The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical is 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 established in 1975, with the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design being presented each year to any play or musical production. For 2009, the singular award was replaced by separate play and musical categories, but then merged again from 2010 to 2015; the separate play and musical categories have again co-existed since 2016.
Winners and nominees Key
2000s Year Designer Production Ref. 2009 Rick Fisher Billy Elliot the Musical Kevin Adams Hair Jules Fisher and Kenneth Posner 9 to 5 Jason Lyons Clay Sinéad McKenna Improbable Frequency Richard Pilbrow A Tale of Two Cities
2010s Year Designer Production Ref.2010-2015N/A2016 Justin Townsend American Psycho |rowspan=5| |- | Jane Cox | The Color Purple |- | Jake DeGroot | SeaWife |- | Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer | Shuffle Along |- | Ben Stanton | Spring Awakening |- ! rowspan="7" |2017 |- style="background:#DCEEFF" |Bradley King|Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 |rowspan=6| |- |Jeff Croiter |Bandstand |- |Mark Henderson |Sunset Boulevard |- |Bradley King |Hadestown |- |Amy Mae |Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |- |Malcolm Rippeth |946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips |- ! rowspan="6" |2018 |- style="background:#DCEEFF" |Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer|Once on This Island |rowspan=5| |- |Louisa Adamson and Christian Barry |Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story |- |Amith Chandrashaker |The Lucky Ones |- |Brian MacDevitt |Carousel |- |Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew |KPOP |- ! rowspan="6" |2019 |- style="background:#DCEEFF" |Bradley King|HadestownAdam HonoréCarmen JonesJamie RoderickMidnight at the Never GetBarbara SamuelsRags Parkland Sings the Songs of the FutureScott ZielinskiRodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
2020s Year Designer Production Ref.2020 Justin Townsend Moulin Rouge! Betsy Adams The Wrong Man Jane Cox The Secret Life of Bees Herrick Goldman Einstein's Dreams Bruno Poet Tina: The Tina Turner Musical 2021 colspan="2" 2022 Natasha Katz MJ Bradley King Flying Over Sunset Natasha Katz Diana Jennifer Tipton Intimate Apparel2023 Natasha KatzSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetKen BillingtonNew York, New YorkJeff CroiterOnly GoldHeather GilbertParadeDavid GrillBob Fosse's Dancin'2024 Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. KimThe OutsidersLap Chi ChuSuffsHeather GilbertDead OutlawBradley KingWater for ElephantsJeanette Oi-Suk YewThe Connector2025 Jack Knowles Sunset Blvd. Kevin Adams Swept Away Adam Honoré Cats: The Jellicle Ball Philip S. Rosenberg Boop! The Musical Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun Floyd Collins2026Jen Shriever and Michael ArdenThe Lost BoysAdam HonoréAmahl and the Night VisitorsAdam Honoré and Donald HolderRagtimeBradley KingThe Baker's WifeMextly CouzinMexodusJaphy WeidemanBeau the Musical
Multiple wins 3 wins Bradley King
2 wins Justin Townsend Natasha Katz
Multiple nominations 6 nominations Bradley King
4 nominations Adam Honoré
3 nominations Jules Fisher Natasha Katz
2 nominations Kevin Adams Justin Townsend Jane Cox Peggy Eisenhauer Jeff Croiter Brian MacDevitt Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew Scott Zielinski Heather Gilbert
See also Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design Tony Award for Best Lighting Design Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Lighting Design Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
References
External links