# Drama Desk Special Award

The Drama Desk Special Award is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements by an individual or an organization that has made a significant contribution to the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway or off-off-Broadway productions in New York City.
The award was first presented in 1976; in 2012, the Drama Desk Award Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award was added as a component of the Special Award, and those award winners are included in this article.

## Winners and nominees
### 1970s

| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
| 1976 |
| 1976 | Hartman Theatre Company |
| 1976 | Outstanding Contribution by a New Theatre Company |
| 1976 | Queens Theatre in the Park |
| 1976 | Outstanding Contribution by a New Theatre Company |
| 1977 | — |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Off-Off Broadway Theatre Movement |
| 1978 | Outstanding Contribution to Theatre |

### 1980s

| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club |
| 1980 | Performances by International Companies |
| 1981 | — |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Jonathan Tunick |
| 1982 | — |
| 1982 | Ridiculous Theatrical Company |
| 1982 | — |
| 1982 | The Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1982 | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | WPA Theatre |
| 1983 | — |
| 1983 | Douglas Watt |
| 1983 | Distinguished Achievement |
| 1983 | Richard Wilbur |
| 1983 | His English Translation of The Misanthrope |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Alan Schneider |
| 1984 | Serving a Wide Range of Playwrights |
| 1984 | Michael Bennett, Joseph Papp and the Shubert Organization |
| 1984 | The 3,389th Performance of A Chorus Line |
| 1984 | B. H. Barry |
| 1984 | Consistent Excellence in Fight Staging |
| 1984 | Equity Library Theatre |
| 1984 | Showcasing Theater Professionals |
| 1984 | InterArt Theater |
| 1984 | Nurturing Female Theater Artists |
| 1985 |
| 1985 | Gerard Alessandrini |
| 1985 | Forbidden Broadway |
| 1985 | Ridiculous Theatrical Company |
| 1985 | Quick Change Wizardry in The Mystery of Irma Vep |
| 1985 | Claudette Colbert and Rex Harrison |
| 1985 | The Continuing Pleasure of Their Company |
| 1985 | Veterans Ensemble Theater Company |
| 1985 | Giving Voice to Trauma of Vietnam |
| 1986 |
| 1986 | Thomas Z. Shepard |
| 1986 | Preserving Musical Theatre Heritage on Record |
| 1986 | Agnes de Mille |
| 1986 | Her Enduring Legacy of Cherished Choreography |
| 1986 | Joyce Theater |
| 1986 | The American Theater Exchange Program |
| 1986 | The New Amsterdam Theater Company |
| 1986 | Distinguished Concert Productions |
| 1986 | Donald Pippin |
| 1986 | Musical Direction and Commitment to Theater |
| 1986 | Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn |
| 1986 | Their Continuing Theatrical Partnership |
| 1987 |
| 1987 | Stanley Lebowsky |
| 1987 | Musical Direction and Commitment to Theater |
| 1987 | Paul Davis and Frank Verlizzo |
| 1987 | Inspired Art Work for Theatrical Productions |
| 1987 | Henry Cohen, Donald Rose and Robert Kimball |
| 1987 | Rescuing Classic Broadway Scores |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | Actors' Equity |
| 1988 | 75 years of Championing the Professional Actor |
| 1988 | Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT) |
| 1988 | The Preservation of Our Theatrical Heritage |
| 1988 | Yale Repertory Theatre |
| 1988 | Nurturing Plays of Significance |
| 1988 | Michael Feinstein |
| 1988 | Celebrating American Musical Theater Songs |
| 1989 |
| 1989 | Paul Gemignani |
| 1989 | — |
| 1989 | Bernard Gersten |
| 1989 | — |
| 1989 | Manhattan Theatre Club |
| 1989 | — |
| 1989 | John A. McGlinn |
| 1989 | — |
| 1989 | Gregory Mosher |
| 1989 | — |
| 1989 | Jerome Robbins |
| 1989 | — |

### 1990s

| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
| 1990 |
| 1990 | The Fund for New American Plays |
| 1990 | Support of American Playwrights and Theaters |
| 1990 | Jule Styne |
| 1990 | A Lifetime of Glorious Theater Music |
| 1990 | Kevin Haney |
| 1990 | His Makeup for Tru and Other Shows |
| 1991 |
| 1991 | Brooklyn Academy of Music |
| 1991 | Bringing International Productions to New York |
| 1991 | James McMullan |
| 1991 | Consistently Inspired Art Work for Theater |
| 1991 | New Dramatists |
| 1991 | Decades of Nurturing American Playwrights |
| 1991 | Harold Rome |
| 1991 | His Distinctive Contribution to Musical Theatre |
| 1992 | — |
| 1993 |
| 1993 | Early Stages |
| 1993 | — |
| 1993 | The Public Theater / New York Shakespeare Festival |
| 1993 | Puppetry at the Public Theater |
| 1993 | RCA Victor Records |
| 1993 | — |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | John A. Willis |
| 1994 | Fifty Years of Devotion to Theater and its Artists |
| 1994 | Janet Hayes Walker |
| 1994 | Twenty-Five Years at the York Theatre Company |
| 1995 |
| 1995 | Eileen Atkins |
| 1995 | — |
| 1995 | Otis Guernsey Jr. |
| 1995 | — |
| 1995 | The Non-Traditional Casting Project |
| 1995 | — |
| 1995 | Barrow Group |
| 1995 | Off-Off Broadway Excellence |
| 1996 |
| 1996 | George C. Scott |
| 1996 | Lifetime Devotion to Theatre |
| 1996 | Repertorio Español |
| 1996 | Providing Spanish-Language Entertainment |
| 1996 | Signature Theatre Company |
| 1996 | The Concept of Annually Serving One Playwright |
| 1996 | Theatreworks USA |
| 1996 | Thirty-Five Years of Entertaining Children and Parents |
| 1997 |
| 1997 | The Moscow Sovremennik Theatre Company |
| 1997 | Into the Whirlwind and Three Sisters |
| 1998 |
| 1998 | Vineyard Theatre |
| 1998 | Quality Work and the New S.P.A.C.E. Program |
| 1998 | Arthur Miller |
| 1998 | Lifetime Achievement in the Theater |
| 1999 |
| 1999 | Al Hirschfeld |
| 1999 | Lifetime Achievement |
| 1999 | Sony Classical |
| 1999 | Its Columbia Broadway Masterworks Series |
| 1999 | The Actors' Fund of America |
| 1999 | — |

### 2000s

| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
| 2000 |
| 2000 | Alexander H. Cohen (posthumously), Barnard Hughes and Helen Stenborg |
| 2000 | Lifetime Achievement |
| 2001 |
| 2001 | Reba McEntire |
| 2001 | Her Performance in Annie Get Your Gun |
| 2001 | Seán Campion and Conleth Hill |
| 2001 | Their Performances in Stones in His Pockets |
| 2002 |
| 2002 | Paul Huntley |
| 2002 | Lifetime Achievement |
| 2002 | Billy Rosenfield |
| 2002 | Preserving Musical Theatre Recordings |
| 2002 | Mint Theater Company |
| 2002 | Presenting and Preserving Little Known Classics |
| 2002 | Worth Street Theater Company |
| 2002 | Its Stage Door Canteen Shows at Ground Zero |
| 2003 |
| 2003 | Brooklyn Academy of Music |
| 2003 | Bringing International Works to New York |
| 2004 |
| 2004 | The Flea Theater |
| 2004 | — |
| 2004 | Classical Theatre of Harlem |
| 2004 | — |
| 2004 | Dakin Matthews |
| 2004 | Henry IV |
| 2005 |
| 2005 | Keen Company |
| 2005 | Plays That Build Upon Our Theatrical Heritage |
| 2005 | The Public Theater / New York Shakespeare Festival |
| 2005 | Fifty Years of Exceptional Theater Contributions |
| 2006 |
| 2006 | BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop |
| 2006 | Nurturing, Developing and Promoting New Talent for the Musical Theater |
| 2006 | York Theatre Company |
| 2006 | Its Vital Contributions to Theater by Developing and Presenting New Musicals |
| 2006 | Sh-K-Boom Records / Ghostlight Records |
| 2006 | Dedication to the Preservation of Musical Theater Through Cast Recordings |
| 2007 |
| 2007 | John Kander and Fred Ebb |
| 2007 | Forty-Two Years of Excellence in Advancing the Art of the Musical Theatre |
| 2007 | Austin Pendleton |
| 2007 | A Renaissance Man of the American Theatre |
| 2007 | Transport Group |
| 2007 | Its Breadth of Vision and its Presentation of Challenging Productions |
| 2007 | Folksbiene (National Yiddish Theatre) |
| 2007 | Preserving for Ninety-Two Consecutive Seasons the Cultural Legacy of Yiddish theatre in America |
| 2008 |
| 2008 | Edward Albee |
| 2008 | His Provocative Plays, Including This Season's Peter and Jerry, Which Enrich the American Theater |
| 2008 | James Earl Jones |
| 2008 | A Commanding Force on the Stage for Nearly Half a Century |
| 2008 | Playwrights Horizons |
| 2008 | Ongoing Support to Generations of Theater Artists and Undiminished Commitment to Producing New Work |
| 2008 | 59E59 Theaters |
| 2008 | Whose Imaginative Curatorial Vision Has Created a Stimulating Environment to Nurture a Diverse Range of Artists |
| 2009 |
| 2009 | Liza Minnelli |
| 2009 | Her Enduring Career of Sustained Excellence, and Her Performance in Liza's at The Palace...! |
| 2009 | Atlantic Theater Company and artistic director Neil Pepe |
| 2009 | Exceptional Craftsmanship, Dedication to Excellence and Productions That Engage, Inspire and Enlighten |
| 2009 | TADA! Youth Theater |
| 2009 | Providing an Invaluable Contribution to the Future of the Theater. |
| 2009 | Forbidden Broadway |
| 2009 | Its Satire and Celebration of Broadway |

### 2010s

| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
| 2010 |
| 2010 | The Cast, Creative Team and Producers of Horton Foote's The Orphans' Home Cycle |
| 2010 | The Breadth of Vision, Which Inspired the Exceptional Direction, Performances, Sets, Lighting, Costumes, Music and Sound That Made it the Theatrical Event of This Season |
| 2010 | Jerry Herman |
| 2010 | Enchanting and Dazzling Audiences with His Exuberant Music and Heartfelt Lyrics for More Than Half a Century |
| 2010 | Godlight Theatre Company |
| 2010 | Consistent Originality and Excellence in Dramatizing Modern Literature, and Especially for the Vibrant Theatricality of its Innovative Productions |
| 2010 | Ma-Yi Theater Company |
| 2010 | More Than Two Decades of Excellence and for Nurturing Asian-American Voices in Stylistically Varied and Engaging Theater |
| 2011 |
| 2011 | A. R. Gurney |
| 2011 | His Enduring, Keenly Observed Portraits of American Life Over a Prolific Four-Decade-Long Career |
| 2011 | Reed Birney |
| 2011 | Versatile and Finely Nuanced Performances Over the Past 35 Years, and for His Exceptional Work This Season in Tigers Be Still, A Small Fire and The Dream of the Burning Boy |
| 2011 | The New Group and Artistic Director Scott Elliott |
| 2011 | Presenting Contemporary New Voices and for Uncompromisingly Raw and Powerful Productions |
| 2011 | The Pearl Theatre Company |
| 2011 | Notable Productions of Classic Plays and Nurturing a Stalwart Resident Company of Actors |
| 2011 | Creative Team of War Horse |
| 2011 | Thrilling Stagecraft |
| 2012 |
| 2012 | Mary Testa |
| 2012 | Over Three Decades of Consistently Outstanding Work, Including Her Tour-de-Force Performance in This Season's Queen of the Mist |
| 2012 | Nick Westrate |
| 2012 | His Versatility in Unnatural Acts, Love's Labor's Lost, and Galileo was a Highlight of the Season |
| 2012 | New Victory Theater |
| 2012 | Providing Enchanting, Sophisticated Children's Theater That Appeals to the Child in All of Us, and for Nurturing a Love of Theater in Young People |
| 2012 | Stephen Karam (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) |
| 2012 | The Profoundly Moving Sons of the Prophet Confirmed His Status as One of the Most Promising Playwrights of His Generation |
| 2013 |
| 2013 | The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Isaac Robert Hurwitz |
| 2013 | A Decade of Creating and Nurturing New Musical Theater, Ensuring the Future of This Essential Art Form |
| 2013 | Wakka Wakka Productions |
| 2013 | Sophisticated Puppet Theater, as Represented by This Season's SAGA, That Explores with Wit, Imagination, and Insight Serious Issues of Our Times |
| 2013 | Jayne Houdyshell |
| 2013 | Her Artistry as an Exceptionally Versatile and Distinctive Broadway and Off-Broadway Performer |
| 2013 | Samuel D. Hunter |
| 2013 | His Emphatic and Indelible The Whale Affirms His Arrival as a Distinguished Dramatist Who Depicts the Human Condition |
| 2013 | Maruti Evans (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) |
| 2013 | His Ingenious Lighting Designs, Reflecting an Exquisite and Bold Theatrical Aesthetic. This Season's The Pilo Family Circus and Tiny Dynamite Confirm His Incandescent Creativity |
| 2014 |
| 2014 | Soho Rep |
| 2014 | Nearly Four Decades of Artistic Distinction, Innovative Production and Provocative Play Selection |
| 2014 | Veanne Cox |
| 2014 | Her Ability to Express the Eccentricities, Strengths and Vulnerabilities of a Range of Characters, and Notably for her Comedic Flair as Evidenced in This Season's The Old Friends and The Most Deserving |
| 2014 | Ed Sylvanus Iskandar (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) |
| 2014 | His Visionary Directorial Excellence. This Season's The Golden Dragon and The Mysteries Exemplify His Bold and Strikingly Original Imagination |
| 2015 |
| 2015 | Bess Wohl (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) |
| 2015 | Her writing expresses sensitivity, compassion, and humor with a sure hand. |
| 2015 | John Douglas Thompson |
| 2015 | His exceptional versatility in Tamburlaine the Great and The Iceman Cometh |
| 2015 | Ensemble Studio Theatre |
| 2015 | Unwavering commitment to producing new works by American playwrights since 1968, and enriching this season with productions of When January Feels Like Summer, Winners, and Five Times in One Night. Its Youngblood program fostered and nurtured Hand to God, setting Tyrone off on his devilish path to Broadway |
| 2015 | Andy Blankenbuehler |
| 2015 | His inspired and heart-stopping choreography in Hamilton |
| 2016 |
| 2016 | Sheldon Harnick |
| 2016 | Camp Broadway |
| 2016 | Danai Gurira (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) |
| 2017 |
| 2017 | Phil LaDuca |
| 2017 | Lila Neugebauer (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | |

### 2020s

| Year | Recipient and Contribution |
| 2020 |
| 2020 | Mary Bacon (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award) |
| 2020 | Continued her versatile career of compassionate, searing work with numerous companies, with two of Off-Broadway's most humane performances this season in Coal Country and Nothing Gold Can Stay |
| 2020 | The Actors Fund, Seth Rudetsky, and James Wesley |
| 2020 | Connecting members of the theater community and lifting spirits during the coronavirus crisis. |
| 2020 | The Public Theater's Mobile Unit |
| 2020 | The current Mobile Unit tours free Shakespeare throughout the five boroughs, including prisons, homeless shelters, and community centers, reminding audiences new and old that the play really is the thing. |
| 2020 | WP Theater and Julia Miles |
| 2020 | The largest, most enduring American company (and its founder) that nurtures and produces works by female-identified creators |
| 2020 | Claire Warden |
| 2020 | For her pioneering work as an intimacy choreographer on recent productions, and her leadership in the rapidly emerging movement of intimacy direction. Co-founder of Intimacy Directors International, contributing to theater experiences that are safer for performers and more authentic for contemporary audiences. |
| 2021 | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | |
| 2024 | |
| 'How To Dance In Ohio's Authentic Autism Access Team |