Annual Drama Desk Awards nominations on April 30 at 12:50 PM on Spectrum News NY1. Norm will make the announcement with On Stage host Frank DiLella and Spectrum News NY1 anchor Rocco Vertuccio.

The Drama Desk Awards are the only major New York City theater awards for which productions on Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories. This year’s Awards are taking place on Sunday, June 1 at the NYU Skirball and will be hosted by Debra Messing and Tituss Burgess.

The 69th Annual Drama Desk Awards are Executive Produced by Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jenen. For the first time, 100% of net proceeds from the Drama Desk Awards benefits the Entertainment Community Fund. Charles Wright and David Barbour are the co-Presidents of the Drama Desk.

As has been the case, all performance categories will be gender-free. The updated gender-free categories are: Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play, Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, and Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical. 

Each of these categories will have twice as many nominees as the former gendered categories and voters will cast two votes for each category. These categories will also have two winners each. If there is a tie, there may be more than two winners in a category. Additional details will be announced shortly.

What sets the Drama Desk Awards apart is that they are voted on and bestowed by theater critics, journalists, editors, and publishers covering theater. The Drama Desk Awards honor all aspects of New York’s professional theater.