"Schmigadoon" and "Prince Faggot" lead the Dorian Theater Awards

by Nathaniel R

John McRae & Mihir Kumar starred in "Prince Faggot". Photo © Marc J Franklin

As many readers know a few members of Team Experience belong to GALECA the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics though most of us vote on the film and television side. I have the privilege of also being a voter in the society's Dorian Theater Awards, which celebrate both Broadway & Off Broadway productions. The nominations were announced this past week for the 2025-2026 theater season which wrapped up recently and will be a closed book once the Tony Awards are announced on June 7th. The Dorian winners will be announced on June 1st. The TV-to-Stage transfer Schmigadoon (9) led the Broadway shows and Prince Faggot (7) was the nomination leader for Off Broadway on the Dorian ballots. The latter is a truly riveting play which I actually went to twice (very rare for me with so much to see!). It had the distinction of landing a nomination in every category for which it was eligible.

From the press release: 

“From the radical reimaging of our world in Prince Faggot, to the tender themes of self-discovery in Schmigadoon!, it has been a wonderful season of queer storytelling on New York stages,” says GALECA’s theater wing co-chair Sam Eckmann. “In addition to the new LGBTQ stories that we fell in love with, we were proud to see previous Dorian Theater Award winners Cats: The Jellicle Ball and Titaníque find new, fabulous life on Broadway. Our stories are connecting with wider audiences and enduring on stages both large and small.”

After the jump let's talk the nominees and how they differ (or don't) from the Tony nominations...

Outstanding Broadway Musical

• The Lost Boys
• Schmigadoon!
• Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Same as the Tonys minus Titanique which was honored by Dorian voters Off Broadway last season (and thus ineligible for the big prize though some elements of the new production were eligible if they were "new" for the Broadway transfer.)

I'd be happy with a win for either The Lost Boys or Two Strangers which are kind of polar opposites as shows go but both do what they do (spectacle /intimacy) very well. Schmigadoon is a lot of fun but I really don't think it needs Tonys or Dorians! 

Outstanding Broadway Play 

• The Balusters
• Giant
• Little Bear Ridge Road
• Punch

Same as the Tony's with the exception of  Liberation which was Off Broadway the previous season. We included the intensely moving redemption/activist drama Punch instead.

Outstanding Broadway Musical Revival 

• Chess
• Ragtime
• The Rocky Horror Show

 You're seeing a pattern now. the Tonys chose Cats: The Jellicle Ball but since that was Off Broadway last season, it's not eligible for our main category. So in its place goes Chess which I maintain is so much better than people are willing to give it credit for being. Chess has always struggled with critics despite its briliant score from Benny & Björn of ABBA fame. 

Outstanding Broadway Play Revival 

• Death of a Salesman
• Becky Shaw
• Fallen Angels
• Marjorie Prime
• Oedipus

While almost identical to the Tony list some would argue our is better as Marjorie Prime is nominated (instead of Every Brilliant Thing)

Outstanding LGBTQ Broadway Production

• Little Bear Ridge Road 
• The Rocky Horror Show
• Schmigadoon!
• The Lost Boys

Here plays and musicals are grouped in the same category, though musicals are often gayer so they take up 75% of the space! 

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Broadway Musical 

• Sara Chase, Schmigadoon!
• Kristin Chenoweth, The Queen of Versailles
• Nicholas Christopher, Chess
• Luke Evans, The Rocky Horror Show
• Joshua Henry, Ragtime
• Stephanie Hsu, The Rocky Horror Show
• Caissie Levy, Ragtime
• Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
• Brandon Uranowitz, Ragtime

Given the gender neutral big category this list is a combo of the Tony lists for Best Actress and Best Actor with a couple of differences due to eligibility. Since Marla Mindelle (Titanique) wasn't eligible for repeating her Off-Broadway Titanique performance, Dorian voters chose Kristin Chenoweth (whose had a rough year given a flop show and social media misshaps) in her place. There were not enough eligible performances to get a full ten slots which is why this list is shorter than its counterpart in Play; Two Stranger's female half Christiana Pitts was left out in the cold. 

For those of you who have seen the 1981 movie Ragtime, based on the same source novel as the Broadway show, Joshua Henry is playing "Coalhouse Walker Jr", the role that garnered an Oscar nomination for Howard E Rollins Jr and Caissie Levy is playing "Mother", the role that garnered Mary Steenburgen a Golden Globe nomination. These roles are considered the leads of the stage musical but in film awards both roles were demoted to "supporting". Obviously Coalhouse Walker is the central character in the film, but Oscar will do as Oscar does. Both Henry and Levy are expected to win Tonys in early June.

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Broadway Play

• Rose Byrne, Fallen Angels
• Carrie Coon, Bug 
• Will Harrison, Punch
• Nathan Lane, Death of a Salesman
• John Lithgow, Giant 
• Lesley Manville, Oedipus
• Laurie Metcalf, Little Bear Ridge Road
• Kelli O'Hara, Fallen Angels
• Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing
• Mark Strong, Oedipus

The only difference from the two Tony categories is that Laurie Metcalf appears for Little Bear Ridge Road, taking the place of Susannah Flood from Liberation.  

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Broadway Musical  

• Melissa Barrera, Titaníque
• Shoshana Bean, The Lost Boys
• Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Lost Boys
• Max Clayton, Schmigadoon!
• Rachel Dratch,  The Rocky Horror Show
• Ana Gasteyer, Schmigadoon!
• Leiomy, Cats: The Jellicle Ball 
• Ben Levi Ross, Ragtime
• Benjamin Pajak, The Lost Boys
• Layton Williams, Titaníque

So... Titanique and Cats The Jellicle Ball were only eligible for "new" elements on Broadway. I'm kind of mystified that people voted for Melissa Barrera as "Rose" in the former and Leiomy as "Macavity" in the latter. Both perfectly fine performances, don't get me wrong, but not really standouts in their shows especially given the broad range of quality performances that were eligible. I was especially pleased to see Max Clayton here (after missing the Tonys) for his utterly endearing carny in Schmigadoon (the Aaron Tveit role from the tv series if you remember) and teenager Benjamin Pajak who aces and elevates the Corey Haim role in the adaptation of The Lost Boys.

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Broadway Play 

• Christopher Abbott, Death of a Salesman
• Marylouise Burke, The Balusters
• Danny Burstein, Marjorie Prime
• Alden Ehrenreich, Becky Shaw
• Linda Emond, Becky Shaw
• Jessica Hecht, Dog Day Afternoon 
• Laurie Metcalf, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Cynthia Nixon, Marjorie Prime
• Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
• June Squibb, Marjorie Prime

While 7 of the 10 Tony nominees for Featured Actor and Featured Actress are accounted for, we sang our own tune by including Linda Emond, and Tony favourites who somehow missed at the big show: Jessica Hecht and Cynthia Nixon. 

Outstanding Broadway Ensemble

• Death of a Salesman
• The Balusters 
• Ragtime 
• The Rocky Horror Show
• Schmigadoon!

Another category that mixes Plays with Musicals  - Balusters for the win (if I ruled the world)!

Outstanding Original Score of a Broadway Production

• Death of a Salesman 
• The Lost Boys
• Schmigadoon! 
• The Queen of Versailles 
• Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) 

The Queen of Versailles is the surprise nominee here but Stephen Schwartz does have name recognition and there weren't a lot of eligible scores (which has been a perpetual problem for this prize at theater awards in the age of jukebox musicals). I'm still mystified that every awards group considers Schmigadoon's score to be original since it was written for television a few years back and familiar to musical fans in the way revival scores are -- which of course aren't eligible. I'd argue it gives you an  unfair advantage in score if people already know the music and can sing aong (hopefully silently in their brains) from their theater seat. 

The score to The Lost Boys is unexpectedly rich and I hope it wins this category at the Tonys even if it ultimately loses Best Musical. 

Outstanding Book of a Broadway Musical 

• The Lost Boys 
• Schmigadoon! 
• Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) 

 Titanique was not eligible having been honored last season Off Broadway.

Outstanding Script of a Broadway Play 

• The Balusters 
• Giant 
• Little Bear Ridge Road 
• Punch 

 Once again I am pleased that my votes for Punch actually mattered. 

Outstanding Design of a Broadway Production

• Bug
• Cats: The Jellicle Ball
• The Lost Boys
• The Rocky Horror Show
• Schmigadoon!

 This is a solid lineup. I'm not entirely sold on the inclusion of Cats. The conceptual rethink, rather than the design elements, are what's selling this production though the costumes are fab.  

The Broadway Showstopper Award
To a standout production number or scene

• Cats: The Jellicle Ball - “Memory” (“Tempress” Chasity Moore)
• Cats: The Jellicle Ball - “Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat” (Emma Sofia)
• Cats: The Jellicle Ball - “Songs of the Jellicles and the Jellicle Ball” (company)
• Chess - “Anthem” (Nicholas Christopher)
• Titaníque - “River Deep, Mountain High” (Layton Williams)

This category is a major disappointment. Far too Cats heavy -- and I for one thought "Memory" was quite underwhelming in this iteration. We only get three slots per ballot in the non-performance categories but two of my choices made it; I voted for "Skimbleshanks" and "Anthem" (Nicolas Christopher is just divine in Chess) which were both major highlights in their shows. The third thing I voted for that was not included was "Tribulation", Ana Gasteyer's big Music Man spoofing act two number in Schmigadoon. (Kristin Chenoweth had that number in the Apple TV series).

For those of you who haven't seen Titanique, Layton Williams plays the Iceberg in Tina Turner cosplay.

OFF BROADWAY 

Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical 

SATURDAY CHURCH

• Beau: The Musical
• The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse
• Mexodus
• Saturday Church
• The Seat of Our Pants

I love Beau. It's a musical about a gay aspiring singer songwriter with relationship problems who lives with his mother and begins to finally get to know his estranged grandfather. It's done consistently well with multiple Off Broadway awards organizations so this bodes well for it to get encore productions of some kind. 

If Saturday Church sounds familiar to some of you that's because it was based on the 2017 indie movie musical of the same name.

Outstanding Off-Broadway Play 

• Are the Bennett Girls Ok?
• Bowl EP (Pulitzer finalist!) 
• Cold War Choir Practice
• Meet the Cartozians (Pulitzer finalist!) 
• Prince Faggot 

 I voted for a very grim sci-fi play here called "And Then There Were No More" about a futuristic death penalty machine that was written by film actor Tim Blake Nelson but it received zero nominations. Prince Faggot is likely to win given its overall nomination tally. It was such a hit Off Broadway that I thought a Broadway transfer might happen but ultimately it's appeal was probably too queer for Broadway... which is quite an accomplishment if you think about it!

Outstanding Off-Broadway Revival 

• Bat Boy: The Musical
• Heathers, The Musical
• Oratorio for Living Things
• Twelfth Night (Shakespeare in the Park)
• The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

 Two of my favourites this past season that didn't land nominations were Galas and Tartuffe.

Outstanding LGBTQ Off-Broadway Production 

• Beau: The Musical
• Becoming Eve
• Bowl EP 
• Prince Faggot 
• Saturday Church
• ta-dah!

Outstanding Lead Performance in an Off-Broadway Production

BEAU THE MUSICAL

• Bryson Battle, Saturday Church
• Quincy Tyler Bernstein, Well, I’ll Let You Go
• Alana Raquel Bowers, Cold War Choir Practice
• Will Brill, Kramer/Fauci 
• Tommy Dorfman, Becoming Eve
• David Greenspan, I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan
• Ryan J. Haddad, Hold Me in the Water
• Marin Ireland, Queens
• John McCrea, Prince Faggot
• Matt Rodin, Beau: The Musical

 Very happy for Matt Rodin (Beau) but most of the other people on my ballot did not make this list... the one that surprised me in missingwas Dule Hill for playing Nat King Cole in "Lights Out: Nat King Cole" a play written by Colman Domingo & Patricia McGregor.

 I did not get to see I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan and am kicking myself for missing it after loving Greenspan so much in his other Off Broadway role this season. Which speaking of...

Outstanding Featured Performance in an Off-Broadway Production

• Caroline Aaron, The Reservoir
• Sierra Boggess, Prosperous Fools 
• Justin Cooley, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• K. Todd Freeman, Prince Faggot 
• J. Harrison Ghee, Saturday Church
• David Greenspan, Prince Faggot 
• Judy Kuhn, The Baker’s Wife
• McKenzie Kurtz, Heathers, The Musical
• Casey Likes, Heathers, The Musical
• Deirdre O’Connell, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
• Jasmine Amy Rogers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• David Turner, Mother Russia

 I was shocked/thrilled that Sierra Boggess landed among our nominees for her hilarious performance as a worshipped celebrity diva marrying a crass billionaire. She was second on my ranked ballot, after fellow nominee David Greenspan who was utterly transcendent in Prince Faggot.  While I didn't love Heathers the Musical I voted for McKenzie Kurtz in her OTHER musical this season, Schmigadoon (over in the Broadway portion) so I was happy to see her honored. 

Outstanding Writing for an Off-Broadway Production

• Becoming Eve 
• Bowl EP 
• Caroline 
• Cold War Choir Practice 
• Practice 
• Prince Faggot  

Outstanding Design for an Off-Broadway Production 

• Beau: The Musical
• Bowl EP
• Cold War Choir Practice
• Masquerade
• Prince Faggot

LGBTQ Theater Artist of the Season

• Michael Arden  (prolific director who also does lighting design... this season The Lost Boys & Queen of Versailles. Last season he directed both the winning original  Maybe Happy Ending and the winning revival Sunset Boulevard)
• Shayok Misha Chowdhury (writer/director/performer/Pulitzer finalist) 
• Luke Evans (performer/famous gay... currently headlining The Rocky Horror Show) 
• Qween Jean (costume designer extraordinaire)
• Constantine Rousouli (writer/performer who plays Jack in and co-wrote Titanique)  
• Brandon Uranowitz (Tony-winning performer currently in Ragtime)

LGBTQ Theater Trailblazer
For a lifelong commitment to creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equit

• Michael Arden
• Junior LaBeija (soooo unexpectedly great in Cats the Jellicle Ball but will always be most famous for immortalization in the classic doc Paris is Burning) 
• Nathan Lane
• Joe Mantello
• Sam Pinkleton