Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography

Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Choreography

Awarded for| Outstanding Choreography
Location| New York City
Country| United States
Presented by| Drama Desk
First award| 1969
Currently held by| Jerry Mitchell for Boop! The Musical (2025)
Website| dramadesk.org (defunct)

The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography 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.

## Winners and nominees

[edit]

### 1960s

[edit]

Year  | Choreographer  | Production

|
|

1969
Grover Dale | Billy

### 1970s

[edit]

Year  | Choreographer  | Production

|
|

1970
Ron Field | Applause
1971
Michael Bennett | Follies
Donald Saddler | No, No, Nanette
1972
Patricia Birch | Grease
Jean Erdman | Two Gentlemen of Verona
1973
Bob Fosse | Pippin
1974
Patricia Birch | Candide
1975
George Faison | The Wiz
Dennis Denehy  | The Lieutenant
Roger Morgan  | Saturday, Sun, Moon
Donald Saddler | Good News
Margo Sappington | Where's Charley?
1976
Michael Bennett | A Chorus Line
Patricia Birch | Pacific Overtures
Donald Saddler | The Robber Bridegroom
Billy Wilson  | Bubbling Brown Sugar
1977
Peter Gennaro | Annie
Patricia Birch | Music Is
Dan Siretta  | Going Up
1978
Bob Fosse | Dancin'
Arthur Faria  | Ain't Misbehavin'
Geoffrey Holder | Timbuktu!
Tommy Tune | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
1979
Bob Avian and Michael Bennett | Ballroom
Larry Fuller | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Henry LeTang and Billy Wilson  | Eubie!
Dan Siretta  | Tip-Toes

### 1980s

[edit]

Year  | Choreographer  | Production

|
|

1980
Tommy Tune and Thommie Walsh | A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
Larry Fuller | Evita
Mary Kyte  | Tintypes
Joe Layton | Barnum
1981
Gower Champion | 42nd Street
Graciela Daniele | The Pirates of Penzance
1982  | —
1983
Tommy Tune and Thommie Walsh | My One and Only
Peter Martins and Donald Saddler | On Your Toes
1984, 1985  | —
1986
Bob Fosse | Big Deal
Gene Kelly and Twyla Tharp | Singin' in the Rain
Peter Martins | Song and Dance
1987  | —
1988
Michael Smuin | Anything Goes
Grover Dale | Mail
Gillian Lynne | The Phantom of the Opera
1989  | —

### 1990s

[edit]

Year  | Choreographer  | Production

|
|

1990
Tommy Tune | Grand Hotel
1991
Tommy Tune | The Will Rogers Follies
Michael Lichtefeld  | The Secret Garden
Dan Siretta  | Oh, Kay!
Susan Stroman | And the World Goes 'Round
1992
Susan Stroman | Crazy for You
Hope Clarke, Gregory Hines and Ted L. Levy  | Jelly's Last Jam
Christopher Chadman | Guys and Dolls
1993
Wayne Cilento | The Who's Tommy
Michael Leeds  | Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah!
Niarupama Nityanandan, Catherine Schaub and Simon Abkarian | Les Atrides
Luis Stazo  | Tango Pasion
1994
Jane Elliott and Kenneth MacMillan | Carousel
Jeff Calhoun | Grease
Graciela Daniele | Hello Again
Rob Marshall | She Loves Me
Matt West | Beauty and the Beast
1995  | —
1996
Savion Glover | Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk
Graciela Daniele | Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Ghettoriginal Productions  | Jam on the Groove
Kathleen Marshall | Swinging on a Star
Susan Stroman | Big: the musical
1997
Ann Reinking | Chicago
Dein Perry | Tap Dogs
Susan Stroman | Steel Pier
1998
Garth Fagan | The Lion King
Graciela Daniele | Ragtime
The Forever Tango Dancers  | Luis Bravo's Forever Tango
Rob Marshall | Cabaret
1999
Matthew Bourne | Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
Patricia Birch | Parade
Rob Marshall | Little Me

### 2000s

[edit]

Year  | Choreographer  | Production

|
|

2000
Susan Stroman | Contact
Jody Abrahams and Loukmaan Adams  | Kat and the Kings
Mark Dendy  | The Wild Party
Kathleen Marshall | Kiss Me, Kate
Susan Stroman | The Music Man
Lynne Taylor-Corbett | Swing!
2001
Susan Stroman | The Producers
John Carrafa | Urinetown
Jerry Mitchell | The Full Monty
The Rocky Horror Show
Randy Skinner | 42nd Street
2002
Susan Stroman | Oklahoma!
Rob Ashford | Thoroughly Modern Millie
Christopher Wheeldon | Sweet Smell of Success
2003
Twyla Tharp | Movin' Out
Jerry Mitchell | Hairspray
Ken Roberson | Harlem Song
Tommy Tune | Tommy Tune: White Tie and Tails
2004
Kathleen Marshall | Wonderful Town
Stephen Hues  | Ramayana 2K3
Jerry Mitchell | Never Gonna Dance
Anthony Van Laast and Farah Khan | Bombay Dreams
2005
Jerry Mitchell | La Cage aux Folles
Matthew Bourne | Play Without Words
Christopher Gattelli | Altar Boyz
Barry McNabb  | Sailor's Song
Jerry Mitchell | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Casey Nicholaw | Monty Python's Spamalot
2006
Kathleen Marshall | The Pajama Game
Rob Ashford | The Wedding Singer
Angela Chang | Golden Dragon Acrobats
Graciela Daniele | Bernarda Alba
Casey Nicholaw | The Drowsy Chaperone
Sergio Trujillo | Jersey Boys
2007
Andy Blankenbuehler | In the Heights
Patricia Birch | LoveMusik
Matthew Bourne | Edward Scissorhands
Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear | Mary Poppins
Bill T. Jones | Spring Awakening
Jerry Mitchell | Legally Blonde
2008
Rob Ashford | Cry-Baby
Karole Armitage | Passing Strange
Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider | Traces
Dan Knechtges | Xanadu
Peter Pucci  | Queens Boulevard: The Musical
Susan Stroman | Young Frankenstein
2009
Peter Darling | Billy Elliot the Musical
Karole Armitage | Hair
Andy Blankenbuehler | 9 to 5
Bill T. Jones | Fela!
Randy Skinner | Irving Berlin's White Christmas
Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Shonn Wiley  | My Vaudeville Man!

### 2010s

[edit]

Year  | Choreographer  | Production

|
|

2010
Twyla Tharp | Come Fly Away
Warren Carlyle | Finian's Rainbow
Marcia Milgrom Dodge | Ragtime
Lynne Page  | La Cage aux Folles
Susan Stroman | The Scottsboro Boys
Sergio Trujillo | Memphis
2011
Kathleen Marshall | Anything Goes
Rob Ashford | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett | Beautiful Burnout
Steven Hoggett | Peter and the Starcatchers
Casey Nicholaw | The Book of Mormon
Siudy  | Between Worlds
2012
Christopher Gattelli | Newsies
Rob Ashford | Evita
Warren Carlyle | Follies
Breandan de Gallal  | Noctu
Kathleen Marshall | Nice Work If You Can Get It
Sergio Trujillo | Leap of Faith
2013
Chet Walker and Gypsy Snider | Pippin
Andy Blankenbuehler | Bring It On: The Musical
Warren Carlyle | A Christmas Story: The Musical
Peter Darling | Matilda the Musical
Josh Rhodes  | Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
Sergio Trujillo | Hands on a Hardbody
2014
Warren Carlyle | After Midnight
Steven Hoggett and Kelly Devine | Rocky the Musical
Danny Mefford  | Love's Labour's Lost
Casey Nicholaw | Aladdin
Susan Stroman | Bullets Over Broadway
Sonya Tayeh | Kung Fu
2015
Christopher Wheeldon | An American in Paris
Joshua Bergasse | On the Town
Warren Carlyle | On the Twentieth Century
Steven Hoggett | The Last Ship
Austin McCormick | Rococo Rouge
Casey Nicholaw | Something Rotten!
2016
Savion Glover | Shuffle Along
Joshua Bergasse | Cagney
Spencer Liff  | Spring Awakening
Lynne Page  | American Psycho
Randy Skinner | Dames at Sea
2017
Andy Blankenbuehler | Bandstand
Warren Carlyle | Hello, Dolly!
Aletta Collins  | The Hairy Ape
Kelly Devine | Come from Away
Denis Jones  | Holiday Inn
2018
Justin Peck | Carousel
Camille A. Brown | Once on This Island
Christopher Gattelli | SpongeBob SquarePants
Casey Nicholaw | Mean Girls
Nejla Y. Yatkin | The Boy Who Danced on Air
2019
Warren Carlyle | Kiss Me, Kate
Camille A. Brown | Choir Boy
Denis Jones  | Tootsie
Lorin Latarro | Twelfth Night
Rick and Jeff Kuperman  | Alice by Heart
David Neumann | Hadestown

### 2020s

[edit]

Year  | Choreographer  | Production

|
|

2020
Sonya Tayeh | Moulin Rouge!
Camille A. Brown | for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker | West Side Story
Keone Madrid and Mari Madrid  | Beyond Babel
Kathleen Marshall | The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Travis Wall | The Wrong Man
2021  | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City[1]
2022
Bill T. Jones, Garrett Coleman and Jason Oremus (Irish + Hammerstep), Gelan Lambert and Chloe Davis (associates) | Paradise Square
Ayodele Casel (tap choreography) | Funny Girl
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille  | Six
Liam Steel  | Company
Christopher Wheeldon, Michael Balderrama (associate), Rich + Tone Talauega (Michael Jackson movement) | MJ
2023  | Casey Nicholaw | Some Like It Hot
Andy Blankenbuehler | Only Gold
Tislarm Bouie  | the bandaged place
Edgar Godineaux  | The Harder They Come
Susan Stroman | New York, New York
Jenifer Weber  | KPOP
2024[2] | Justin Peck | Illinoise
Camille A. Brown | Hell's Kitchen
Graciela Daniele and Alex Sanchez  | The Gardens of Anuncia
Jeff Kuperman and Rick Kuperman  | The Outsiders
Lorin Latarro |  The Heart of Rock and Roll
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll  | Water for Elephants
2025[3]
Jerry Mitchell | Boop! The Musical
Camille A. Brown | Gypsy
Warren Carlyle | Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Jacob Karr  | Ain't Done Bad
Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles  | Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Sergio Trujillo | Real Women Have Curves

## Statistics

[edit]

### Multiple wins

[edit]

4 wins

* Kathleen Marshall
* Susan Stroman
* Tommy Tune

3 wins

* Michael Bennett
* Bob Fosse

2 wins

* Patricia Birch
* Andy Blankenbuehler
* Warren Carlyle
* Savion Glover
* Justin Peck
* Twyla Tharp
* Thommie Walsh
* Jerry Mitchell

### Multiple nominations

[edit]

12 nominations

Susan Stroman

8 nominations

* Warren Carlyle

7 nominations

* Kathleen Marshall
* Jerry Mitchell
* Casey Nicholaw

6 nominations

* Tommy Tune
* Patricia Birch
* Graciela Daniele

5 nominations

* Andy Blankenbuehler
* Rob Ashford
* Sergio Trujillo
* Camille A. Brown

4 nominations

* Steven Hoggett
* Donald Saddler
* Matthew Bourne

3 nominations

* Michael Bennett
* Bob Fosse
* Twyla Tharp
* Rob Marshall
* Christopher Wheeldon
* Randy Skinner
* Dan Siretta

2 nominations

* Savion Glover
* Justin Peck
* Thommie Walsh
* Peter Darling
* Lorin Latarro
* Kelly Devine
* Sonya Tayeh
* Karole Armitage
* Grover Dale
* Peter Martins
* Lynne Taylor-Corbett

|

## See also

[edit]

* Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer
* Tony Award for Best Choreography

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Evans, Greg (2021-05-05). "Broadway To Reopen Sept. 14, Says Gov. Andrew Cuomo; Broadway League "Cautiously Optimistic"". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
2. ^ "Stereophonic Leads 2024 Drama Desk Awards with 7 Wins Including Outstanding Play - Playbill.com". 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
3. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 30, 2025). "Boop! Leads 2025 Drama Desk Award Nominations With 11 Nods Including Outstanding Musical; Read the Full List Here". Retrieved May 3, 2025.

* v
* t
* e

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography

1969–2000|

* Grover Dale (1969)
* Ron Field (1970)
* Michael Bennett / Donald Saddler (1971)
* Patricia Birch / Jean Erdman (1972)
* Bob Fosse (1973)
* Patricia Birch (1974)
* George Faison (1975)
* Bob Avian / Michael Bennett (1976)
* Peter Gennaro (1977)
* Bob Fosse (1978)
* Bob Avian / Michael Bennett (1979)
* Tommy Tune (1980)
* Gower Champion (1981)
* Tommy Tune / Thommie Walsh (1983)
* Bob Fosse (1986)
* Michael Smuin (1988)
* Tommy Tune (1990)
* Tommy Tune (1991)
* Susan Stroman (1992)
* Wayne Cilento (1993)
* Kenneth MacMillan and Jane Elliott (1994)
* Savion Glover (1996)
* Ann Reinking (1997)
* Garth Fagan (1998)
* Matthew Bourne (1999)
* Susan Stroman (2000)

2001–present|

* Susan Stroman (2001)
* Susan Stroman (2002)
* Twyla Tharp (2003)
* Kathleen Marshall (2004)
* Jerry Mitchell (2005)
* Kathleen Marshall (2006)
* Andy Blankenbuehler (2007)
* Rob Ashford (2008)
* Peter Darling (2009)
* Twyla Tharp (2010)
* Kathleen Marshall (2011)
* Christopher Gattelli (2012)
* Chet Walker and Gypsy Snider (2013)
* Warren Carlyle (2014)
* Christopher Wheeldon (2015)
* Savion Glover (2016)
* Andy Blankenbuehler (2017)
* Justin Peck (2018)
* Warren Carlyle (2019)
* Sonya Tayeh (2020)
* No Award (2021)
* Bill T. Jones, Garrett Coleman, Jason Oremus, Gelan Lambert, and Chloe Davis (2022)
* Casey Nicholaw (2023)
* Justin Peck (2024)
* Jerry Mitchell (2025)

* v
* t
* e

Drama Desk Awards

Play|

* Play
* Revival of a Play
* Lead Performance in a Play
* Featured Performance in a Play
* Director of a Play
* Music in a Play

Musical|

* Musical
* Revival of a Musical
* Lead Performance in a Musical
* Featured Performance in a Musical
* Director of a Musical
* Book
* Music
* Lyrics
* Orchestrations

Production|

* Choreography
* Costume Design of a Musical
* Costume Design of a Play
* Lighting Design for a Musical
* Lighting Design for a Play
* Scenic Design of a Musical
* Scenic Design of a Play
* Sound Design in a Musical
* Sound Design in a Play
* Wig and Hair Design
* Puppetry

Other (competitive)|

* Solo Performance
* Unique Theatrical Experience
* Revue
* Projection Design

Special (non-competitive)|

* Special Award
* Ensemble

Retired|

* Actor in a Play
* Actress in a Play
* Featured Actor in a Play
* Featured Actress in a Play
* Actor in a Musical
* Actress in a Musical
* Featured Actor in a Musical
* Featured Actress in a Musical
* Director
* Revival
* Costume Design
* Lighting Design
* Set Design
* Sound Design

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