The Stage

Billy Elliot dances to victory at US Drama Desk Awards

Published Tuesday 19 May 2009 at 15:42 by Judd Hollander

Billy Elliot was the big winner at the 54th Annual Drama Desk Awards, winning in 10 separate categories with all its 10 nominations.

The show won for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Featured Actor (Gregory Jbara), Featured Actress (Haydn Gwynne), Direction (Stephen Daldry), Choreography (Peter Darling), Music (Elton John), Book (Lee Hall), Orchestrations (Martin Koch), Lighting Design (Rick Fisher) and Sound Design (Paul Arditti).

The only shows to earn more Drama Desk nominations were the musicals 9 to 5 and Shrek, with 15 and 12 nods respectively. However both shows were left in Billy Elliot’s dust when the awards were handed out. 9 to 5 received one win, for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Allison Janney), while Shrek took home three awards, for Outstanding Actor (Brian d’Arcy James) and for Tim Hatley’s Set and Costume Designs.

The much-acclaimed revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests received three awards, for Outstanding Revival of a Play, for Matthew Warchus’ direction, and a special Ensemble Award for the six-member cast (Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter, and Amanda Root-all of whom came over from Britain). However the show’s set and costume designer, Rob Howell, lost out to David Korins for the latter’s costumes in the new Christopher Durang play Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them; as well as to Tim Hatley in the Set Design category. Also winning an Ensemble Award was the cast of Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan, the only award that show received.

Elsewhere Janet McTeer won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her work in Mary Stuart, while Angela Lansbury picked up the prize for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her role in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. Other winners included Geoffrey Rush, for Outstanding Actor in a Play, for his starring role in Ionesco’s Exit The King, and David Hersey for his Lighting Design for Equus, which starred Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths.

The work Ruined, which recently won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama received awards for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Music. Winning for Best Revival of a Musical was the show Hair.

Founded in 1949, the Drama Desks members cover theatre on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway. The Drama Desk Awards were first presented in 1955.