Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics | |
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Awarded for | Outstanding Lyrics |
Location | United States |
Presented by | Drama Desk |
Currently held by | Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman for Some Like It Hot (2023) |
Website | DramaDeskAwards.com |
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions.
Stephen Sondheim holds the record for most wins and nominations for the award, with ten wins out of twelve nominations.
Year | Lyricist | Production |
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1969 | ||
George Haimsohn & Robin Miller | Dames at Sea | |
Fred Ebb | Zorba |
Year | Lyricist | Production |
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1970 | ||
Stephen Sondheim | Company | |
Bertolt Brecht | Mahagonny | |
1971 | ||
Stephen Sondheim | Follies | |
1972 | ||
John Guare | Two Gentlemen of Verona | |
1973 | ||
Stephen Sondheim | A Little Night Music | |
1974 | ||
Al Carmines | The Faggot | |
1975 | ||
Charlie Smalls | The Wiz | |
Gene Curty, Nitra Scharfman & Chuck Strand | The Lieutenant | |
Jerry Herman | Mack and Mabel | |
Fred Silver | In Gay Company | |
1976 | ||
Edward Kleban & Marvin Hamlisch | A Chorus Line | |
Leonard Bernstein | 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue | |
Bill Heyer & Hank Beebe | Tuscaloosa's Calling Me | |
Stephen Sondheim | Pacific Overtures | |
1977 | ||
Martin Charnin | Annie | |
Alfred Uhry | The Robber Bridegroom | |
1978 | ||
Carol Hall | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas | |
Elizabeth Swados | Runaways | |
1979 | ||
Stephen Sondheim | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | |
Gretchen Cryer | I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road |
Year | Lyricist | Production |
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1980 | ||
Tim Rice | Evita | |
Steve Brown | Strider | |
1982 | ||
Stephen Sondheim | Merrily We Roll Along | |
Maury Yeston | Nine | |
Tom Eyen | Dreamgirls | |
Jim Wann | Pump Boys and Dinettes | |
1983 | ||
Howard Ashman | Little Shop of Horrors | |
Michael Colby | Charlotte Sweet | |
T.S. Eliot | Cats | |
Des McAnuff | Death of Von Richthofen | |
1984 | ||
Stephen Sondheim | Sunday in the Park with George | |
Jerry Herman | La Cage aux Folles | |
Richard Maltby Jr. | Baby | |
Garry Trudeau | Doonesbury | |
1985 | ||
Roger Miller | Big River | |
Jerry Colker | 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down | |
Ellen Fitzhugh | Grind | |
1988 | ||
Stephen Sondheim | Into the Woods | |
Barry Harman | Romance/Romance |
Year | Lyricist | Production |
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1990 | ||
David Zippel | City of Angels | |
Richard Maltby Jr. | Closer Than Ever | |
Chet Forrest, Bob Wright & Maury Yeston | Grand Hotel | |
1991 | ||
William Finn | Falsettoland | |
Marsha Norman | The Secret Garden | |
Stephen Sondheim | Assassins | |
1992 | ||
Susan Birkenhead | Jelly's Last Jam | |
Erik Frandsen, Michael Garin, Robert Hipkins & Paul Lockheart | Song of Singapore | |
1993 | ||
Joel Paley | Ruthless! | |
Douglas Bernstein & Denis Markell | A Backer's Audition | |
Arthur Perlman | Wings | |
David Zippel | The Goodbye Girl | |
1994 | ||
Stephen Sondheim | Passion | |
Howard Ashman & Tim Rice | Beauty and the Beast | |
Michael John LaChiusa | Hello Again | |
1995 | — | |
1996 | ||
Jonathan Larson | Rent | |
1997 | ||
Gerard Alessandrini | Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back | |
Brian Crawley | Violet | |
Mark Waldrop | When Pigs Fly | |
1998 | ||
Lynn Ahrens | Ragtime | |
Stephen Trask | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | |
Susan Birkenhead | Triumph of Love | |
1999 | ||
Gerard Alessandrini | Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act | |
Jason Robert Brown | Parade | |
William Finn | A New Brain |
Year | Lyricist | Production |
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2020 | ||
Michael R. Jackson | A Strange Loop | |
Susan Birkenhead | The Secret Life of Bees | |
Adam Gwon | Scotland, PA | |
Joanne Sydney Lessner & Joshua Rosenblum | Einstein's Dreams | |
Dave Malloy | Octet | |
Mark Saltzman | Romeo & Bernadette | |
2022 | ||
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss | Six | |
Amanda Green | Mr. Saturday Night | |
Taylor Mac | The Hang | |
David Lindsay-Abaire | Kimberly Akimbo | |
Lynn Nottage | Intimate Apparel | |
Shaina Taub | Suffs | |
2023 | ||
Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman | Some Like It Hot | |
Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally | Shucked | |
Jonathan Hogue | Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical | |
Michael R. Jackson | White Girl in Danger | |
Adam Schlesinger and Sarah Silverman | The Bedwetter |
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