The Drama Desk Awards will honor actor Nathan Lane and artistic director André Bishop with special accolades. Lane will receive the Harold S. Prince Award and Bishop will receive the William Wolf Award. The previously announced 68th annual Drama Desk Awards ceremony will be held on June 10 at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The Prince Award honors lifetime achievement, while the inaugural Wolf Award, named for the late, longtime president of the Drama Desk, acknowledges “achievement, high standards and innovation, including generosity and ‘giving back’ to the entertainment community.”
During the course of his four-decade career on and Off-Broadway, Lane has won six Drama Desk Awards. He was honored for his turns in the 1989 Off-Broadway production of “The Lisbon Traviata,” as well the 1992 Broadway revival of “Guys and Dolls,” 1995’s “Love! Valour! Compassion!,” the 1996 mounting of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” 2001’s “The Producers” and the 2018 revival of “Angels in America.” For the latter three productions, Lane also won Tony Awards.
Bishop served as the artistic director of Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons from 1981 to 1991. In 1992, he began a tenure as artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), which lasted until 2013 when he was named producing artistic director of the nonprofit. Under his leadership, LCT won 15 Tony Awards. As previously announced, Bishop will depart LCT at the end of the 2024-2025 Broadway season.
“We’re delighted to honor Nathan Lane and André Bishop,” said Drama Desk co-presidents David Barbour and Charles Wright in a joint statement. “Nathan is one of the most versatile actors on the English-speaking stage, with range from musical theater to works of Eugene O'Neill and Tony Kushner. André, at the helm of two distinguished theater companies, has nurtured and championed a myriad of important artists — especially playwrights. It’s a privilege to celebrate their achievements.”
Nominations in the Drama Desk’s competitive categories were announced on April 29.
The June 10 ceremony is being executive produced by Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jenen.
