Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design
Encyclopedia
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City
theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the costume designer
s of productions staged on Broadway, off-Broadway
, off-off-Broadway
, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters.
It was not until the 15th Annual Drama Desk Awards in 1969 that a specific category for Outstanding Costume Design was created. That year's recipients were Tanya Moiseiwitsch
for The House of Atreus and Patricia Zipprodt
for 1776
and Zorba.
Multiple winners were named until 1975, when the rules were changed to allow for only one, unless there is a tie vote.
At the present time, Theoni V. Aldredge
holds the record for the most wins in this category with six to her credit, followed by William Ivey Long
and Florence Klotz
with five each.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the costume designer
Costume Designer
A costume designer or costume mistress/master is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The...
s of productions staged on Broadway, off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
, off-off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway theatrical productions in New York City are those in theatres that are smaller than Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Off-Off-Broadway theaters are often defined as theaters that have fewer than 100 seats, though the term can be used for any show in the New York City area that...
, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters.
It was not until the 15th Annual Drama Desk Awards in 1969 that a specific category for Outstanding Costume Design was created. That year's recipients were Tanya Moiseiwitsch
Tanya Moiseiwitsch
Tanya Moiseiwitsch, OC was an English theatre designer.Born in London, the daughter of Daisy Kennedy, an Australian concert violinist and Benno Moiseiwitsch, a famous Ukrainian classical pianist, she attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts...
for The House of Atreus and Patricia Zipprodt
Patricia Zipprodt
Patricia Zipprodt was an American costume designer. She was known for her technique of painting fabrics and thoroughly researching a project's subject matter, especially when it was a period piece...
for 1776
1776 (musical)
1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
and Zorba.
Multiple winners were named until 1975, when the rules were changed to allow for only one, unless there is a tie vote.
At the present time, Theoni V. Aldredge
Theoni V. Aldredge
Theoni V. Aldredge was a Greek-American stage and screen costume designer.Born Theoni Athanasiou Vachlioti in Thessaloniki in 1922, Aldredge received her training at the American School in Athens. She emigrated to the United States in 1949 and attended the Goodman Theatre at DePaul University,...
holds the record for the most wins in this category with six to her credit, followed by William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long
William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. His most notable work includes The Producers, Hairspray, Nine, Crazy for You, Grey Gardens and Young Frankenstein.-Early life and education:...
and Florence Klotz
Florence Klotz
Florence Klotz was an American costume designer on Broadway and film.-Biography:Originally named as Kathrina Klotz, she later changed her name to "Florence" and was often nicknamed "Flossie"....
with five each.
Additional winners
- 1970: Willa KimWilla KimWilla Kim is an American costume designer for stage, dance, and film.Kim was born in Los Angeles, California and is a 1935 graduate of Belmont High School where she excelled in art and was an art editor for the 1935 Campanile...
for Promenade and Operation Sidewinder; Theoni V. Aldredge for Peer GyntPeer GyntPeer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
; Freddy WittopFreddy WittopFreddy Wittop was a costume designer. He enjoyed secondary careers as a dancer and college professor.Born Frederick Wittop Koning in Bussum, the Netherlands, Wittop emigrated with his family to Brussels, where he apprenticed at the age of thirteen with the resident designer at the Brussels Opera...
for A Patriot for MeA Patriot for MeA Patriot For Me is a 1965 play by the English playwright John Osborne, based on the true story of Alfred Redl. It was notable for being denied a licence for performance by the censor of the time.... - 1971: Florence KlotzFlorence KlotzFlorence Klotz was an American costume designer on Broadway and film.-Biography:Originally named as Kathrina Klotz, she later changed her name to "Florence" and was often nicknamed "Flossie"....
for FolliesFolliesFollies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
; Raoul Pène Du Bois for No, No, NanetteNo, No, NanetteNo, No, Nanette is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play My Lady Friends... - 1972: Willa Kim for The Screens; Theoni V. Aldredge for Two Gentlemen of VeronaTwo Gentlemen of Verona (musical)Two Gentlemen of Verona is a rock musical, with a book by John Guare and Mel Shapiro, lyrics by Guare and music by Galt MacDermot, based on the Shakespeare comedy of the same name....
- 1973: Theoni V. Aldredge for Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
; Patricia Zipprodt for PippinPippin (musical)Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto... - 1974: Franne LeeFranne LeeFranne Lee is an American costume designer for stage and film. She is the wife of stage scenic designer Eugene Lee. She has won multiple Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards.-External links:...
for CandideCandide (operetta)Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to...
; Carrie F. Robbins for Over Here!Over Here!Over Here! is a musical with a score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and book by Will Holt. The original Broadway production was directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch, with scenic design by Douglas W. Schmidt and costumes by Carrie F...
and The Iceman ComethThe Iceman ComethThe Iceman Cometh is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1940 the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on 9 October 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling where it ran for 136 performances to close on 15 March 1947.-Characters:* Night Hawk-... - 1975: Geoffrey HolderGeoffrey HolderGeoffrey Richard Holder is a Trinidadian actor, choreographer, director, dancer, painter, costume designer, singer and voice-over artist.-Early life:...
for The WizThe WizThe Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A... - 1976: Florence Klotz for Pacific OverturesPacific OverturesPacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change...
- 1977: Theoni V. Aldredge for AnnieAnnie (musical)Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
- 1978: Florence Klotz for On the Twentieth CenturyOn the Twentieth CenturyOn the Twentieth Century is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Part operetta, part farce, part screwball comedy, the story involves the behind-the-scenes relationship of a temperamental actress and a director.-Background:Comden and Green based...
- 1979: Patricia Zipprodt for King of HeartsKing of Hearts (musical)King of Hearts is a 1978 musical with a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jacob Brackman, and music by Peter Link, orchestrated by Bill Brohn. It is based on the 1966 anti-war cult film of the same name....
- 1980: Pierre BalmainPierre BalmainPierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain was a French fashion designer. Known for sophistication and elegance, he once said that "dressmaking is the architecture of movement."...
for Happy New YearHappy New Year (musical)Happy New Year is a musical with a book by Burt Shevelove and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.Based on Philip Barry's comic 1928 play Holiday and its subsequent 1930 film adaptation and better known 1938 remake, it focuses on hedonistic young Wall Street attorney Johnny Case who, driven by his... - 1981: Theoni V. Aldredge for 42nd Street42nd Street (musical)42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...
and Patricia McGourty for The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
(tie) - 1982: William Ivey Long for NineNine (musical)Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit, music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. The story is based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8½...
- 1983: John NapierJohn Napier (designer)John Napier is a set designer for Broadway and London theatrical performances.-Biography:John Napier studied at Hornsey College of Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts, studying under notable set designer Ralph Koltai....
for CatsCats (musical)Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot... - 1984: Theoni V. Aldredge for La Cage aux Folles
- 1985: Alexander Reid for Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
- 1986: Lindsay W. Davis for The Mystery of Edwin Drood
- 1987: John Napier for Starlight ExpressStarlight ExpressStarlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
- 1988: Maria BjörnsonMaria BjörnsonMaria Björnson was an acclaimed theatre stage designer, born in Paris to Norwegian and Romanian parents....
for The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,... - 1989: William Ivey Long for Lend Me a TenorLend Me a TenorLend Me a Tenor is a comedy by Ken Ludwig. The play was produced on both the West End and Broadway . Although it received seven Tony Award nominations, it won only one, for Best Actor. A Broadway revival opened in 2010. Lend Me a Tenor has been translated into sixteen languages and produced in...
- 1990: Santo LoquastoSanto LoquastoSanto Richard Loquasto is a Sicilian-Italian-American production designer, scenic designer and costume designer for stage, film, and dance. He is a descendant of Libertino lo Guasto of Serradifalco, Caltanissetta, Sicily. Indy race car driver Al Loquasto was his first cousin...
for Grand HotelGrand Hotel (musical)Grand Hotel is a musical with a book by Luther Davis and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, with additional lyrics and music by Maury Yeston.... - 1991: Patricia Zipprodt for Shogun: The MusicalShogun: The MusicalShōgun: The Musical is a musical with a book and lyrics by John Driver and music by Paul Chihara.Based on James Clavell's 1976 epic novel and the 1980 television mini-series of the same name it spawned, it centers on shipwrecked English sea captain John Blackthorne, who finds himself drawn into a...
- 1992: William Ivey Long for Guys and Dolls
- 1993: Florence Klotz for Kiss of the Spider WomanKiss of the Spider Woman (musical)Kiss of the Spider Woman is a musical with music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with the book by Terrence McNally. It is based on the Manuel Puig novel El Beso de la Mujer Araña...
- 1994: Howard Crabtree for Whoop-Dee-Doo!Whoop-Dee-Doo!Whoop-Dee-Doo! is a deliberately ramshackle musical revue subtitled "a postage stamp extravaganza". It was conceived, created and developed by Charles Catanese, Howard Crabtree, Dick Gallagher, Phillip George, Peter Morris and Mark Waldrop. Songs and sketches by Dick Gallagher, Peter Morris and...
- 1995: Florence Klotz for Show BoatShow BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
- 1996: Roger KirkRoger Kirk (designer)Roger Kirk is an Australian costume designer primarily for stage and film. He won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design for The King and I and was nominated for 42nd Street....
for The King and IThe King and IThe King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in... - 1997: Howard Crabtree for When Pigs Fly
- 1998: Julie TaymorJulie TaymorJulie Taymor is an American director of theater, opera and film. Taymor's work has received many accolades from critics, and she has earned two Tony Awards out of four nominations, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, an Emmy Award and an Academy Award nomination for Original Song...
for The Lion KingThe Lion King (musical)The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well... - 1999: Lez Brotherston for Swan LakeSwan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
- 2000: Martin PakledinazMartin PakledinazMartin Pakledinaz is an American costume designer for stage and film.He won his Tony Awards for designing the costumes of Thoroughly Modern Millie and the 2000 revival of Kiss Me Kate, which also earned him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design.He worked on the 1995 production of...
for Kiss Me, KateKiss Me, KateKiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss... - 2001: William Ivey Long for The ProducersThe Producers (musical)The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
- 2002: Isaac MizrahiIsaac MizrahiIsaac Mizrahi is an American TV presenter, fashion designer, and was the creative director of Liz Claiborne. He is best known for his eponymous fashion lines.-Early life:...
for The Women - 2003: William Ivey Long for HairsprayHairspray (musical)Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
- 2004: Susan HilfertySusan HilfertySusan Hilferty is an American costume designer for theatre, opera, and film. She received the 2001 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Costume Design....
for WickedWicked (musical)Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard... - 2005: Tim HatleyTim HatleyTim Hatley is a British set and costume designer for theater and film. He is the winner of the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design.Hatley was educated at Bearwood...
for SpamalotSpamalotMonty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre... - 2006: Gregg BarnesGregg BarnesGregg Barnes is an American costume designer for stage and film. Barnes won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his work on the 2006 production of The Drowsy Chaperone.-Career:Barnes grew up in the San...
for The Drowsy ChaperoneThe Drowsy ChaperoneThe Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on 1 May 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. It started as a spoof of old... - 2007: Catherine ZuberCatherine Zuber- Broadway :Zuber's Broadway credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , Born Yesterday , Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, South Pacific , The Coast of Utopia , The Light in the Piazza , Edward Albee's Seascape , Awake and Sing! ,...
for The Coast of UtopiaThe Coast of UtopiaThe Coast of Utopia is a 2002 trilogy of plays: Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage, written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866... - 2008: Katrina Lindsay for Les Liaisons DangereusesLes liaisons dangereuses (play)Les liaisons dangereuses is a play by Christopher Hampton adapted from the 1782 novel of the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The plot focuses on the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, rivals who use sex as a weapon of humiliation and degradation, all the while enjoying their...
- 2009: Tim Hatley for Shrek the Musical
- 2010: Matthew Wright for La Cage aux Folles
- 2011: Tim Chappel and Lizzy GardinerLizzy GardinerLizzy Gardiner is an Australian costume designer, who has been working in Hollywood since the early 1990s. Noted for her originality, she is best known for her American Express gold card dress which she wore to collect her Academy Award for Best Costume Designer at the 67th Academy Awards in 1995...
for Priscilla Queen of the Desert