# Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play

The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play 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. The award was initially introduced in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, before being removed from the ceremony between 1960 and 1974. The award returned in the 1975 ceremony, with its current title.

## Winners and nominees
### 1950s

| Year | Play | Writer |
| 1955 |
| 1955 | Le Bal des Voleurs | Jean Anouilh |
| 1955 | The Merchant of Venice | William Shakespeare |
| 1955 | Twelfth Night | William Shakespeare |
| 1955 | The Way of the World | William Congreve |
| 1955 | The White Devil | John Webster |
| 1956 |
| 1956 | The Iceman Cometh | Eugene O'Neill |
| 1957–59 | — | — |

### 1960s

| Year | Play | Writer |
| 1960–69 | not awarded | not awarded |

### 1970s

| Year | Play | Writer |
| 1970–74 | not awarded | not awarded |
| 1975 |
| 1975 | Equus | Peter Shaffer |
| 1975 | Same Time, Next Year | Bernard Slade |
| 1975 | Absurd Person Singular | Alan Ayckbourn |
| 1975 | All Over Town | Murray Schisgal |
| 1975 | Hosanna | Michel Tremblay |
| 1975 | In Praise of Love | Terence Rattigan |
| 1975 | Naomi Court | Michael Sawyer |
| 1975 | The National Health | Peter Nichols |
| 1975 | P.S. Your Cat Is Dead | James Kirkwood, Jr. |
| 1975 | The Ritz | Terrence McNally |
| 1975 | Seascape | Edward Albee |
| 1975 | Sizwe Banzi Is Dead / The Island | Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona |
| 1976 |
| 1976 | Streamers | David Rabe |
| 1976 | Kennedy's Children | Robert Patrick |
| 1976 | Lamppost Reunion | Louis Larusso |
| 1976 | Medal of Honor Rag | Tom Cole |
| 1976 | Vanities | Jack Heifner |
| 1977 |
| 1977 | A Texas Trilogy | Preston Jones |
| 1977 | Otherwise Engaged | Simon Gray |
| 1977 | American Buffalo | David Mamet |
| 1977 | Comedians | Trevor Griffiths |
| 1977 | Gemini | Albert Innaurato |
| 1977 | G. R. Point | David Berry |
| 1977 | No Man's Land | Harold Pinter |
| 1977 | The Shadow Box | Michael Cristofer |
| 1977 | The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie | Albert Innaurato |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Da | Hugh Leonard |
| 1978 | Fifth of July | Lanford Wilson |
| 1978 | The Gin Game | Donald L. Coburn |
| 1978 | Landscape of the Body | John Guare |
| 1978 | The Merchant | Arnold Wesker |
| 1978 | The Water Engine | David Mamet |
| 1979 |
| 1979 | The Elephant Man | Bernard Pomerance |
| 1979 | Nevis Mountain Dew | Steve Carter |
| 1979 | On Golden Pond | Ernest Thompson |
| 1979 | Talley's Folly | Lanford Wilson |
| 1979 | Wings | Arthur Kopit |

### 1980s

| Year | Play | Writer |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | Children of a Lesser God | Mark Medoff |
| 1980 | Home | Samm-Art Williams |
| 1980 | The Irish Hebrew Lesson | Wolf Mankowitz |
| 1980 | Night and Day | Tom Stoppard |
| 1980 | Talley's Folly | Lanford Wilson |
| 1980 | Teibele and Her Demon | Isaac Bashevis Singer and Eve Friedman |
| 1981 |
| 1981 | Amadeus | Peter Shaffer |
| 1981 | Crimes of the Heart | Beth Henley |
| 1981 | Fifth of July | Lanford Wilson |
| 1981 | Mass Appeal | Bill C. Davis |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | "Master Harold"...and the Boys | Athol Fugard |
| 1982 | A Soldier's Play | Charles Fuller |
| 1982 | The Dance and the Railroad | David Henry Hwang |
| 1982 | The Dining Room | A. R. Gurney |
| 1982 | Family Devotions | David Henry Hwang |
| 1982 | Grown Ups | Jules Feiffer |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | Torch Song Trilogy | Harvey Fierstein |
| 1983 | Brighton Beach Memoirs | Neil Simon |
| 1983 | Edmond | David Mamet |
| 1983 | Extremities | William Mastrosimone |
| 1983 | Geniuses | Jonathan Reynolds |
| 1983 | True West | Sam Shepard |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | The Real Thing | Tom Stoppard |
| 1984 | And a Nightingale Sang | C.P. Taylor |
| 1984 | A Private View | Václav Havel |
| 1984 | Glengarry Glen Ross | David Mamet |
| 1984 | Isn't It Romantic | Wendy Wasserstein |
| 1984 | Noises Off | Michael Frayn |
| 1985 |
| 1985 | As Is | William M. Hoffman |
| 1985 | Biloxi Blues | Neil Simon |
| 1985 | Digby | Joseph Dougherty |
| 1985 | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | August Wilson |
| 1986 |
| 1986 | A Lie of the Mind | Sam Shepard |
| 1986 | Aunt Dan and Lemon | Wallace Shawn |
| 1986 | Benefactors | Michael Frayn |
| 1986 | Execution of Justice | Emily Mann |
| 1986 | Marriage of Bette and Boo | Christopher Durang |
| 1986 | Precious Sons | George Furth |
| 1987 |
| 1987 | Fences | August Wilson |
| 1987 | Broadway Bound | Neil Simon |
| 1987 | The Common Pursuit | Simon Gray |
| 1987 | Driving Miss Daisy | Alfred Uhry |
| 1987 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Christopher Hampton |
| 1987 | North Shore Fish | Israel Horovitz |
| 1987 | Wild Honey | Michael Frayn |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | M. Butterfly | David Henry Hwang |
| 1988 | Boys' Life | Howard Korder |
| 1988 | Joe Turner's Come and Gone | August Wilson |
| 1988 | The Road to Mecca | Athol Fugard |
| 1988 | Speed-the-Plow | David Mamet |
| 1988 | Woman in Mind | Alan Ayckbourn |
| 1989 |
| 1989 | The Heidi Chronicles | Wendy Wasserstein |
| 1989 | The Cocktail Hour | A. R. Gurney |
| 1989 | The Film Society | Jon Robin Baitz |
| 1989 | Only Kidding! | Jim Geoghan |
| 1989 | Reckless | Craig Lucas |
| 1989 | Shirley Valentine | Willy Russell |

### 1990s

| Year | Play | Writer |
| 1990 |
| 1990 | The Piano Lesson | August Wilson |
| 1990 | The Lisbon Traviata | Terrence McNally |
| 1990 | Prelude to a Kiss | Craig Lucas |
| 1990 | The Secret Rapture | David Hare |
| 1990 | Some Americans Abroad | Richard Nelson |
| 1991 |
| 1991 | Lost in Yonkers | Neil Simon |
| 1991 | La Bête | David Hirson |
| 1991 | Six Degrees of Separation | John Guare |
| 1991 | The Wash | Philip Kan Gotanda |
| 1992 |
| 1992 | Marvin's Room | Scott McPherson |
| 1992 | A Small Family Business | Alan Ayckbourn |
| 1992 | Dancing at Lughnasa | Brian Friel |
| 1992 | Lips Together, Teeth Apart | Terrence McNally |
| 1992 | Mad Forest | Caryl Churchill |
| 1992 | Sight Unseen | Donald Margulies |
| 1993 |
| 1993 | Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | Tony Kushner |
| 1993 | Jeffrey | Paul Rudnick |
| 1993 | Joined at the Head | Catherine Butterfield |
| 1993 | Oleanna | David Mamet |
| 1993 | The Sisters Rosensweig | Wendy Wasserstein |
| 1993 | Three Hotels | Jon Robin Baitz |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | Angels in America: Perestroika | Tony Kushner |
| 1994 | All in the Timing | David Ives |
| 1994 | The Kentucky Cycle | Robert Schenkkan |
| 1994 | The Lights | Howard Korder |
| 1994 | Pterodactyls | Nicky Silver |
| 1994 | Three Tall Women | Edward Albee |
| 1995 |
| 1995 | Love! Valour! Compassion! | Terrence McNally |
| 1995 | Arcadia | Tom Stoppard |
| 1995 | The Cryptogram | David Mamet |
| 1995 | Missing Persons | Craig Lucas |
| 1995 | Raised in Captivity | Nicky Silver |
| 1995 | subUrbia | Eric Bogosian |
| 1996 |
| 1996 | Master Class | Terrence McNally |
| 1996 | The Model Apartment | Donald Margulies |
| 1996 | Molly Sweeney | Brian Friel |
| 1996 | Seven Guitars | August Wilson |
| 1996 | Sylvia | A. R. Gurney |
| 1996 | Valley Song | Athol Fugard |
| 1997 |
| 1997 | How I Learned to Drive | Paula Vogel |
| 1997 | Dealer's Choice | Patrick Marber |
| 1997 | The Last Night of Ballyhoo | Alfred Uhry |
| 1997 | The Skriker | Caryl Churchill |
| 1997 | This is Our Youth | Kenneth Lonergan |
| 1998 |
| 1998 | The Beauty Queen of Leenane | Martin McDonagh |
| 1998 | 'Art' | Yasmina Reza |
| 1998 | As Bees In Honey Drown | Douglas Carter Beane |
| 1998 | Collected Stories | Donald Margulies |
| 1998 | Side Man | Warren Leight |
| 1998 | Three Days of Rain | Richard Greenberg |
| 1999 |
| 1999 | Wit | Margaret Edson |
| 1999 | Betty's Summer Vacation | Christopher Durang |
| 1999 | Closer | Patrick Marber |
| 1999 | Not About Nightingales | Tennessee Williams |
| 1999 | The Ride Down Mt. Morgan | Arthur Miller |
| 1999 | Snakebit | David Marshall Grant |

### 2000s

| Year | Play | Writer |
| 2000 |
| 2000 | Copenhagen | Michael Frayn |
| 2000 | Contact with the Enemy | Frank D. Gilroy |
| 2000 | Dinner with Friends | Donald Margulies |
| 2000 | Dirty Blonde | Claudia Shear |
| 2000 | Jitney | August Wilson |
| 2000 | The Tale of the Allergist's Wife | Charles Busch |
| 2001 |
| 2001 | Proof | David Auburn |
| 2001 | Boy Gets Girl | Rebecca Gilman |
| 2001 | Comic Potential | Alan Ayckbourn |
| 2001 | The Invention of Love | Tom Stoppard |
| 2001 | Lobby Hero | Kenneth Lonergan |
| 2001 | The Unexpected Man | Yasmina Reza |
| 2002 |
| 2002 | The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? | Edward Albee |
| 2002 | Metamorphoses | Mary Zimmerman |
| 2002 | Franny's Way | Richard Nelson |
| 2002 | The Shape of Things | Neil LaBute |
| 2002 | Thief River | Lee Blessing |
| 2002 | Topdog/Underdog | Suzan-Lori Parks |
| 2003 |
| 2003 | Take Me Out | Richard Greenberg |
| 2003 | Buicks | Julian Sheppard |
| 2003 | Our Lady of 121st Street | Stephen Adly Guirgis |
| 2003 | Peter and Vandy | Jay DiPietro |
| 2003 | Talking Heads | Alan Bennett |
| 2003 | Yellowman | Dael Orlandersmith |
| 2004 |
| 2004 | I Am My Own Wife | Doug Wright |
| 2004 | The Beard of Avon | Amy Freed |
| 2004 | The Distance from Here | Neil LaBute |
| 2004 | Humble Boy | Charlotte Jones |
| 2004 | Moby-Dick | Julian Rad |
| 2004 | The Tricky Part | Martin Moran |
| 2005 |
| 2005 | Doubt | John Patrick Shanley |
| 2005 | Democracy | Michael Frayn |
| 2005 | Pentecost | David Edgar |
| 2005 | The Pillowman | Martin McDonagh |
| 2005 | Sailor's Song | John Patrick Shanley |
| 2005 | Sin (A Cardinal Deposed) | Michael Murphy |
| 2006 |
| 2006 | The History Boys | Alan Bennett |
| 2006 | Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams | Terrence McNally |
| 2006 | The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Martin McDonagh |
| 2006 | No Foreigners Beyond This Point | Warren Leight |
| 2006 | The Pavilion | Craig Wright |
| 2006 | Stuff Happens | David Hare |
| 2007 |
| 2007 | The Coast of Utopia | Tom Stoppard |
| 2007 | The Accomplices | Bernard Weinraub |
| 2007 | Blackbird | David Harrower |
| 2007 | Frost/Nixon | Peter Morgan |
| 2007 | Radio Golf | August Wilson |
| 2007 | Some Men | Terrence McNally |
| 2008 |
| 2008 | August: Osage County | Tracy Letts |
| 2008 | Dividing the Estate | Horton Foote |
| 2008 | From Up Here | Liz Flahive |
| 2008 | Horizon | Rinde Eckert |
| 2008 | Intimate Exchanges | Alan Ayckbourn |
| 2008 | Rock 'n' Roll | Tom Stoppard |
| 2009 |
| 2009 | Ruined | Lynn Nottage |
| 2009 | Becky Shaw | Gina Gionfriddo |
| 2009 | Body Awareness | Annie Baker |
| 2009 | Fifty Words | Michael Weller |
| 2009 | Lady | Craig Wright |
| 2009 | reasons to be pretty | Neil LaBute |

### 2010s

| Year | Play | Writer |
| 2010 |
| 2010 | Red | John Logan |
| 2010 | Circle Mirror Transformation | Annie Baker |
| 2010 | Clybourne Park | Bruce Norris |
| 2010 | Happy Now? | Lucinda Coxon |
| 2010 | My Wonderful Day | Alan Ayckbourn |
| 2010 | Next Fall | Geoffrey Nauffts |
| 2011 |
| 2011 | War Horse | Nick Stafford |
| 2011 | A Bright New Boise | Samuel D. Hunter |
| 2011 | A Small Fire | Adam Bock |
| 2011 | Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo | Rajiv Joseph |
| 2011 | Good People | David Lindsay-Abaire |
| 2011 | The Motherf**ker with the Hat | Stephen Adly Guirgis |
| 2011 | Other Desert Cities | Jon Robin Baitz |
| 2012 |
| 2012 | Tribes | Nina Raine |
| 2012 | The Big Meal | Dan LeFranc |
| 2012 | By the Way, Meet Vera Stark | Lynn Nottage |
| 2012 | Chinglish | David Henry Hwang |
| 2012 | Completeness | Itamar Moses |
| 2012 | The Lyons | Nicky Silver |
| 2012 | Unnatural Acts | Members of Plastic Theatre |
| 2013 |
| 2013 | Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike | Christopher Durang |
| 2013 | The Assembled Parties | Richard Greenberg |
| 2013 | Belleville | Amy Herzog |
| 2013 | Falling | Deanna Jent |
| 2013 | Finks | Joe Gilford |
| 2013 | The Flick | Annie Baker |
| 2013 | Sorry | Richard Nelson |
| 2014 |
| 2014 | All the Way | Robert Schenkkan |
| 2014 | Core Values | Steven Levenson |
| 2014 | Domesticated | Bruce Norris |
| 2014 | The Explorers Club | Nell Benjamin |
| 2014 | The Night Alive | Conor McPherson |
| 2014 | Outside Mullingar | John Patrick Shanley |
| 2014 | Regular Singing | Richard Nelson |
| 2015 |
| 2015 | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | Simon Stephens |
| 2015 | You Got Older | Clare Barron |
| 2015 | Airline Highway | Lisa D'Amour |
| 2015 | The City of Conversation | Anthony Giardina |
| 2015 | Between Riverside and Crazy | Stephen Adly Guirgis |
| 2015 | My Manãna Comes | Elizabeth Irwin |
| 2015 | Let the Right One In | Jack Thorne |
| 2016 | The Humans | Stephen Karam |
| 2016 | The Christians | Lucas Hnath |
| 2016 | John | Annie Baker |
| 2016 | King Charles III | Mike Bartlett |
| 2016 | The Royale | Marco Ramírez |
| 2017 |
| 2017 | Oslo | J. T. Rogers |
| 2017 | If I Forget | Steven Levenson |
| 2017 | Indecent | Paula Vogel |
| 2017 | A Life | Adam Bock |
| 2017 | Sweat | Lynn Nottage |
| 2018 |
| 2018 | Admissions | Joshua Harmon |
| 2018 | Mary Jane | Amy Herzog |
| 2018 | Miles for Mary | The Mad Ones |
| 2018 | People, Places and Things | Duncan Macmillan |
| 2018 | School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play | Jocelyn Bioh |
| 2019 |
| 2019 | The Ferryman | Jez Butterworth |
| 2019 | Fairview | Jackie Sibblies Drury |
| 2019 | Lewiston/Clarkston | Samuel D. Hunter |
| 2019 | Usual Girls | Ming Peiffer |
| 2019 | What the Constitution Means to Me | Heidi Schreck |

### 2020s

| Year | Play | Writer |
| 2020 |
| 2020 | The Inheritance | Matthew Lopez |
| 2020 | Cambodian Rock Band | Lauren Yee |
| 2020 | Greater Clements | Samuel D. Hunter |
| 2020 | Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven | Stephen Adly Guirgis |
| 2020 | Heroes of the Fourth Turning | Will Arbery |
| 2021 | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City |
| 2022 |
| 2022 | Prayer for the French Republic | Joshua Harmon |
| 2022 | The Chinese Lady | Lloyd Suh |
| 2022 | Cullud Wattah | Erika Dickerson-Despenza |
| 2022 | English | Sanaz Toossi |
| 2022 | Sanctuary City | Martyna Majok |
| 2022 | Selling Kabul | Sylvia Khoury |
| 2023 |
| 2023 | Leopoldstadt | Tom Stoppard |
| 2023 | A Case for the Existence of God | Samuel D. Hunter |
| 2023 | Fat Ham | James Ijames |
| 2023 | Love | Alexander Zeldin |
| 2023 | Prima Facie | Suzie Miller |
| 2023 | Wish You Were Here | Sanaz Toossi |
| 2024 |
| 2024 | Stereophonic | David Adjmi |
| 2024 | Infinite Life | Annie Baker |
| 2024 | Jaja's African Hair Braiding | Jocelyn Bioh |
| 2024 | Mother Play | Paula Vogel |
| 2024 | Swing State | Rebecca Gilman |
| 2024 | The Ally | Itamar Moses |