Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
| Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical |
| Location | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Drama Desk |
| First award | 1975 |
| Final award | 2022 |
| Website | dramadesk.org (defunct) |
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical was 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 one of eight new acting awards first presented in 1975, when Drama Desk retired an earlier award that had made no distinction between work in plays and musicals, nor between actors and actresses, nor between lead performers and featured performers.
After the 2022 ceremony, all eight acting categories introduced in 1975 were retired. The award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, along with Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, were replaced in 2023 with the gender neutral category of Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical.
1970s
1980s
| Year | Actress | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | |||
| Debbie Allen | West Side Story | Anita | |
| Peggy Hewett | A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine | Mrs. Pavlenko | |
| Carolyn Mignini | Tintypes | Performer | |
| Janie Sell | God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater | Sylvia Rosewater | |
| Crissy Wilzak | The 1940's Radio Hour | Ginger Brooks | |
| Mary Catherine Wright | Tintypes | Performer | |
| 1981 | |||
| Marilyn Cooper | Woman of the Year | Jan Donovan | |
| Jennifer Holliday | Your Arms Too Short to Box with God | Performer | |
| Debbie Shapiro | Perfectly Frank | Performer | |
| 1982 | |||
| Liliane Montevecchi | Nine | Liliane La Fleur | |
| Anita Morris | Carla Albanese | ||
| Laurie Beechman | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | The Narrator | |
| Shelly Burch | Nine | Claudia | |
| Lonette McKee | The First | Rachel | |
| 1983 | |||
| Karla Burns | Show Boat | Queenie | |
| Rebecca Wright | Merlin | Philomena | |
| Michele-Denise Woods | The Cradle Will Rock | Ella Hammer | |
| 1984 | |||
| Catherine Cox | Baby | Pam Sakarian | |
| Lila Kedrova | Zorba | Madame Hortense | |
| Laura Dean | Doonesbury | Boopsie
| |
| Bonnie Koloc | The Human Comedy | Kate | |
| Marni Nixon | Taking My Turn | Edna | |
| 1985 | |||
Leilani Jones
|
Grind | Satin | |
| Sharon Murray | Grind | Romaine | |
| Marianne Tatum | The Three Musketeers | Milady de Winter | |
| Charlayne Woodard | Hang on to the Good Times | Performer | |
| 1986 | |||
| Jana Schneider | The Mystery of Edwin Drood
|
Helena Landless / Janet Conover | |
| Desiree Colman | Big Deal | Phoebe | |
| Faye Grant | Singin' in the Rain | Lina | |
| Kathryn McAteer | Mayor | Performer | |
| Bebe Neuwirth | Sweet Charity | Nickie | |
| 1987 | |||
| Jane Summerhays | Me and My Girl | Jaqueline 'Jackie' Carstone | |
| Michele Bautier | Stardust | Performer | |
| Sandra Chinn | Funny Feet | Various Characters | |
| Judy Kuhn | Rags | Bella Cohen | |
| Les Misérables | Cosette | ||
| Marcia Lewis | Rags | Rachel Halpern | |
| 1988 | |||
| Joanna Gleason | Into the Woods | The Baker's Wife | |
| Danielle Ferland | Into the Woods | Little Red Ridinghood | |
| Lyn Greene | Flora the Red Menace | Comrade Charlotte | |
| Judy Kaye | The Phantom of the Opera | Carlotta | |
| 1989 | |||
| — | — | — |
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Actress | Musical | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | |||
| Lauren Patten | Jagged Little Pill | Jo | |
| Yesenia Ayala | West Side Story | Anita | |
| Paula Leggett Chase | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Ensemble | |
| LaChanze | The Secret Life of Bees | August | |
| Alyse Alan Louis | Soft Power | Zoe/Hillary | |
| 2021 | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City[1] | ||
| 2022 | |||
| Patti LuPone | Company | Joanne | |
| Judy Kuhn | Assassins | Sara Jane Moore | |
| Tamika Lawrence | Black No More | Buni | |
| Bonnie Milligan | Kimberly Akimbo | Debra | |
| Jennifer Simard | Company | Sarah | |
Multiple Wins
- 2 wins
See also
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical
- Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
References
- ^ 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.