- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical
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The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee which comprises New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the book writers of musicals produced on Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters.
It was not until the 15th Annual Drama Desk Awards in 1969 that a specific category for Outstanding Lyrics was created. The first recipient was Peter Stone for 1776. With three each, Hugh Wheeler, James Lapine, and Thomas Meehan are tied for the most wins in this category.
For two years, in addition to the award for Outstanding Book, an award was presented to the writers of the Most Promising Book. Recipients of this honor were Melvin Van Peebles for Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death in 1972 and Ron House and Diz White for El Grande de Coco-Cola in 1973.
Contents
Additional winners
1970s
- 1970: George Furth – Company
- No nominees
- 1971: Burt Shevelove – No, No, Nanette
- No nominees
- 1972: John Guare and Mel Shapiro – Two Gentlemen of Verona
- No nominees
- 1973: Hugh Wheeler – A Little Night Music
- No nominees
- 1974: Hugh Wheeler – Candide
- No nominees
- 1976: James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante – A Chorus Line
- 1977: Thomas Meehan – Annie
- No nominees
- 1979: Hugh Wheeler – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- No nominees
1980s
- 1985: Jerry Colker – Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down
- No nominees
- 1986: Rupert Holmes – The Mystery of Edwin Drood
- Stanley Donen – Singin' in the Rain
- Marta Kauffman, Seth Friedman and David Crane – Personals
- Warren Leight – Mayor
- Peter Martins – Song and Dance
- 1987: L. Arthur Rose – Me and My Girl
- Barry Harman – Olympus on My Mind
- 1988: James Lapine – Into the Woods
- No nominees
1990s
- 1990: Larry Gelbart – City of Angels
- No nominees
- 1991: Marsha Norman – The Secret Garden
- 1992: George C. Wolfe – Jelly's Last Jam
- No nominees
- 1994: James Lapine – Passion
- 1996: Jonathan Larson – Rent
- Laurence Klavan – Bed and Sofa
- John Weidman – Big: The Musical
- Jim Lewis and Graciela Daniele – Chronicle of a Death Foretold
- 1998: Terrence McNally – Ragtime
- No nominees
2000s
2010s
- 2010: Alex Timbers – Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
- Joe DiPietro – Memphis
- Joe Iconis – Bloodsong of Love
- Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott – Everyday Rapture
- David Thompson – The Scottsboro Boys
- David Zellnik – Yank!
- 2011: Adam Mathias – See Rock City and Other Destinations
- Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth – In Transit
- Iris Rainer Dart – The People in the Picture
- Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott – Priscilla Queen of the Desert
- Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone – The Book of Mormon
- Michael Zam – The Kid
External links
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical 1970–1975 George Furth (1970) · Burt Shevelove (1971) · John Guare/Mel Shapiro (1972) · Hugh Wheeler (1973) · Hugh Wheeler (1974)
1976–2000 James Kirkwood/Nicholas Dante (1976) · Thomas Meehan (1977) · Hugh Wheeler (1979) · James Lapine (1984) · Jerry Colker (1985) · Rupert Holmes (1986) · L. Arthur Rose (1987) · James Lapine (1988) · Larry Gelbart (1990) · Marsha Norman (1991) · George C. Wolfe (1992) · James Lapine (1994) · Jonathan Larson (1996)
2001–2025 Mel Brooks/Thomas Meehan (2001) · Mark O'Donnell/Thomas Meehan (2003) · Winnie Holzman (2004) · Rachel Sheinkin (2005) · Bob Martin/Don McKellar (2006) · Rupert Holmes/Peter Stone (2007) · Douglas Carter Beane (2008) · Lee Hall (2009) · Alex Timbers (2010) · Adam Mathias (2010)
Complete list · (1970–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–2025) Drama Desk Awards Play Musical Production Categories:- Drama Desk Awards
- 1970: George Furth – Company
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