Special Awards
- Mary Testa, for Queen of the Mist
- Nick Westrate, for Unnatural Acts, Love's Labor's Lost, and Galileo
- New Victory Theatre, for children's theatre
- Stephen Karam, receives the newly created Sam Norkin Off Broadway Award for Sons of the Prophet
Outstanding Ensemble Performance
Special Ensemble Award for Acting: Sweet and Sad, cast: Jon Devries, Shuler Hensley, Maryann Plunkett, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders, and J. Smith-Cameron.
See also the competitive categories for a Musical.
Nominees in the competitive categories for a Play:
Outstanding Play
- David Henry Hwang, Chinglish
- Dan LeFranc, The Big Meal
- Members of the Plastic Theatre, Unnatural Acts
- Ita mar Moses, Completeness
- Lynn Nottage, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
- Nina Raine, Tribes
- Nicky Silver, The Lyons
Outstanding Revival of a Play
- A Little Journey
- Death of a Salesman
- Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque
- Gore Vidal's The Best Man
- Lost in Yonkers
- Richard III
Outstanding Actor in a Play
- James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors
- Hugh Dancy, Venus in Fur
- Claybourne Elder, One Arm
- Santino Fontana, Sons of the Prophet
- Joseph Franchini, The Navigator
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Death of a Salesman
- Kevin Spacey, Richard III
Outstanding Actress in a Play
- Tracie Bennett, End of the Rainbow
- Sanaa Lathan, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
- Linda Lavin, The Lyons
- Jennifer Lim, Chinglish
- Kim Martin-Cotten, A Moon for the Misbegotten
- Carey Mulligan, Through a Glass Darkly
- Joely Richardson, Side Effects
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
- Bill Camp, Death of a Salesman
- Jim Dale, The Road to Mecca
- Tom Edden, One Man, Two Guvnors
- Bill Irwin, King Lear
- Jefferson Mays, Blood and Gifts
- Will Rogers, Unnatural Acts
- Morgan Spector, Russian Transport
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
- Stephanie J. Block, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
- Anna Camp, All New People
- Kimberly Hebert Gregory, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
- Lisa Joyce, The Ugly One
- Joaquina Kalukango, Hurt Village
- Angela Lansbury, Gore Vidal's The Best Man
- Judith Light, Other Desert Cities
Outstanding Director of a Play
- Jo Bonney, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
- David Cromer, Tribes
- Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, These Seven Sicknesses
- Sam Mendes, Richard III
- Mike Nichols, Death of a Salesman
- Tony Speciale, Unnatural Acts
Outstanding Music in a Play
- Mark Bennett, An Iliad
- Mark Bennett, Richard III
- Tom Kitt, All's Well That Ends Well
- Gina Leishman, Septimus and Clarissa
- Grant Olding, One Man, Two Guvnors
- Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik, Carson McCullers Talks About Love
Outstanding Sound Design in a Play
- Quentin Chiappetta/mediaNoise, The Navigator
- Gregory Clarke, Misterman
- Gareth Fry, Richard III
- John Gromada, Gore Vidal's The Best Man
- Stowe Nelson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War
- Shane Rettig, She Kills Monsters
Outstanding Set Design
- Jon Driscoll, Rob Howell and Paul Kieve, Ghost the Musical
- David Gallo, The Mountaintop
- Roger Hanna, A Little Journey
- David Korins, Assistance
- David Korins, Chinglish
- Derek McLane, Follies
Outstanding Costume Design
- Gregg Barnes, Follies
- ESosa, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
- William Ivey Long, Lucky Guy
- Jessica Pabst, She Kills Monsters
- Martin Pakledinaz, Nice Work If You Can Get It
- Catherine Zuber, Death Takes a Holiday
Outstanding Lighting Design
- Kevin Adams, Carrie
- Neil Austin, Evita
- David Lander, One Arm
- Brian MacDeviU, Death of a Salesman
- Kenneth Posner, Death Takes a Holiday
- Paul Pyant, Richard III
Outstanding Solo Performance
- Baba Br inkman, The Rap Guide to Evolution
- Suli Holum, Chimera
- Jeff Key, The Eyes of Babylon
- Cilli an Murphy, Misterman
- Denis O'Hare, An Iliad
- Stephen Spinella, An Iliad
Unique Theatrical Experience
- Give Me Your Hand
- Gob Squad's Kitchen (You've Never Had It So Good)
- Noctu
- The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill, Vol. 1: Early Plays/Lost Plays
- The Ryan Case 1873
- White
From the Press Release:
"Note:
"Eligibility and award category designations for the productions under consideration this season were determined by the Drama Desk board of directors, with recommendations from the nominating committee. Because of the abundance of great work throughout the season, the board also authorized the increase in the number of nominees allowed in select categories.
"Other Desert Cities and Peter and the Starcatcher were considered for their productions Off Broadway in the 2010-2011 season; Venus in Fur and Clybourne Park were considered for the 2009-2010 season. Under Drama Desk rules, only new elements in their transfers to Broadway were eligible this season."
