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Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play

Theatre award

Field	Value
name	Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Play
awarded_for	Outstanding Play
presenter	Drama Desk
location	New York City
country	United States
year	1955
holder	Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (2025)
website

for Outstanding Play 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.

Tom Stoppard holds the record for most wins in the category, with three, followed closely by Peter Shaffer, August Wilson, Joshua Harmon, Terrence McNally and Tony Kushner with two wins each, with the latter two winning theirs consecutively. Alan Ayckbourn holds the record for most nominations in the category, with eight.

Winners and nominees

;Key

1950s

Year	Play	Playwright	Ref.	1955	1956	1957–59
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
The Iceman Cometh	Eugene O'Neill
colspan="2"

1960s

Year	Play	Playwright	1960–69
not awarded}}

1970s

Year	Play	Playwright	Ref.	1970–74	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
not awarded}}
*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
Streamers	David Rabe
Kennedy's Children	Robert Patrick
Lamppost Reunion	Louis Larusso
Medal of Honor Rag	Tom Cole
Vanities	Jack Heifner
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
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
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	Playwright	Ref.	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
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
Amadeus	Peter Shaffer
Crimes of the Heart	Beth Henley
Fifth of July	Lanford Wilson
Mass Appeal	Bill C. Davis
"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
Torch Song Trilogy	Harvey Fierstein
Brighton Beach Memoirs	Neil Simon
Edmond	David Mamet
Extremities	William Mastrosimone
Geniuses	Jonathan Reynolds
True West	Sam Shepard
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
As Is	William M. Hoffman
Biloxi Blues	Neil Simon
Digby	Joseph Dougherty
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	August Wilson
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
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
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
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	Playwright	Ref.	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
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
Lost in Yonkers	Neil Simon
La Bête	David Hirson
Six Degrees of Separation	John Guare
The Wash	Philip Kan Gotanda
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
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
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
Love! Valour! Compassion!	Terrence McNally
Arcadia	Tom Stoppard
The Cryptogram	David Mamet
Missing Persons	Craig Lucas
Raised in Captivity	Nicky Silver
subUrbia	Eric Bogosian
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
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
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
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	Playwright	Ref.	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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	Playwright	Ref.	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Humans	Stephen Karam
The Christians	Lucas Hnath
John	Annie Baker
King Charles III	Mike Bartlett
The Royale	Marco Ramírez
Oslo	J. T. Rogers
If I Forget	Steven Levenson
Indecent	Paula Vogel
A Life	Adam Bock
Sweat	Lynn Nottage
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
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	Playwright	Ref.	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
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
No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City}}
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
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
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
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

Multiple wins

;3 wins

Tom Stoppard

;2 wins

Peter Shaffer
Terrence McNally (consecutive)
August Wilson
Tony Kushner (consecutive)
Joshua Harmon

Multiple nominations

;8 nominations

Alan Ayckbourn

;7 nominations

Terrence McNally
David Mamet
Tom Stoppard
August Wilson

;5 nominations

Michael Frayn
Annie Baker
Samuel D. Hunter

;4 nominations

Athol Fugard
Lanford Wilson
David Henry Hwang
Neil Simon
Richard Nelson
Donald Margulies
Stephen Adly Guirgis

;3 nominations

Edward Albee
A. R. Gurney
Jon Robin Baitz
Craig Lucas
Wendy Wasserstein
Christopher Durang
Nicky Silver
Paula Vogel
Martin McDonagh
Richard Greenberg
Neil LaBute
John Patrick Shanley
Lynn Nottage

;2 nominations

Peter Shaffer
Simon Gray
Albert Innaurato
John Guare
Sam Shepard
Alfred Uhry
Howard Korder
Warren Leight
Brian Friel
Caryl Churchill
Tony Kushner
Robert Schenkkan
Patrick Marber
Kenneth Lonergan
Yasmina Reza
Warren Leight
Rebecca Gilman
Alan Bennett
Craig Wright
Bruce Norris
Adam Bock
Itamar Moses
Amy Herzog
Steven Levenson
Jocelyn Bioh
Joshua Harmon
Sanaz Toossi

References

"1975 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1976 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1977 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1978 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(June 2, 1979). "Sweeney and Elephant Man Win Top Drama Desk Awards". The New York Times.
"1979 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1980 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1981 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1982 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1983 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1984 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1985 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1986 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1987 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1988 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 25, 1988). "Into the Woods Wins Award". The New York Times.
"1989 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 23, 1989). "The Drama Desk Awards". The New York Times.
"1990 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 17, 1990). "Drama Desk Awards to Angels and Lesson". The New York Times.
"1991 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(13 May 1991). "'Will Rogers' and 'Yonkers' Win Drama Desk Awards". The New York Times.
"1992 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1993 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 18, 1993). "Drama Desk Honors Kiss and Angels". The New York Times.
"1994 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"1995 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 23, 1995). "Drama Desk Honors Show Boat". The New York Times.
"1996 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Robert Viagas. (May 20, 1996). "Drama Desk Awards to Rent, Master Class".
"1997 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 13, 1997). "Drama Desk Picks Performers, Presenters & Venue, May 18".
(May 1997). "Chicago Tops Drama Desks". Variety.
"1998 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 17, 1998). "Ragtime, Beauty Queen Win Drama Desk Awards".
"1999 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 9, 1999). "List of 1999 Drama Desk Winners".
(May 9, 1999). "1999 Drama Desk Winners: Not About Nightingales Design Trio".
"2000 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Kenneth Jones. (May 14, 2000). "2000 Drama Desk Winners Are Real Thing, Kate, Copenhagen & Contact".
"2001 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Kenneth Jones, Robert Simonson. (May 20, 2001). "2001 Drama Desk Winners Include Producers, Proof and Mnemonic".
"2002 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Robert Simonson. (May 20, 2002). "Drama Desk Awards Announced; Goat, Metamorphoses Tie for Best Play, Millie Scores".
"2003 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Robert Simonson. (May 1, 2003). "Hairspray Leads 2003 Drama Desk Award Nominations".
(May 19, 2003). "Hairspray Wins 10 Drama Desk Awards". The New York Times.
"2004 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(April 29, 2004). "Wicked Leads Drama Desk Nominations". The New York Times.
Andrew Gans, Robert Simonson. (May 16, 2004). "Wicked, Assassins, Henry IV, Wife Win Drama Desk Awards".
"2005 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 23, 2005). "2005 Drama Desk Award winners announced".
"2006 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Andrew Gans. (May 22, 2006). "Drowsy Chaperone and History Boys Big Winners at the 2006 Drama Desk Awards".
"2007 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
New York Theatre Guide Staff. (May 20, 2007). "Drama Desk Awards 2006–2007 Winners Announced".
Andrew Gans. (May 20, 2007). "52nd Annual Drama Desk Awards Presented May 20".
"2008 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 19, 2008). "Arts: Drama Desk’s Awards". The New York Times.
New York Theatre Guide Staff. (October 19, 2017). "Drama Desk Awards 2008 Winners Announced".
"2009 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(May 17, 2009). "Drama Desk Awards Announced". The New York Times.
Andrew Gans. (May 18, 2009). "Ruined and Billy Elliot Win Top Honors at Drama Desk Awards".
"2010 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
"2011 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Kenneth Jones. (May 24, 2011). "Drama Desk Awards Go to Book of Mormon, Normal Heart, War Horse, Sutton Foster, Norbert Leo Butz".
David Rooney. (May 23, 2011). "Book of Mormon, Anything Goes Top Drama Desk Awards". Variety.
"2012 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
(June 4, 2012). "Drama Desk Awards". The New York Times.
New York Theatre Guide Staff. (June 3, 2012). "The 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards".
"2013 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Michael Paulson. (May 20, 2013). "Matilda Wins Big at Drama Desk Awards". The New York Times.
"2014 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
New York Theatre Guide Staff. (June 1, 2014). "The 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards".
Jesse Green. (June 1, 2014). "Drama Desk Embraces a Gentleman’s Guide". The New York Times.
"2015 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Gordon Cox. (May 31, 2015). "2015 Drama Desk Awards Winners (FULL LIST): 'Hamilton' Takes 7".
"2016 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Gordon Cox. (June 5, 2016). "2016 Drama Desk Awards (FULL LIST): 'Shuffle Along,' 'The Humans'".
"2017 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Variety Staff. (June 5, 2017). "Drama Desk Awards 2017: Full List of Winners".
"2018 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Playbill Staff. (June 3, 2018). "SpongeBob SquarePants Leads 2018 Drama Desk Awards".
"2019 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Ruthie Fierberg. (June 2, 2019). "Tootsie, Hadestown, and The Ferryman Lead 2019 Drama Desk Award Winners".
"2020 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Dan Meyer. (June 13, 2020). "A Strange Loop, The Inheritance, Moulin Rouge! Win Big at 2020 Drama Desk Awards".
Evans, Greg. (2021-05-05). "Broadway To Reopen Sept. 14, Says Gov. Andrew Cuomo; Broadway League "Cautiously Optimistic"". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
"2022 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Chloe Rabinowitz. (June 8, 2022). "COMPANY, SIX & More Win 2022 Drama Desk Awards – See the Full List!".
Gillian Russo. (June 8, 2022). "2022 Drama Desk Award winners announced".
"2023 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Logan Culwell-Block. (May 31, 2023). "Some Like It Hot Dominates 2023 Drama Desk Awards; See the Full List of Winners".
"2024 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Logan Culwell-Block. (June 10, 2024). "Stereophonic Leads 2024 Drama Desk Awards With 7 Wins Including Outstanding Play".
Culwell-Block, Logan. (April 30, 2025). "Boop! Leads 2025 Drama Desk Award Nominations With 11 Nods Including Outstanding Musical; Read the Full List Here".
"2025 Awards – Nominees and Recipients".
Logan Culwell-Block. (June 1, 2025). "Drama Desk Award Winners 2025: The Full List".

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