| Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play |
| Location | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Drama Desk |
| First award | 2009 |
| Currently held by | Jon Clark for Stranger Things: The First Shadow (2025) |
| Website | dramadesk.org (defunct) |
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City.
The award was established in 1975, with the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design being presented each year to any play or musical production. For 2009, the singular award was replaced by separate play and musical categories, but then merged again from 2010 to 2015; the separate play and musical categories have again co-existed since 2016.
Both Christopher Akerlind and Amith Chandrashaker hold the record for most wins in the category, with two each. For nominations, Isabella Byrd has received the most, with four, followed closely by Chandrashaker and Jiyoun Chang with three nominations each.
| Year | Designer | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | ||
| David Hersey | Equus | |
| Marcus Doshi | Hamlet | |
| Ben Kato | Washing Machine | |
| R. Lee Kennedy | Bury the Dead | |
| Paul Pyant | The Winter's Tale | |
| Hugh Vanstone | Mary Stuart |
| Year | Designer | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ||
| Justin Townsend | The Humans | |
| Neil Austin | Hughie | |
| Mark Barton | John | |
| Bradley King | Empanada Loca | |
| Tyler Micoleau | Antlia Pneumatica | |
| 2017 | ||
| Christopher Akerlind | Indecent | |
| James Farncombe | The Tempest | |
| Rick Fisher | The Judas Kiss | |
| Mimi Jordan Sherin | The Hairy Ape | |
| Stephen Strawbridge | "Master Harold"...and the Boys | |
| Justin Townsend | The Little Foxes | |
| 2018 | ||
| Neil Austin | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | |
| Natasha Chivers | 1984 | |
| Alan C. Edwards | Kill Move Paradise | |
| Paul Gallo | Three Tall Women | |
| Paul Russell | Farinelli and the King | |
| 2019 | ||
| Amith Chandrashaker | Boesman and Lena | |
| Amith Chandrashaker | Fairview | |
| Jiyoun Chang | Slave Play | |
| Jon Clark | The Jungle | |
| Simon Cleveland | Spaceman | |
| Yi Zhao | The House That Will Not Stand |
| Year | Designer | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||
| Heather Gilbert | The Sound Inside | |
| Isabella Byrd | Heroes of the Fourth Turning | |
| Oona Curley | Dr. Ride's American Beach House | |
| Mimi Jordan Sherin | Judgment Day | |
| Yi Zhao | Greater Clements | |
| 2021 | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City [1] | |
| 2022 | ||
| Christopher Akerlind | Clyde's | |
| Amith Chandrashaker | Prayer for the French Republic | |
| Reza Behjat | English | |
| Isabella Byrd | Sanctuary City | |
| Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew | Cullud Wattah | |
| 2023 | Natasha Chivers & Willie Williams | Prima Facie |
| Isabella Byrd | Epiphany | |
| Jiyoun Chang | The Far Country | |
| Allen Lee Hughes | Ohio State Murders | |
| Cha See | On That Day in Amsterdam | |
| Japhy Weideman | August Wilson's The Piano Lesson | |
| 2024 | Jane Cox | Appropriate |
| Stacey Derosier | Uncle Vanya | |
| Jiyoun Chang | The Far Country | |
| Natasha Katz | Grey House | |
| Lizzie Powell | Macbeth (an undoing) | |
| Eric Southern | Swing State | |
| 2024 | Jon Clark | Stranger Things: The First Shadow |
| Isabella Byrd | Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp. | |
| Natasha Katz | John Proctor Is the Villain | |
| Tyler Micoleau | The Antiquities | |
| Paul Whitaker | SUMO | |