Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance

Last updated
Drama League Award
for Distinguished Performance
Awarded forDistinguished Performance
LocationNew York City
CountryUnited States
Presented by Drama League
First award1935
Currently held by Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard (2025)
Website dramaleague.org

The Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance, originally known as the Delia Austrian Medal, is a theater award presented annually since 1935 by The Drama League for the "most distinguished" performance of the theater season. [1] The award is named for theater reviewer Delia Austrian. [2] [3] An artist may only win the award once in their lifetime. [4]

Contents

Winners

1930s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
1935 Katherine Cornell Romeo and Juliet [5]
1936 Helen Hayes Victoria Regina [5] [6]
1937 Maurice Evans King Richard II [5] [7]
1938 Cedric Hardwicke Shadow and Substance [5]
1939 Raymond Massey Abe Lincoln in Illinois [5] [8]

1940s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
1940 Paul Muni Key Largo [5]
1941 Paul Lukas Watch on the Rhine [5] [2]
1942 Judith Evelyn Angel Street [5]
1943 Alfred Lunt
Lynn Fontanne 		The Pirate [5] [9]
1944 Elisabeth Bergner [a] The Two Mrs. Carrolls [3]
1945 Mady Christians I Remember Mama [5]
1946 Louis Calhern The Magnificent Yankee [5]
1947 Ingrid Bergman Joan of Lorraine [5]
1948 Judith Anderson Medea [5]
1949 Robert Morley Edward, My Son [5]

1950s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
1950 Grace George The Velvet Glove [5]
1951 Claude Rains Darkness at Noon [5]
1952 Julie Harris I Am a Camera [5]
1953 Shirley Booth The Time of the Cuckoo [5]
1954 Josephine Hull The Solid Gold Cadillac [5]
1955 Viveca Lindfors Anastasia [5]
1956 David Wayne The Ponder Heart [5]
1957 Eli Wallach Major Barbara [5]
1958 Ralph Bellamy Sunrise at Campobello [5]
1959 Cyril Ritchard The Pleasure of His Company [5]

1960s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
1960 Jessica Tandy Five Finger Exercise [5]
1961 Hume Cronyn Big Fish, Little Fish [5]
1962 Paul Scofield A Man for All Seasons [5]
1963 Charles Boyer Lord Pengo [5]
1964 Alec Guinness Dylan [5] [10]
1965 John Gielgud Tiny Alice [5]
1966 Richard Kiley Man of La Mancha [5]
1967 Rosemary Harris The Wild Duck [5]
1968 Zoe Caldwell The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie [5]
1969 Alec McCowen Hadrian the Seventh [5]

1970s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
1970 James Stewart Harvey [5]
1971 Anthony Quayle Sleuth [5]
1972 Eileen Atkins
Claire Bloom 		Vivat! Vivat Regina! [5]
1973 Alan Bates Butley [5]
1974 Christopher Plummer The Good Doctor [5]
1975 John Wood Sherlock Holmes [5]
1976 Eva Le Gallienne The Royal Family [5]
1977 Tom Courtenay Otherwise Engaged [5]
1978 Frank Langella Dracula [5]
1979 Frances Sternhagen On Golden Pond [5]
1980 Roy Scheider Betrayal [5]

1980s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
1980 Roy Scheider Betrayal [5]
1981 Ian McKellen Amadeus [11]
1982 Milo O'Shea Mass Appeal [12]
1983 Kate Nelligan
Edward Herrmann 		Plenty [13]
1984 Jeremy Irons The Real Thing [14]
1985 Derek Jacobi Cyrano de Bergerac and Much Ado About Nothing [15]
1986 Bernadette Peters Song and Dance [16]
1987 James Earl Jones Fences [17]
1988 John Lithgow M. Butterfly [18]
1989 Pauline Collins Shirley Valentine [19]

1990s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
1990 Robert Morse Tru [20]
1991 Stockard Channing Six Degrees of Separation [20]
1992 Glenn Close Death and the Maiden [20]
1993 Stephen Rea Someone Who'll Watch Over Me [20]
1994 Sam Waterston Abe Lincoln in Illinois [20]
1995 Cherry Jones The Heiress [21]
1996 Uta Hagen Mrs. Klein [22]
1997 Charles Durning
Bebe Neuwirth 		The Gin Game
Chicago 		[23]
1998 Brian Stokes Mitchell Ragtime [24]
1999 Kathleen Chalfant Wit [25]

2000s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
2000 Eileen Heckart The Waverly Gallery [26]
2001 Mary-Louise Parker
Gary Sinise 		Proof
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 		[27]
2002 Liam Neeson The Crucible [28]
2003 Harvey Fierstein Hairspray [29]
2004 Hugh Jackman The Boy from Oz [30]
2005 Norbert Leo Butz Dirty Rotten Scoundrels [31]
2006 Christine Ebersole Grey Gardens [32]
2007 Liev Schreiber Talk Radio and Macbeth [33]
2008 Patti LuPone Gypsy [34]
2009 Geoffrey Rush Exit the King [35]

2010s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
2010 Alfred Molina Red [36]
2011 Mark Rylance Jerusalem and La Bête [37]
2012 Audra McDonald Porgy and Bess [38]
2013 Nathan Lane The Nance [39]
2014 Neil Patrick Harris Hedwig and the Angry Inch [40]
2015 Chita Rivera The Visit [41]
2016 Lin-Manuel Miranda Hamilton [4]
2017 Ben Platt Dear Evan Hansen [4]
2018 Glenda Jackson Three Tall Women [4]
2019 Bryan Cranston Network [42]

2020s

YearRecipientWorkRef [1]
2020 Danny Burstein Moulin Rouge! [43]
2021No Award Given due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022 Sutton Foster The Music Man [44]
2023 Annaleigh Ashford Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [4]
2024 Sarah Paulson Appropriate [45]
2025 Nicole Scherzinger Sunset Boulevard [46]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Drama League website does not list Bergner as the recipient in 1944, instead listing Lynn Fontanne, who is listed in other sources as co-recipient with Alfred Lunt in 1943.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Award History". Drama League of New York . Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Paul Lukas Gets Drama Group Prize. Star of Watch on the Rhine Receives the Delia Austrian Medal for His Acting". The New York Times. May 10, 1941. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Elisabeth Bergner Gets Drama Award; Receives Delia Austrian Medal for Distinguished Acting". The New York Times. May 10, 1944. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Culwell-Block, Logan (May 19, 2023). "Some Like It Hot, Annaleigh Ashford, Leopoldstadt, More Win 2023 Drama League Awards". Playbill. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Walter, Claire, ed. (1982). "Delia Austrian Medal". Winners: The Blue Ribbon Encyclopedia of Awards. New York: Facts on File, Inc. Retrieved February 17, 2024– via The Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ "Drama League Bestows Medal on Helen Hayes". Associated Press . May 22, 1936. Retrieved December 13, 2013– via Reading Eagle.
  7. ↑ "Evans Gets Medal Of Drama League. English Actor Is Honored for 'Richard II' in Presentation by Daniel Frohman". The New York Times. May 12, 1937. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Massey Honored by Drama League; Lincoln Portrayer Wins the Delia Austrian Medal for Distinguished Acting". The New York Times. May 10, 1939. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Drama League Prize Given to the Lunts; Their Work in Behrman Play, 'The Pirate,' Is Rewarded". The New York Times. May 19, 1943. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Alec Guinness". Corbis . Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  11. ↑ "'Cage Aux Folles' Due As Musical Comedy Set In New Orleans". The New York Times . May 8, 1981. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  12. ↑ "In memoriam - Irish acting legend Milo O'Shea passes away after battle with Alzheimers". IrishCentral.com. 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  13. ↑ "Edward Herrmann: Character actor on screen whose air of Ivy League". The Independent. 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  14. ↑ "75th Annual Drama League Awards: Drama League Awards announces the recipients of its 2009 Special Recognitions". New York Theatre Guide. 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  15. ↑ "Derek Jacobi theatre profile". www.abouttheartists.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  16. ↑ "Bernadette Peters | Kennedy Center". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  17. ↑ "James Earl Jones Theatre – theaterlife". 2022-09-12. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  18. ↑ "Get Inside the Starry 2019 Drama League Awards with These Exclusive Portraits". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  19. ↑ "Pauline Collins: Stage and screen doyenne". 2001-06-15. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 "A Look at How Many Drama League Distinguished Performance Award Winners Went on to Win Tony Awards | The Daily Scoop". www.broadwaybox.com. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  21. ↑ "Keeping Up With the Jones Girl". Playbill.
  22. ↑ "Rent, Guitars Win Drama League Awards".
  23. ↑ "Neuwirth and Durning Tie for Drama League Award".
  24. ↑ "Ragtime, Beauty Queen, Cabaret Win Drama League Awards May 8".
  25. ↑ "Fosse, Salesman & Wit Win Drama League Awards, May 7".
  26. ↑ "Contact, Copenhagen, Kate Win Drama League Awards".
  27. ↑ "'Pro-' Choice: Drama League Awards Announced, May 11".
  28. ↑ "Urinetown, Crucible and Metamorphoses Win the Drama League Awards".
  29. ↑ "Hairspray, Take Me Out, Joe Egg, Fierstein Win 2003 Drama League Awards".
  30. ↑ "Drama League Award Winners Announced - TheaterMania.com". 2004-05-14. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  31. ↑ "2005 Drama League Award Winners Announced - TheaterMania.com". 2005-05-13. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  32. ↑ "Drama League Awards 2006 announced". New York Theatre Guide. 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  33. ↑ "2007 Drama League Award Winners Announced - TheaterMania.com". 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  34. ↑ "2008 Drama League Awards Announced; LuPone Wins Top Acting Accolade". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  35. ↑ "Billy Elliot, Carnage and Geoffrey Rush Take Top Drama League Honors". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  36. ↑ "Sondheim, Red, Bridge, La Cage and Molina Win Drama League Awards".
  37. ↑ "Drama League 2011 nominations". New York Theatre Guide. 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  38. ↑ "Other Desert Cities, Salesman, Follies, Once, Audra McDonald Are Drama League Winners".
  39. ↑ "Kinky Boots, Pippin, Vanya and Sonia, Virginia Woolf? and Nathan Lane Win Drama League Awards".
  40. ↑ Gardner, Elysa (May 16, 2014). "Awards for Neil Patrick Harris, 'All the Way'". USA Today. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  41. ↑ "2015 Drama League Awards: And the Winners are..." New York Theatre Guide. October 19, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  42. ↑ McPhee, Ryan (May 17, 2019). "Network's Bryan Cranston, Hadestown Among 2019 Drama League Award Winners". Playbill. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  43. ↑ Kragen, Pam (June 22, 2020). "Reporter's Notebook: UCSD grad Danny Burstein wins major Drama League award". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  44. ↑ Gans, Andrew (May 20, 2022). "The Lehman Trilogy, A Strange Loop, Sutton Foster, More Are Winners of 88th Annual Drama League Awards". Playbill. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  45. ↑ "Sarah Paulson, Hell's Kitchen Win Drama League Awards". theatermania.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  46. ↑ "2025 Drama League Awards Winners- The Full List". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2025-05-16.
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