The 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards, which can be seen during a special presentation of Spectrum News NY1’s “On Stage” on Sunday, May 31, at 7:30 PM, will include a special, newly created award in the name of Harold Prince, the legendary producer who passed away on July 31, 2019 at the age of 91. This lifetime achievement honor—The Harold Prince Award— will be bestowed annually for outstanding contributions to theater. The first recipient will be—Hal Prince, given posthumously in his honor this year. “It is nearly impossible to overstate Hal Prince’s contributions to the theater community, both onstage and off,” Charles Wright and David Barbour, Drama Desk Co-Presidents, said.
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The annual Stephen Schwartz Award, bestowed by The Dramatists Guild Foundation, was given to former DGF Fellow Khiyon Hursey. The announcement was made via video by Schwartz himself. Additionally, the Thom Thomas Award was given to DGF fellowship amumni Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Julia Meinwald, and Benjamin Velez. The inaugural recipient, Chisa Hutchinson, made the announcement via video. Both awards come with grants of $10,000. The three artists receiving this year’s Thom Thomas Award, will each get $4,000.
Hursey served as the music assistant on Hamilton, wrote for Netflix’s Soundtrack and is currently at work on the movie musical Love in America. Dickerson-Despenza is a Blk, queer poet-turned-playwright, currently under commission at The Public Theater. Her works include cullud wattah and the 10-play Katrina Cycle, which includes shadow/land and [hieroglyph], now in development. Meinwald is a musical theatre and opera composer whose credits include Pregnancy Pact, REB + VoDKa + Me, and The Loneliest Girl in the World. Composer-lyricist Velez wrote Kiss My Aztec and the musical Starblasters which will be developed at Manhattan School of Music in 2021.
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