# Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics

The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in musical theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City.
Stephen Sondheim holds the record for most wins and nominations for the award, with ten wins out of twelve nominations.

## Winners and nominees
### 1960s

| Year | Lyricist | Production |
| 1969 |
| 1969 | George Haimsohn & Robin Miller | Dames at Sea |
| 1969 | Fred Ebb | Zorba |

### 1970s

| Year | Lyricist | Production |
| 1970 |
| 1970 | Stephen Sondheim | Company |
| 1970 | Bertolt Brecht | Mahagonny |
| 1971 |
| 1971 | Stephen Sondheim | Follies |
| 1972 |
| 1972 | John Guare | Two Gentlemen of Verona |
| 1973 |
| 1973 | Stephen Sondheim | A Little Night Music |
| 1974 |
| 1974 | Al Carmines | The Faggot |
| 1975 |
| 1975 | Charlie Smalls | The Wiz |
| 1975 | Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman & Chuck Strand | The Lieutenant |
| 1975 | Jerry Herman | Mack and Mabel |
| 1975 | Fred Silver | In Gay Company |
| 1976 |
| 1976 | Edward Kleban & Marvin Hamlisch | A Chorus Line |
| 1976 | Leonard Bernstein | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue |
| 1976 | Bill Heyer & Hank Beebe | Tuscaloosa's Calling Me |
| 1976 | Stephen Sondheim | Pacific Overtures |
| 1977 |
| 1977 | Martin Charnin | Annie |
| 1977 | Alfred Uhry | The Robber Bridegroom |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Carol Hall | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas |
| 1978 | Elizabeth Swados | Runaways |
| 1979 |
| 1979 | Stephen Sondheim | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |
| 1979 | Gretchen Cryer | I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road |

### 1980s

| Year | Lyricist | Production |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | Tim Rice | Evita |
| 1980 | Steve Brown | Strider |
| 1981 | — | — |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Stephen Sondheim | Merrily We Roll Along |
| 1982 | Maury Yeston | Nine |
| 1982 | Tom Eyen | Dreamgirls |
| 1982 | Jim Wann | Pump Boys and Dinettes |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | Howard Ashman | Little Shop of Horrors |
| 1983 | Michael Colby | Charlotte Sweet |
| 1983 | T.S. Eliot | Cats |
| 1983 | Des McAnuff | Death of Von Richthofen |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Stephen Sondheim | Sunday in the Park with George |
| 1984 | Jerry Herman | La Cage aux Folles |
| 1984 | Richard Maltby Jr. | Baby |
| 1984 | Garry Trudeau | Doonesbury |
| 1985 |
| 1985 | Roger Miller | Big River |
| 1985 | Jerry Colker | 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down |
| 1985 | Ellen Fitzhugh | Grind |
| 1986, 1987 | — | — |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | Stephen Sondheim | Into the Woods |
| 1988 | Barry Harman | Romance/Romance |
| 1989 | — | — |

### 1990s

| Year | Lyricist | Production |
| 1990 |
| 1990 | David Zippel | City of Angels |
| 1990 | Richard Maltby Jr. | Closer Than Ever |
| 1990 | Chet Forrest, Bob Wright & Maury Yeston | Grand Hotel |
| 1991 |
| 1991 | William Finn | Falsettoland |
| 1991 | Marsha Norman | The Secret Garden |
| 1991 | Stephen Sondheim | Assassins |
| 1992 |
| 1992 | Susan Birkenhead | Jelly's Last Jam |
| 1992 | Erik Frandsen, Michael Garin, Robert Hipkins & Paul Lockheart | Song of Singapore |
| 1993 |
| 1993 | Joel Paley | Ruthless! |
| 1993 | Douglas Bernstein & Denis Markell | A Backer's Audition |
| 1993 | Arthur Perlman | Wings |
| 1993 | David Zippel | The Goodbye Girl |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | Stephen Sondheim | Passion |
| 1994 | Howard Ashman & Tim Rice | Beauty and the Beast |
| 1994 | Michael John LaChiusa | Hello Again |
| 1995 | — | — |
| 1996 |
| 1996 | Jonathan Larson | Rent |
| 1997 |
| 1997 | Gerard Alessandrini | Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back |
| 1997 | Brian Crawley | Violet |
| 1997 | Mark Waldrop | When Pigs Fly |
| 1998 |
| 1998 | Lynn Ahrens | Ragtime |
| 1998 | Stephen Trask | Hedwig and the Angry Inch |
| 1998 | Susan Birkenhead | Triumph of Love |
| 1999 |
| 1999 | Gerard Alessandrini | Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act |
| 1999 | Jason Robert Brown | Parade |
| 1999 | William Finn | A New Brain |

### 2000s

| Year | Lyricist | Production |
| 2000 |
| 2000 | Stephen Sondheim | Saturday Night |
| 2000 | Boyd Graham | The Big Bang |
| 2000 | Jordan Allen-Dutton, Jason Catalano & GQ | The Bomb-itty of Errors |
| 2000 | Andrew Lippa | The Wild Party |
| 2001 |
| 2001 | Mel Brooks | The Producers |
| 2001 | Kirsten Childs | The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin |
| 2001 | Mark Hollmann & Greg Kotis | Urinetown |
| 2001 | Ed Kleban | A Class Act |
| 2001 | Laurence O'Keefe | Bat Boy: The Musical |
| 2001 | David Yazbek | The Full Monty |
| 2002 |
| 2002 | Jason Robert Brown | The Last Five Years |
| 2002 | Craig Carnelia | Sweet Smell of Success |
| 2002 | Jonathan Larson | Tick, Tick... BOOM! |
| 2002 | Kevin Murphy | Reefer Madness |
| 2002 | Dick Scanlan | Thoroughly Modern Millie |
| 2002 | Ben Schatz | Dragapella Starring The Kinsey Sicks |
| 2003 |
| 2003 | Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman | Hairspray |
| 2003 | Tim Acito & Alexander Dinelaris | Zanna, Don't! |
| 2003 | Lynn Ahrens | A Man of No Importance |
| 2003 | Craig Carnelia | Imaginary Friends |
| 2003 | Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx | Avenue Q |
| 2003 | Jeremy Sams & Didier van Cauwelaert | Amour |
| 2004 |
| 2004 | Stephen Schwartz | Wicked |
| 2004 | Joanne Bogart | The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) |
| 2004 | Boy George | Taboo |
| 2004 | Sean Hartley | Cupid and Psyche |
| 2004 | Joel Higgins | Johnny Guitar |
| 2005 |
| 2005 | Eric Idle | Spamalot |
| 2005 | Gary Adler & Michael Patrick Walker | Altar Boyz |
| 2005 | Douglas J. Cohen | Children's Letters to God |
| 2005 | Rick Crom | Newsical |
| 2005 | William Finn | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee |
| 2005 | David Yazbek | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels |
| 2006 |
| 2006 | Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison | The Drowsy Chaperone |
| 2006 | Chad Beguelin | The Wedding Singer |
| 2006 | Mark Campbell | Songs from an Unmade Bed |
| 2006 | Ryan Cunningham | I Love You Because |
| 2006 | Michael Korie | Grey Gardens |
| 2006 | Michael John LaChiusa | See What I Wanna See |
| 2007 |
| 2007 | Steven Sater | Spring Awakening |
| 2007 | Fred Ebb, Rupert Holmes & John Kander | Curtains |
| 2007 | Lin-Manuel Miranda | In the Heights |
| 2007 | Nell Benjamin & Laurence O'Keefe | Legally Blonde |
| 2007 | Mark Eaton, Elaina Newport & William Strauss | Capitol Steps |
| 2007 | Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman | Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me |
| 2008 |
| 2008 | Stew | Passing Strange |
| 2008 | Lynn Ahrens | The Glorious Ones |
| 2008 | Mel Brooks | Young Frankenstein |
| 2008 | John Bucchino | A Catered Affair |
| 2008 | Ben Katchor | The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island |
| 2008 | Jason Loewith & Joshua Schmidt | Adding Machine |
| 2009 |
| 2009 | Stephen Sondheim | Road Show |
| 2009 | Neil Bartram | The Story of My Life |
| 2009 | Jason Robert Brown | 13 |
| 2009 | Marcy Heisler | Dear Edwina |
| 2009 | David Lindsay-Abaire | Shrek the Musical |
| 2009 | Dolly Parton | 9 to 5 |

### 2010s

| Year | Lyricist | Production |
| 2010 |
| 2010 | Fred Ebb & John Kander | The Scottsboro Boys |
| 2010 | Rick Crom | Newsical |
| 2010 | Kevin Del Aguila | Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type |
| 2010 | Adèle Anderson & Dillie Keane | Fascinating Aïda |
| 2010 | Andrew Lippa | The Addams Family |
| 2010 | David Zellnik | Yank! |
| 2011 |
| 2011 | Trey Parker, Robert Lopez & Matt Stone | The Book of Mormon |
| 2011 | Rick Crom | Newsical The Musical – Full Spin Ahead |
| 2011 | Jack Lechner | The Kid |
| 2011 | Adam Mathias | See Rock City & Other Destinations |
| 2011 | Glenn Slater | Sister Act |
| 2011 | Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman | Catch Me If You Can |
| 2012 |
| 2012 | Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová | Once |
| 2012 | Don Black | Bonnie & Clyde |
| 2012 | Jack Feldman | Newsies |
| 2012 | Joy Gregory & Gunnar Madsen | The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World |
| 2012 | Michael John LaChiusa | Queen of the Mist |
| 2012 | Maury Yeston | Death Takes a Holiday |
| 2013 |
| 2013 | Tim Minchin | Matilda the Musical |
| 2013 | Amanda Green | Hands on a Hardbody |
| 2013 | Green & Lin-Manuel Miranda | Bring It On: The Musical |
| 2013 | Michael John LaChiusa | Giant |
| 2013 | Dave Malloy | Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 |
| 2013 | Steve Rosen & David Rossmer | The Other Josh Cohen |
| 2014 |
| 2014 | Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak | A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder |
| 2014 | Howard Ashman, Chad Beguelin & Tim Rice | Aladdin |
| 2014 | Jason Robert Brown | The Bridges of Madison County |
| 2014 | Michael Friedman | Love's Labour's Lost |
| 2014 | Michael Korie | Far from Heaven |
| 2014 | Lisa Kron | Fun Home |
| 2015 |
| 2015 | Lin-Manuel Miranda | Hamilton |
| 2015 | Jason Robert Brown | Honeymoon in Vegas |
| 2015 | Fred Ebb | The Visit |
| 2015 | Michael Friedman | The Fortress of Solitude |
| 2015 | Karey & Wayne Kirkpatrick | Something Rotten! |
| 2015 | Benjamin Scheuer | The Lion |
| 2016 |
| 2016 | Benj Pasek & Justin Paul | Dear Evan Hansen |
| 2016 | Sara Bareilles | Waitress |
| 2016 | Glenn Slater | School of Rock |
| 2016 | Michael John LaChiusa | First Daughter Suite |
| 2017 |
| 2017 | David Yazbek | The Band's Visit |
| 2017 | Gerard Alessandrini | Spamilton |
| 2017 | GQ & JAQ | Othello: The Remix |
| 2017 | Michael Korie | War Paint |
| 2017 | David Hein & Irene Sankoff | Come from Away |
| 2018 |
| 2018 | Peter Kellogg | Desperate Measures |
| 2018 | Nell Benjamin | Mean Girls |
| 2018 | Quiara Alegría Hudes & Erin McKeown | Miss You Like Hell |
| 2018 | Helen Park & Max Vernon | KPOP |
| 2019 |
| 2019 | David Yazbek | Tootsie |
| 2019 | Chad Beguelin | The Prom |
| 2019 | Andrew R. Butler | Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future |
| 2019 | Joe Iconis | Be More Chill |
| 2019 | Peter Mills | The Hello Girls |

### 2020s

| Year | Lyricist | Production |
| 2020 |
| 2020 | Michael R. Jackson | A Strange Loop |
| 2020 | Susan Birkenhead | The Secret Life of Bees |
| 2020 | Adam Gwon | Scotland, PA |
| 2020 | Joanne Sydney Lessner & Joshua Rosenblum | Einstein's Dreams |
| 2020 | Dave Malloy | Octet |
| 2020 | Mark Saltzman | Romeo & Bernadette |
| 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 | Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss | Six |
| 2022 | Amanda Green | Mr. Saturday Night |
| 2022 | Taylor Mac | The Hang |
| 2022 | David Lindsay-Abaire | Kimberly Akimbo |
| 2022 | Lynn Nottage | Intimate Apparel |
| 2022 | Shaina Taub | Suffs |
| 2023 |
| 2023 | Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman | Some Like It Hot |
| 2023 | Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally | Shucked |
| 2023 | Jonathan Hogue | Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical |
| 2023 | Michael R. Jackson | White Girl in Danger |
| 2023 | Adam Schlesinger and Sarah Silverman | The Bedwetter |
| 2024 |
| 2024 | David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna | Dead Outlaw |
| 2024 | Rachel Bloom, Eli Bolin, and Jack Dolgen | Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Show |
| 2024 | Jason Robert Brown | The Connector |
| 2024 | Michael R. Jackson | Teeth |
| 2024 | Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine | The Outsiders |

## Multiple wins
### 10 wins

* Stephen Sondheim

### 2 wins

* Gerard Alessandrini
* Fred Ebb
* Marc Shaiman
* Scott Wittman
* David Yazbek