Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations
Awarded for	Outstanding Orchestrations
Location	New York City
Country	United States
Presented by	Drama Desk
First award	1983
Currently held by	Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber for Just in Time (2025)
Website	dramadesk.org (defunct)

The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations 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. This category was eliminated after the 2011 ceremony, only to be reinstated about a week later due to popular and overwhelming demand from much of the Broadway community.

Winners and nominees

Key

  and bold indicates the winner.

1980s

Year	Orchestrator(s)	Production	Ref.
1983
	Michael Gibson	My One and Only	[1]
Hans Spialek	On Your Toes
1984
	Michael Starobin	Sunday in the Park with George	[2]
	Jonathan Tunick	Baby
	Jim Tyler	La Cage aux Folles
1985
	Steven Margoshes and Danny Troob	Big River	[3]
	Bill Byers	Grind
	Michael Starobin	Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down
		La bohème
1986
	Rupert Holmes	The Mystery of Edwin Drood	[4]
	Ralph Burns	Sweet Charity
	James McElwaine	Goblin Market
1987
	John Cameron	Les Misérables	[5]
	Wally Harper	Barbara Cook: A Concert for the Theatre
	Michael Starobin	Rags
	Chris Walker	Me and My Girl
1988
	David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber	The Phantom of the Opera	[6] [7]
	Michael Gibson	Anything Goes
	Michael Starobin	Birds of Paradise
	Jonathan Tunick	Into the Woods
1989	—

1990s

Year	Orchestrator(s)	Production	Ref.
1990
	Billy Byers	City of Angels	[8] [9]
	Rodolfo Alchourron and James Kowal	Dangerous Games
	David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber	Aspects of Love
	Peter Matz	Grand Hotel
1991
	William David Brohn	Miss Saigon	[10] [11]
	The Secret Garden
	Billy Byers	The Will Rogers Follies
	David Krane	And the World Goes 'Round
Mboni Ngema	Township Fever
1992
	Luther Henderson	Jelly's Last Jam	[12]
	John Carlini	Song of Singapore
	William David Brohn	Crazy For You
1993
	Jose Libertella and Luis Stazo	Tango Pasion	[13] [14]
	Steven Margoshes	The Who's Tommy
	Michael Starobin	My Favorite Year
	Chris Walker	Putting It Together
1994
	Jonathan Tunick	Passion	[15]
	Douglas Besterman	Damn Yankees
	Peter Matz	The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public
	Danny Troob	Beauty and the Beast
1995	—
1996
	Steve Skinner	Rent	[16] [17]
	Bruce Coughlin	Floyd Collins
1997
	Jonathan Tunick	Titanic	[18] [19] [20]
	Michael Gibson	Steel Pier
	Joseph Joubert and Buryl Red	Violet
	Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler	The Life
1998
	William David Brohn	Ragtime	[21] [22]
	Lisandro Adrover	Luis Bravo's Forever Tango
	Bruce Coughlin	The Sound of Music
	Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler	The Lion King
	Michael Gibson	Cabaret
	Stanley Silverman	The Capeman
1999
	Don Sebesky	Parade	[23] [24] [25]
	Michael Starobin	A New Brain
	Jonathan Tunick	Captains Courageous
	Jeff Waxman	Woody Guthrie's American Song

2000s

Year	Orchestrator(s)	Production	Ref.
2000
	Don Sebesky	Kiss Me, Kate	[26] [27]
	Doug Besterman	The Music Man
	Michael Gibson	The Wild Party
	Taliep Petersen	Kat and the Kings
	Jonathan Tunick	Saturday Night
	Harold Wheeler	Swing!
2001
	Doug Besterman	The Producers	[28] [29]
	Bruce Coughlin	Urinetown
	Michael Starobin	The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
	Jonathan Tunick	Follies
	Harold Wheeler	The Full Monty
2002
	Doug Besterman and Ralph Burns	Thoroughly Modern Millie	[30] [31]
	Jason Robert Brown	The Last Five Years
	Jonathan Tunick	Elaine Stritch: At Liberty
2003
	Harold Wheeler	Hairspray	[32] [33] [34]
	Luther Henderson	Little Ham
	Michel Legrand	Amour
2004
	William David Brohn	Wicked	[35] [36] [37]
	Paul Bogaev	Bombay Dreams
	Michael Starobin	Assassins
	Harold Wheeler	Never Gonna Dance
2005
	Bruce Coughlin, Adam Guettel and Ted Sperling	The Light in the Piazza	[38] [39]
	Steven M. Alper	The Immigrant
	Larry Hochman	Monty Python's Spamalot
	Doug Katsaros and Lynne Shankel	Altar Boyz
	Kim Scharnberg	Little Women
	Harold Wheeler	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
2006
	Sarah Travis	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street	[40] [41]
	Larry Blank	The Drowsy Chaperone
	Bruce Coughlin	Grey Gardens
		See What I Wanna See
	Daniel Feyer and Peter Mills	The Pursuit of Persephone
	Danny Troob and Dick Lieb	The Pajama Game
2007
	Mary Mitchell Campbell	Company	[42] [43] [44]
	Jonathan Tunick	LoveMusik
	William David Brohn	Curtains
	Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman	In the Heights
	Duncan Sheik	Spring Awakening
Jonathan Tunick	The Apple Tree
2008
	Jason Carr	Sunday in the Park with George	rowspan=6| [45] [46] [47]
	Doug Besterman	Young Frankenstein
	Michael Starobin	The Glorious Ones
	Stew and Heidi Rodewald	Passing Strange
	Jonathan Tunick	A Catered Affair
	Tim Weil	10 Million Miles
2009
	Martin Koch	Billy Elliot the Musical	[48] [49] [50]
	Larry Blank	Irving Berlin's White Christmas
	Bruce Coughlin, Stephen Oremus and Alex Lacamoire	9 to 5
	Aaron Johnson and Antibalas	Fela!
	Edward B. Kessel	A Tale of Two Cities
	Danny Troob and John Clancy	Shrek the Musical

2010s

Year	Orchestrator(s)	Production	Ref.
2010
	Daryl Waters and David Bryan	Memphis	[51]
	Larry Hochman	The Scottsboro Boys
	Tom Kitt	American Idiot
		Everyday Rapture
	John Oddo	All About Me
2011
	Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus	The Book of Mormon	[52] [53] [54]
	Mary-Mitchell Campbell	Hello Again
	Bruce Coughlin	The Burnt Part Boys
	Simon Hale, Jim Abbott and David Yazbek	Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
	Marc Shaiman and Larry Blank	Catch Me If You Can
	Lynne Shankel	The Extraordinary Ordinary
2012
	Martin Lowe	Once	[55] [56] [57]
	Bill Elliott	Nice Work If You Can Get It
	Larry Hochman	Death Takes a Holiday
	John McDaniel	Bonnie & Clyde
	Michael Starobin	Queen of the Mist
	Danny Troob	Newsies
2013
	Danny Troob	Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella	[58] [59]
	Trey Anastasio and Don Hart	Hands on a Hardbody
	Larry Blank	A Christmas Story: The Musical
	Bruce Coughlin	Giant
	Larry Hochman	Chaplin: The Musical
	Steve Margoshes	Soul Doctor
2014
	Jason Robert Brown	The Bridges of Madison County	[60] [61] [62]
	John Clancy	Fun Home
	Larry Hochman	Big Fish
	Steve Sidwell	Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
	Michael Starobin	If/Then
	Jonathan Tunick	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
2015
	Christopher Austin	An American in Paris	[63] [64]
	Mary-Mitchell Campbell	Allegro
	Larry Hochman	Something Rotten!
	Alex Lacamoire	Hamilton
	Rob Mathes	The Last Ship
	Don Sebesky, Larry Blank, Jason Robert Brown and Charlie Rosen	Honeymoon in Vegas
2016
	Larry Hochman	She Loves Me	[65] [66]
	August Eriksmoen	Bright Star
	Joseph Joubert and Catherine Jayes	The Color Purple
	Andrew Lloyd Webber	School of Rock
	Michael Starobin and Bruce Coughlin	First Daughter Suite
2017
	Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen	Bandstand	[67] [68]
	Doug Besterman	Anastasia
	Bruce Coughlin	War Paint
	Benjamin Cox	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
	August Eriksmoen	Come from Away
	Jamshied Sharifi	The Band's Visit
2018
	Jonathan Tunick	Carousel	[69] [70]
	Tom Kitt	SpongeBob SquarePants
	Annmarie Milazzo and Michael Starobin	Once on This Island
	Charlie Rosen and Erin McKeown	Miss You Like Hell
	Jonathan Tunick	Pacific Overtures
2019
	Daniel Kluger	Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!	[71] [72]
	Larry Blank	Fiddler on the Roof
	Simon Hale	Girl from the North Country
	Charlie Rosen	Be More Chill
	Daryl Waters	The Cher Show

2020s

Year	Orchestrator(s)	Production	Ref.
2020
	Tom Kitt	Jagged Little Pill	[73] [74]
	Alex Lacamoire	The Wrong Man
	Or Matias and Dave Malloy	Octet
	Danny Troob, John Clancy, and Larry Hochman	Soft Power
	Jonathan Tunick	West Side Story
2021	No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City [75]
2022
	Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg	MJ	[76] [77] [78]
	Tom Curran	Six
	Greg Jarrett	Assassins
	Mark Hartman and Yasuhiko Fukuoka	The Streets of New York
2023
	Bryan Carter and Charlie Rosen	Some Like It Hot	[79] [80]
	Bruce Coughlin	A Man of No Importance
	Jason Howland	Shucked
	Kenny Seymour	The Harder They Come
	Daryl Waters and Sam Davis	New York, New York
2024	Marco Paguia	Buena Vista Social Club	[81] [82]
	Timo Andres	Illinoise
	Will Butler and Justin Craig	Stereophonic
	Andy Evan Cohen	The Greatest Hits Down Route 66
	Erik Della Penna, Dean Sharenow, and David Yazbek	Dead Outlaw
	Michael Starobin, Shaina Taub (vocal arrangements), and Andrea Grody (vocal arrangements)	Suffs
2025
	Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber	Just in Time	[83] [84]
	Will Aronson	Maybe Happy Ending
	Doug Besterman	Boop! The Musical
	Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters	Pirates! The Penzance Musical
	Michael Starobin	All the World's a Stage

Statistics

Multiple wins 4 wins Jonathan Tunick 3 wins William David Brohn 2 wins Doug Besterman Larry Hochman Don Sebesky Danny Troob

Multiple nominations 15 nominations Jonathan Tunick Michael Starobin 9 nominations Larry Hochman 7 nominations Doug Besterman Danny Troob 6 nominations Harold Wheeler 5 nominations William David Brohn Michael Gibson 4 nominations Don Sebesky Alex Lacamoire 3 nominations Steven Margoshes Bill Byers Jason Robert Brown Tom Kitt Joseph Joubert 2 nominations David Yazbek Ralph Burns Peter Matz Luther Henderson

See also

• Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
• Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Orchestrations

References

1. "1983 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
2. "1984 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
3. "1985 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
4. "1986 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
5. "1987 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
6. "1988 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
7. "Into the Woods Wins Award". The New York Times. May 25, 1988. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
8. "1990 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
9. "Drama Desk Awards to Angels and Lesson". The New York Times. May 17, 1990. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
10. "1991 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
11. "'Will Rogers' and 'Yonkers' Win Drama Desk Awards". The New York Times. 13 May 1991.
12. "1992 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
13. "1993 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
14. "Drama Desk Honors Kiss and Angels". The New York Times. May 18, 1993. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
15. "1994 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
16. "1996 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
17. Robert Viagas (May 20, 1996). "Drama Desk Awards to Rent, Master Class". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
18. "1997 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
19. "Drama Desk Picks Performers, Presenters & Venue, May 18". Playbill. May 13, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
20. "Chicago Tops Drama Desks". Variety. May 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
21. "1998 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
22. "Ragtime, Beauty Queen Win Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. May 17, 1998. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
23. "1999 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
24. "List of 1999 Drama Desk Winners". Playbill. May 9, 1999. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
25. "1999 Drama Desk Winners: Not About Nightingales Design Trio". Playbill. May 9, 1999. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
26. "2000 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
27. Kenneth Jones (May 14, 2000). "2000 Drama Desk Winners Are Real Thing, Kate, Copenhagen & Contact". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
28. "2001 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
29. Kenneth Jones, Robert Simonson (May 20, 2001). "2001 Drama Desk Winners Include Producers, Proof and Mnemonic". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
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31. Robert Simonson (May 20, 2002). "Drama Desk Awards Announced; Goat, Metamorphoses Tie for Best Play, Millie Scores". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
32. "2003 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
33. Robert Simonson (May 1, 2003). "Hairspray Leads 2003 Drama Desk Award Nominations". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
34. "Hairspray Wins 10 Drama Desk Awards". The New York Times. May 19, 2003. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
35. "2004 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
36. "Wicked Leads Drama Desk Nominations". The New York Times. April 29, 2004. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
37. Andrew Gans, Robert Simonson (May 16, 2004). "Wicked, Assassins, Henry IV, Wife Win Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
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39. "2005 Drama Desk Award winners announced". New York Theatre Guide. May 23, 2005. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
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41. Andrew Gans (May 22, 2006). "Drowsy Chaperone and History Boys Big Winners at the 2006 Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
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51. "2010 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
52. "2011 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
53. Kenneth Jones (May 24, 2011). "Drama Desk Awards Go to Book of Mormon, Normal Heart, War Horse, Sutton Foster, Norbert Leo Butz". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
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60. "2014 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
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62. Jesse Green (June 1, 2014). "Drama Desk Embraces a Gentleman's Guide". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
63. "2015 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
64. Gordon Cox (May 31, 2015). "2015 Drama Desk Awards Winners (FULL LIST): 'Hamilton' Takes 7". Variety. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
65. "2016 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
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71. "2019 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
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73. "2020 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
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75. Evans, Greg (2021-05-05). "Broadway To Reopen Sept. 14, Says Gov. Andrew Cuomo; Broadway League "Cautiously Optimistic"". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
76. "2022 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
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79. "2023 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
80. Logan Culwell-Block (May 31, 2023). "Some Like It Hot Dominates 2023 Drama Desk Awards; See the Full List of Winners". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
81. "2024 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
82. Logan Culwell-Block (June 10, 2024). "Stereophonic Leads 2024 Drama Desk Awards With 7 Wins Including Outstanding Play". Playbill. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
83. "2025 Awards – Nominees and Recipients". Drama Desk. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
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