At the 70th Annual Drama Desk Awards held at Town Hall on Sunday, May 17, which rewards excellence in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, people of color shone very brightly. They were acknowledged with this marvelous honor from productions including “Ragtime,” “Joe Turner’s Come And Gone,” “CATS: The Jellicle Ball,” “Mexodus,” “The Monsters,” and “The Balusters.” The awards were hosted by Marla Mindelle, star of “Titanique,” a hilarious musical comedy playing at the St. James Theatre. Mindelle was charming and quite amusing. It was truly a delightful evening as members of the theater community were acknowledged for the fantastic work that they do. The audience also got to hear the history of the Drama Desk Awards, which delightfully marked seven decades this year. Drama Desk is an organization that has always been inclusive and is so deliberately, which is outstanding.
Joshua Henry won Outstanding Lead Performance in a musical for “Ragtime,” currently playing at Lincoln Center. “It’s an honor of a lifetime to be in a show like ‘Ragtime.’ This is a dream come true for me, and this dream doesn’t come true without an incredible team. … As a singer, you dream of this, to be able to soar on a score like that. Thank you Lincoln Center for providing 28 pieces. I also have to acknowledge the other part of the team, for me and so many people in this room, the families. The others that we leave at home, that wake up, and they cook breakfast, and they take the kids to school. We would not be able to do this without those teams. Catherine, I love you so much. Thank you Drama Desk for this incredible award.”
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, tied for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” Santiago-Hudson thanked Drama Desk, the nominating committee, Debbie Allen, the cast, the designers, and the backstage workers. Santiago-Hudson shared, “It’s just amazing for me to grow old in August’s work. It’s the greatest of blessings, when I started out as a young fella, now I’m [a] gray-haired guy, but I think I have a little more of them left if they’ll have me. … I want to thank my star, my beautiful wife, thank you ,Gina, for the last 40 years of our life. You have been standing with [me] for all of [the] ups and downs and always encouraged me to keep getting up and going.”
Linda Armstrong photos
Qween Jean accepts Best Costume Design award at 70th Annual Drama Desk Awards. 
Nygel D. Robinson and Brian Quijada win Outstanding Book of a Musical for “Mexodus.” 
Nikiya Mathis wins Outstanding Hair and Wig Design for “CATS: The Jellicle Ball.” 
Ruben Santiago-Hudson wins Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” 
Paul Tazewell wins Outstanding Costume Design of a Play for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” 
Tony Award winner André De Shields receives Drama Desk Icon honors at 70th Annual Awards.
Paul Tazewell won for Outstanding Costume Design of a Play for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” “This was such a wonderful privilege to work with Debbie Allen, the amazing cast, to bring August’s characters to life with the amazing cast is a huge gift. Thank you so much.”
Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons won Outstanding Choreography for “CATS: The Jellicle Ball,” tying with “Schmigadoon!” Wiles said, “We want to thank our ‘CATS’ team, our producers, our writers, [and] every audience member who has come in and enjoyed this show. I want to say thank you to the Ballroom community who have given myself and Arturo a platform to be ourselves and to show the world how human this community is. The creativity of this piece speaks deeply about the human connection that the LGBT community has and shares amongst each other. We are competitive, but we compete to lift each other up. We compete to battle the chains of society. We compete to imagine, to be fierce, to be amazing, to be fabulous.” “Also, I would like to thank Omari. If he did not call and say ‘we need you,’ I wouldn’t be here,” Lyons said.
Qween Jean won Outstanding Costume Design for “CATS: The Jellicle Ball,” and she took the stage in a stunning, glorious gown, and she had a great deal of important messages to share. She came to the podium and sang “Thank you, thank you.” Then she shared, “I just want to acknowledge that almost 16 years ago, I moved to New York City; curious, hungry, and needing desperately to find a home and belong. I walked into [the] Tisch School of the Arts, and this incredible human being behind me (Paul Tazewell) interviewed me and accepted [me] on the spot. … Testimony. Love prevails. We are each other’s purpose. I want to say thank you to the Universe. Thank you God. Thank you our ancestors, because there is something truly magical that is happening at the Broadhurst Theatre. …Thank you for the courage, bravery, and the divine power of our resilient community that exists in this room, and even at the Broadhurst theatre, all over — Queer people are here baby. …Thank you Drama Desk, thank you to our co-directors, our producers, our divine cast. …We as theatre practitioners, we have a role to play in this revolution and at this moment it’s needed more than ever. I’ve seen people’s lives change as they come in to see this work and see themselves reflected.”
Nikiya Mathis won Outstanding Wig and Hair Design for “CATS: The Jellicle Ball.” “I want to thank two of the most generous men I’ve ever worked with, Bill Rauch and Zhailon Levingston. Congresswoman Qween Jean, how many nights we walked out of the Broadhurst long after everyone was gone? You put your entire soul into these costumes and I followed. … In this rare moment where the voiceless get heard, takes center stage and show the world that they were actually beautiful all along. Something that Qween and I both know is that you don’t just wig an actor, you crown them with identity. A wig designer is both [a] craftsman and therapist. We hold actors’ insecurities and their fantasies, and that private room, where we learn their secrets, and we transform it all into the world of the character. There is a delicate craftsmanship that so many people overlook. … I want to thank my mother…she made me eggs this morning, she plays the background so well, but she is my foreground when I want to give up when things get hard in this industry. I’ve learned that failure and success are part of this industry, and I’m learning to deal with both. Thank you God, thank you Drama Desk,” Mathis commented.
Nygel D. Robinson and Brian Quijada received two Drama Desk Awards for “Mexodus,” currently playing at the Daryl Roth Theatre. They deservedly won for Outstanding Book of a Musical and Outstanding Music. “Amen, we stand on the shoulders of major book writers, I think of the greatest book of a musical that was ever written, ‘Gyspy,’” Robinson said. Quijada and Robinson declared “that writing music is one thing, but writing the book to a musical is harder. “We are both with Christina’s, and we want to thank them,” Quijada proclaimed.
“Gerry Rodriguez won Outstanding Fight Choreography for “The Monsters.”
“The Balusters,” directed by Kenny Leon and playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre won Outstanding Play.
An Ensemble Award was presented to the cast of “Spread,” an Intar production — Daniel Bravo Hernández, Ricardy Fabre, Danny Gomez, Ishmael Gonzalez, and Jaden Perez. Ishmael Gonzalez, speaking on the group’s behalf, said, “Thank you so much to the Drama Desk for coming to watch our show at 52nd (street) and 10th (avenue) at the Intar theatre. I am just one puzzle piece of this amazing cast…we want this award to be a reminder that when Latina work is given the space to be lusty, honest, and present, that we can transform audiences to see a bit more of the world that they may not know. …Thank you to our playwright Jesús Valles, thank you for your words and for your unwillingness to allow the capitalist war machine to silence you. Thank you to my boys behind me. I couldn’t have done this without them and it was one of the greatest gifts of my life to be portraying this story of these young kids. This is for us and for every Latina artist that is here tonight, who is making their voices heard despite the noise of the world trying to silence them.”
Celebrating the awards’ 70th anniversary, the Drama Desk named seven veteran actors ‘Icons,’ and one of those was Tony Award winner Andre De Shields. He was included with Gretchen Cryer, Richard Maltby Jr., Austin Pendleton, Jennifer Tipton, and Maury Yeston. The icons were bought on the stage and given their flowers now!
For a full listing of all of the winners, visit dramadesk.org. The evening was truly a memorable delight.