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‘SpongeBob,’ ‘Harry Potter,’ and ‘Carousel’ Lead 2018 Drama Desk Winners

Other winners include ‘Admissions,’ ‘Angels in America,’ ‘My Fair Lady,’ and more.

NEW YORK CITY: The 63rd annual Drama Desk Awards were presented on June 3 at Town Hall and honored Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions that opened during the 2017-18 season. TheaterMania presented the awards, which were hosted by Michael Urie.

SpongeBob SquarePants was the biggest winner of the night, garnering six awards including outstanding musical, outstanding director for Tina Landau, and outstanding actor for Ethan Slater. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Carousel were the other front runners, with five awards each, including outstanding director for Cursed Child’s John Tiffany and outstanding actress and featured actress for Carousel’s Jessie Mueller and Lindsay Mendez, respectively.

Other winners included Lincoln Center Theater’s Admissions by Joshua Harmon, which won outstanding play; Angels in America, which won three awards, including outstanding revival of a play; and My Fair Lady, which won two awards, including outstanding revival of a musical.

In addition to the competitive awards, special awards were given to members of the New York theatre community who have made significant contributions throughout the season. Sean Carvajal and Edi Gathegi of Signature Theatre’s Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train were presented with a special award for their last-minute entrances into the production.

The Ensemble Award was given to the cast of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (Nabiyah Be, MaameYaa Boafo, Paige Gilbert, Zainab Jah, Níkẹ Uche Kadri, Abena Mensah-Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole, and Myra Lucretia Taylor).

Juan Castano of Oedipus El Rey, A Parallelogram, and Transfers received the Sam Norkin Award for his varied performances throughout the season.

The Drama Desk Awards are the only New York theatre awards that evaluate and recognize Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway shows by the same criteria.

The complete list of winners is below:

Outstanding Play
Admissions, by Joshua Harmon, Lincoln Center Theater

Outstanding Musical
SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Revival of a Play
Angels in America

Outstanding Revival of a Musical
My Fair Lady

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Jessie Mueller, Carousel

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Nathan Lane, Angels in America

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Jamie Brewer, Amy and the Orphans, Roundabout Underground

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Gavin Lee, SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Lindsay Mendez, Carousel

Outstanding Director of a Play
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Tina Landau, SpongeBob SquarePants

The LaDuca Award for Outstanding Choreography
Justin Peck, Carousel

Outstanding Music
David Friedman, Desperate Measures, The York Theatre Company

Outstanding Lyrics
Peter Kellogg, Desperate Measures

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Tina Fey, Mean Girls

Outstanding Orchestrations
Jonathan Tunick, Carousel

Outstanding Music in a Play
Imogen Heap, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

The Hudson Scenic Studio Award for Outstanding Set Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Three Tall Women

Outstanding Set Design for a Musical
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and the King

Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
Catherine Zuber, My Fair Lady

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play
Neil Austin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical
Jules Fisher, Peggy Eisenhauer, Once on This Island

Outstanding Projection Design
Finn Ross and Ash J. Woodward, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Gareth Fry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Kai Harada, The Band’s Visit

Outstanding Wig and Hair
Charles G. LaPointe, SpongeBob SquarePants

Outstanding Solo Performance
Billy Crudup, Harry Clarke, Vineyard Theatre

The Chase Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
Derren Brown: Secret, Atlantic Theater Company

Outstanding Fight Choreography
Steve Rankin, Carousel

Outstanding Puppet Design
Michael Curry, Frozen

SPECIAL AWARDS

Ensemble Award
School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play; Nabiyah Be, MaameYaa Boafo, Paige Gilbert, Zainab Jah, Níkẹ Uche Kadri, Abena Mensah-Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole, and Myra Lucretia Taylor

Special Award
Sean Carvajal and Edi Gathegi

Sam Norkin Award
Juan Castano

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