The Drama Desk Awards do things a bit differently: The categories are all gender-neutral and two winners are selected in each — although featured performer in a musical ended up as a three-way tie. So this won’t bring many of the all-male categories at the Tonys into focus, as women totally dominated. Best Lead Performance in a Musical went to Audra McDonald (Gypsy; take THAT, Patti Lupone, my goodness**) and Jasmine Amy Rogers (Boop!), and in a play, it was Sarah Snook (Picture of Dorian Gray) and Laura Donnelly (The Hills of California). Gypsy won best musical revival and Maybe Happy Ending was named the best new one.
Kara Young, heading into this weekend with her fourth consecutive Tony nod in this category (she took it last year for Purlie Victorious), won in the featured actor category for Purpose — which also won for Best New Play, which I THINK is considered an upset over John Proctor Is The Villain — alongside Amalia Yoo from the aforementioned Proctor. Which I totally keep accidentally calling John Proctor Must Die. But Yoo is not nominated on Sunday (and my heart has to root for Tala Ashe of English; Legends of Tomorrow forever). Featured Performer in a Musical was the only one here to go all-male, handing out trophies to Jak Malone of Operation Mincemeat, Michael Urie of Once Upon a Mattress, and Brooks Ashmanskas of Smash — and of those, Urie is not nominated on Sunday for a Tony. INTRIGUE? Maybe! Does Jasmine Amy Rogers have a shot at upsetting both Audra and Nicole Scherzinger?!? Here is the full list of Drama Desk winners that includes the technical awards; Maybe Happy Ending might have some heat there.
** After more than 500 Broadway performers signed a petition condemning her, Patti has apologized — and said she “hopes” to have the chance to talk to Audra and veteran Kecia Lewis, whom she also degraded, but like… lady, you can do more than hope, unless they freeze you out I guess. Anyway, the People headline specifically calling it a “career-first” mea culpa says a lot, both about her and about how much her PR teams must have been working overtime. I have never enjoyed her as a performer, but I always thought she was at least a fun broad. Seems like “toxic” is more like it. TAKE THAT TONY, AUDRA.
