New York—GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics’ 39 theater wing members gave Illinoise, Merrily We Roll Along and Oh, Mary! top honors in the group’s second annual Dorian Theater Awards, honoring the best of 2023-24’s Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, mainstream to LGBTQ+.
The stirring and starry redo of Merrily We Roll Along, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s beloved tale of evolving friendships, nabbed four Dorian Awards, including Outstanding Broadway Musical Revival. Star Jonathan Groff took Best Lead Performance in a Musical, while costar Daniel Radcliffe scored two kudos: Best Featured Performance in a Musical and GALECA’s trademark Broadway Showstopper Award, the latter for his dynamic rendition of the tune “Franklin Sheppard, Inc.”
Stereophonic, David Adjmi’s new play about a fame-hungry rock band recording an album circa 1976, won Outstanding Broadway Play and Outstanding Broadway Ensemble. In a tie, the production’s costar Sarah Pidgeon and Kara Young of the lively satire Purlie Victorious both won Outstanding Featured Performance in a Broadway Play.
Sufjan Stevens. Photo by Evans Richardson, colorization by Melissa Fuentes
Illinoise, the dance musical directed by choreographer Justin Peck (an Oscar nominee for Stephen Spielberg’s West Side Story) and written by Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury—and inspired by pop star Sufjan Stevens’ titular, semi-autobiographical album—took Outstanding Broadway Musical. The tale of a young gay man wracked with trauma, Illinoise also earned Outstanding LGBTQ Broadway Production.
Sarah Paulson (who won a Dorian in 2017 for TV’s American Crime Story) won Outstanding Lead Performance in a Broadway Play for Appropriate, playwright Branden Jacob-Jenkins’s searing look at a white Southern family dealing with the legacy of their recently deceased father. Appropriate, first mounted in 2013, was named Outstanding Broadway Play Revival.
Cole Escola’s outlandish comedy, Oh, Mary!, dominated the group’s Off-Broadway categories, winning for outstanding production, LGBTQ production and the division’s two performance categories. Escola managed a Dorian for his turn as, yes, Mary Todd Lincoln, while costar Conrad Ricamora triumphed as Mary’s husband, Abe. Moreover, Escola—who costarred in the Dorian TV Award-nominated series Difficult People and At Home with Amy Sedaris—was named LGBTQ Theater Artist of the Season, making the firebrand the first honoree of this newly added Dorian Award.
GALECA’s career achievement accolade here, the LGBTQ Theater Trailblazer Award, went to venerable playwright Paula Vogel.
“We’re thrilled to be able to pay respect to Ms. Vogel’s lifelong contributions to the American theater, as well as to her ongoing support of the LGBTQ community,” said Cary Wong, the group’s Off-Broadway Lead. Vogel won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999 for her play, How I Learned to Drive. Her incredible body of work includes The Baltimore Waltz, Hot ’N Throbbing, The Mineola Twins and Indecent, which garnered Vogel her first Tony nomination for Best Play in 2017. Vogel’s latest lauded play, Mother Play, currently on Broadway, counted four Dorian nominations this year.
2024 Dorian Theater Awards—List of Winners:
Outstanding Broadway Musical
Here Lies Love Hell’s KitchenIllinoise Lempicka The Outsiders Suffs
Outstanding Broadway Play
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding Just for Us Mary Jane Mother PlayPrayer for the French RepublicStereophonic
Outstanding Broadway Musical Revival
Cabaret at the Kit Kat ClubMerrily We Roll Along The Who’s Tommy
Outstanding Broadway Play Revival
Appropriate An Enemy of the People Purlie Victorious
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Broadway Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Who’s Tommy Eden Espinosa, LempickaBrody Grant, The OutsidersJonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club Shaina Taub, Suffs
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Broadway Play
Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic Alex Edelman, Just For Us William Jackson Harper, Uncle Vanya Jessica Lange, Mother Play Leslie Odom Jr., Purlie Victorious Rachel McAdams, Mary JaneLaurie Metcalf, Grey HouseSarah Paulson, Appropriate
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Broadway Musical
Hannah Cruz, Suffs Amber Iman, Lempicka Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen Nikki M. James, Suffs Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s Spamalot Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat ClubConrad Ricamora, Here Lies LoveDaniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along Ricky Ubeda, Illinoise
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Broadway Play— TIE
Brittany Adebumola, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding Francis Benhamou, Prayer for the French Republic Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Doubt Alex Brightman, The Shark is Broken Will Brill, Stereophonic Elle Fanning, Appropriate Eli Gelb, Stereophonic Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play Jay O. Sanders, Purlie VictoriousTom Pecinka, StereophonicSarah Pidgeon, StereophonicKara Young, Purlie Victorious
Outstanding LGBTQ Broadway Production
Cabaret at the Kit Kat ClubIllinoise Lempicka Mother Play
Outstanding Broadway Ensemble
Here Lies Love Illinoise Jaja’s African Hair Braiding Merrily We Roll AlongSuffsStereophonic
The Broadway Showstopper Award — To a standout production number or scene
Appropriate, “Epilogue: The Plantation Decays” Illinoise, “Chicago”Lempicka, “Woman Is”Merrily We Roll Along, “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” The Outsiders, “The Rumble”
Outstanding Off-Broadway Production
All the Devils Are Here The AllyThe ConnectorOh, Mary! Primary Trust Teeth
Outstanding LGBTQ Off-Broadway Production Bark of Millions Eddie Izzard’s HamletMake Me GorgeousOh, Mary! Teeth
Outstanding Lead Performance in an Off-Broadway Production
Charles Busch, Ibsen’s Ghost: An Irresponsible Biographical FantasyNicholas Christopher, Jelly’s Last JamCole Escola, Oh, Mary! William Jackson Harper, Primary Trust Moses Ingram, Sunset Baby Rachel Bay Jones, Here We Are Alyse Alan Louis, Teeth Taylor Mac, Bark of Millions Ruthie Ann Miles, The Light in the Piazza Cynthia Nixon, The Seven Year Disappear Patrick Page, All the Devils Are Here
Outstanding Featured Performance in an Off-Broadway Production
Susan Blommaert, Grief Hotel Marylouise Burke, Infinite Life Bobby Cannavale, Here We Are Micaela Diamond, Here We Are Joaquina Kalukango, Jelly’s Last Jam Julia Lester, I Can Get it For You Wholesale Steven Pasquale, TeethDavid Hyde Pierce, Here We AreConrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary! James Scully, Oh, Mary! Jennifer Van Dyck, Ibsen’s Ghost: An Irresponsible Biographical Fantasy Anna Zavelson, The Light in the Piazza
LGBTQ Theater Artist of the SeasonCole Escola Michael Greif Jonathan Groff Michael R. Jackson Sarah Paulson Conrad Ricamora
LGBTQ Theater Trailblazer Award — For a lifelong commitment to creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity
Charles Busch André De Shields Christopher Durang (nominated posthumously)Taylor MacPaula Vogel
WINNERS TALLY
Merrily We Roll Along – 4 Oh, Mary! – 4 Stereophonic – 3 Appropriate – 2 Illinoise – 2 Purlie Victorious – 1
GALECA Theater Wing members, 2023-2024 season
Frank J. Avella Edge Media Network, Awards Daily Drew Burnett Gregory, Autostraddle Kerensa Cadenas, Elle, Vogue, etc. Chris Carpenter, Rage magazine, MovieDearest Sam Eckmann (co-chair), Gold Derby Murtada Elfadl, The A.V. Club, Variety, etc. Adam Feldman, Time Out Brian Eugenio Herrera, #TheatreClique (Substack), etc. Marshall Heyman (Broadway lead), Dujour, Town & Country, etc. Merryn Johns (co-chair), Queer Forty James Kleinmann, The Queer Review Naveen Kumar, them, The Daily Beast Ryan Leeds, Metro Weekly, Manhattan Digest Christian Lewis, Variety, TheaterMania, etc. Brian Scott Lipton, Cititour, Theater Pizzazz, etc. Jonathan Mandell, New York Theater Meg Masseron, Playbill Abby Monteil, them, etc. Michael Musto, The Village Voice, etc. Charles O’Keefe, E! News Louis Peitzman, High Drama (Substack) Juan Michael Porter II, The Body, TDF Stages Juan A. Ramirez, Theatrely, The New York Times Mathew Rodriguez, them Nathaniel Rogers, The Film Experience Gillian Russo, New York Theatre Guide Patrick Ryan – USA Today Michael Schulman, The New Yorker Marcus Scott, National Black Theatre Cohort, 2023-24 Joey Sims, Theatrely, The Brooklyn Rail, etc. Jose Solís, Dorian Theater Awards Diversity Liaison Ashley Steves, Today on Broadway podcast, Broadway Radio Tim Teeman, The Daily Beast Kyle Turner, New York Theatre Guide, etc. Lindsey Weber, Not Broadway (Substack), etc. Matthew Wexler, Q Digital Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter Cary Wong (Off-Broadway lead), Film Score Monthly, The Interested Bystander blog Curtis Wong, HuffPost
About GALECA
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics and its Dorian Awards honor the best in film, television and, under its theater wing, Broadway and Off-Broadway. More than 500 members strong, GALECA reminds society that the world values the informed Q+ eye on everything entertainment. A nonprofit organization, GALECA also advocates for better pay, access and respect for entertainment journalists, especially the underrepresented. Follow us @DorianAwards on social media, and find more information about who we are and what we do at GALECA.org.
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment journalists is a core member of CGEM: Critics Groups for Equality in Media, an alliance of underrepresented entertainment journalists organizations.
Illinoise
