SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical was the big winner of the 2018 Drama Desk Awards, earning six wins at the June 3 ceremony including Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Director of a Musical for Tina Landau.
The show, based on the Nickelodeon cartoon series, also received wins for two of its performers: title player Ethan Slater and featured actor Gavin Lee. The revival of Carousel rounded out the musical performance categories, with Jessie Mueller and Lindsay Mendez earning Outstanding Actress and Outstanding Featured Actress, respectively.
Carousel ultimately won five awards, as did Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Outstanding Revival of a Play and Revival of a Musical went to Angels in America and My Fair Lady, respectively, with the former also picking up wins for Andrew Garfield (Outstanding Actor) and Nathan Lane (Featured Actor).
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Off-Broadway representation for the evening included the new musical Desperate Measures, which won Outstanding Music for David Friedman and Outstanding Lyrics for Peter Kellogg, and Joshua Harmon’s Admissions, which won Outstanding Play from a category of exclusively Off-Broadway productions.
SEE THE FULL LIST OF 2018 DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINATIONS
In addition to the presentation of awards, the Michael Urie-hosted ceremony featured performances from a number of this year's nominees, including Ashley Park (nominated for KPOP and Mean Girls), Gizel Jiménez (Miss You Like Hell), and Carousel's Mendez and Alexander Gemignani.
See below for the complete list of winners.
Outstanding Musical
SpongeBob SquarePants
Outstanding Play
Admissions, by Joshua Harmon
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
My Fair Lady
Outstanding Revival of a Play
Angels in America
Outstanding Actress in a Play
Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women
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Outstanding Actor in a Play
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Jessie Mueller, Carousel
Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants
Read: THE MOMENT ETHAN SLATER WILL NEVER FORGET FROM SPONGEBOB’S OPENING NIGHT
Outstanding Lyrics
Peter Kellogg, Desperate Measures
Outstanding Music
David Friedman, Desperate Measures
Outstanding Book of a Musical
Tina Fey, Mean Girls
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Outstanding Director of a Musical
Tina Landau, SpongeBob SquarePants
Outstanding Director of a Play
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Lindsay Mendez, Carousel
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Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Gavin Lee, SpongeBob SquarePants
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Jamie Brewer, Amy and the Orphans
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Nathan Lane, Angels in America
The LaDuca Award for Outstanding Choreography
Justin Peck, Carousel
Read: HOW JEROME ROBBINS AND WEST SIDE STORY HELPED INSPIRE JUSTIN PECK’S CAROUSEL
Outstanding Fight Choreography
Steve Rankin, Carousel
Outstanding Music in a Play
Imogen Heap, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Outstanding Orchestrations
Jonathan Tunick, Carousel
Outstanding Projection Design
Finn Ross and Ash J. Woodward, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Outstanding Set Design for a Musical
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants
The Hudson Scenic Studio Award for Outstanding Set Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Three Tall Women
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical
Jules Fisher, Peggy Eisenhauer, Once on This Island
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play
Neil Austin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical
Kai Harada, The Band's Visit
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Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
Gareth Fry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Outstanding Wig and Hair
Charles G. LaPointe, SpongeBob SquarePants
Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical
Catherine Zuber, My Fair Lady
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Outstanding Costume Design for a Play
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and the King
Outstanding Solo Performance
Billy Crudup, Harry Clarke
The Chase Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
Derren Brown: Secret
Outstanding Puppet Design
Michael Curry, Frozen
Special Awards
Outstanding Ensemble: School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (Presented to Nabiyah Be, MaameYaa Boafo, Paige Gilbert, Zainab Jah, Nike Kadri, Abena Mensah-Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole, and Myra Lucretia Taylor)
Sam Norkin Award: Juan Castano (Oedipus El Rey, A Parallelogram, Transfers)
Sean Carvajal and Edi Gathegi (Jesus Hopped the A Train)
Inside the 2018 Drama Desk Awards Hosted By Michael Urie
