2026 Drama League Award Noms

It the Golden Globes and SAG Awards are the precursor to the Oscars; then the Drama League Awards are the precursor to the Tony Awards.

The annual Drama League Award nominations were released on April 20 and will announce the winners on May 15 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom and is open to the public.  Tickets are available at DramaLeague.org.

The Drama League Awards honour the best on Broadway and Off-Broadway.

While the nominees include best productions and revivals; as well as, direction; the Drama League presents Distinguished Performance awards for actors, which can be earned only once during a career.

Productions that were on Off-Broadway last season and have moved to play on Broadway are eligible for nominations in this year’s Drama League Awards.

Nominees for the 2026 Drama League Awards:

Outstanding Production of a Play:
“The Balusters”
“Caroline”
“Cold War Choir Practice”
“Dog Day Afternoon”
“Giant”
“Kyoto”
“Liberation”
“Marcel on the Train”
“The Monsters”
“Prince Faggot”
“Rheology”
“Spread”

Outstanding Revival of a Play:
“Anna Christie”
“Becky Shaw”
“The Brothers Size”
“Bug”
“Death of a Salesman”
“Every Brilliant Thing”
“Fallen Angels”
“Gruesome Playground Injuries”
“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”
“Proof”
“Twelfth Night”
“You Got Older”

Outstanding Production of a Musical:
“Beaches, a New Musical”
“Beau the Musical”
“Bigfoot!”
“The Lost Boys”
“Mexodus”
“My Joy is Heavy”
“Night Side Songs”
“Saturday Church”
“Schmigadoon!”
“The Seat of Our Pants”
“Titaníque”
“Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”

Outstanding Revival of a Musical:
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
“Bat Boy: The Musical”
“Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
“Chess”
“The Gospel at Colonus”
“Heathers the Musical”
“Masquerade”
“Oratorio for Living Things”
“Ragtime”
“The Rocky Horror Show”
“The Wild Party”

Outstanding Direction of a Play:
Knud Adams for “Cold War Choir Practice”
Debbie Allen for Joe Turner’s “Come and Gone”
Tatyana-Marie Carlo for “Spread”
Shayok Misha Chowdhury for “Prince Faggot”
David Cromer for “Caroline”
Trip Cullman for “Becky Shaw”
Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin for “Kyoto”
Joe Mantello for “Death of a Salesman” and “Little Bear Ridge Road”
Marshall Pailet for “Marcel on the Train”

Outstanding Direction of a Musical:
Michael Arden for “The Lost Boys”
Lili-Anne Brown for “The Wild Party”
Rachel Chavkin for “My Joy is Heavy”
Lear de Bessonet for “Ragtime”
Lee Sunday Evans for “Oratorio for Living Things”
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch fpr 
Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
Danny Mefford for “The 25th Annual Putnam County” Spelling Bee” and “Bigfoot!”
David Mendizábal for “Mexodus”
Sam Pinkleton for “The Rocky Horror Show”
Leigh Silverman for “The Seat of Our Pants”
Alex Timbers for “”Bat Boy: The Musical

Distinguished Performance:
Caroline Aaron in “The Reservoir”
Christopher Abbott in “Death of a Salesman”
Shoshana Bean in “The Lost Boys”
Jon Bernthal in “Dog Day Afternoon”
Ali Louis Bourzgui in “The Lost Boys”
Marylouise Burke in “The Balusters”
Kerry Butler in “Bat Boy: The Musical”
Rose Byrne in “Fallen Angels”
Sara Chase in “Schmigadoon!”
Patrice Johnson Chevannes in “The Waterfall”
Nicholas Christopher in “Chess”
Justin Cooley in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
Carrie Coon in “Bug”
André De Shields in “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
Brandon J. Dirden in “Waiting For Godot”
Ayo Edebiri in “Proof”
Alden Ehrenreich in “Becky Shaw”
Luke Evans in T”he Rocky Horror Show”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson in “Tru”
Susannah Flood in “Liberation”
Ishmael Gonzalez in “Spread”
Sean Hayes in “The Unknown”
Joshua Henry in “Ragtime”
Grey Henson in “Bigfoot!”
André Holland in “The Brothers Size”
Stephanie Hsu in “The Rocky Horror Show”
Alani iLongwe in “The Brothers Size”
Stephen Kunken in “Kyoto”
Caissie Levy in “Ragtime”
Lesley Manville in “Oedipus”
John McCrea in “Prince Faggot”
Laurie Metcalf in “Death of a Salesman” and “Little Bear Ridge Road”
Lea Michele in “Chess”
Marla Mindelle in “Titaníque”
Lizan Mitchell in “Cold War Choir Practice”
Aigner Mizzelle in “The Monsters”
Chloë Grace Moretz in “Caroline”
Lupita Nyong’o in “Twelfth Night”
Kelli O’Hara  in”Fallen Angels”
Christiani Pitts in “Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)”
Brian Quijada in “Mexodus”
Daniel Radcliffe in “Every Brilliant Thing”
Nygel D. Robinson in “Mexodus”
Jasmine Amy Rogers in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” and “The Wild Party”
Constantine Rousouli in “Titaníque”
Ruben Santiago-Hudson in Joe Turner’s “Come and Gone”
Ethan Slater in “Marcel on the Train”
Ari’el Stachel,Other
B Noel Thomas in “Saturday Church”
Taylor Trensch in “Bat Boy: The Musical”
Brandon Uranowitz in “Ragtime”
Jessica Vosk in “Beaches, A New Musical”
Adrienne Warren in “The Wild Party”
Kara Young in “Gruesome Playground Injuries” and “Proof”

In recognition of exemplary work by a Distinguished Performance winner:
Danny Burstein in “Marjorie Prime”
Neil Patrick Harris in “Art”
Hugh Jackman in “Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes”
Nathan Lane in “Death of a Salesman”
John Lithgow in “Giant”

Special Recognition Honorees:
Caissie Levy
David Cromer
Kamilah Forbes
Scott Ellis