Drama Desk Award
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The Drama Desk Award was created in 1955 to recognize shows produced off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and in legitimate not-for-profit theaters, in addition to Broadway shows. Previously, there had been only the Tony Awards, which focused solely on Broadway shows, ignoring the hundreds of other productions mounted in New York City each year.
Originally they were known as the Vernon Rice Awards, in honor of the theatre critic from the New York Post. The name was changed in 1963. In its earliest years, a minimal number of prizes were awarded, but there now are as many categories as there are for the Tonys.
The Drama Desk Awards have proven to be the first step towards stardom for numerous theatrical luminaries, including Edward Albee, Wendy Wasserstein, George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, Sada Thompson, Jose Quintero,and Dustin Hoffman. Off-Broadway productions such as Driving Miss Daisy, Steel Magnolias, and The Boys in the Band were propelled to international recognition based on their wins.
