The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City.
The category was first presented at the 1984 ceremony, when it was known as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show, suspended for 1988 and 1989, returning in 1990 as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show/Solo Performance. The current name was first introduced in 1994, but then shifted across the three names until locking on the current name in 1999.
Winners and nominees Key
1980s Year Performer Production 1984 Ian McKellen Acting Shakespeare Philip Baker Hall Secret Honor Kaye Ballard Hey, Ma...Kaye Ballard Edward Duke Jeeves Takes Charge Estelle Parsons Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo Billie Whitelaw Rockaby 1985 Whoopi Goldberg Whoopi Goldberg Avner Eisenberg Avner the Eccentric Spalding Gray Swimming to Cambodia Alec McCowen Kipling Ekkehard Schall An Evening with Ekkehard Schall Lori Wilner Hannah Senesh 1986 Eric Bogosian Drinking in America Elisabeth Welch Time to Start Living 1987 Barbara Cook A Concert for the Theatre 1988, 1989 colspan="2"
1990s Year Performer Production 1990 Robert Morse Tru Eric Bogosian Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll Kathryn Grody A Mom's Life Mandy Patinkin Mandy Patinkin in Concert: "Dress Casual" 1991 Eileen Atkins A Room of One's Own Jeffrey Essmann Artificial Reality Spalding Gray Monster in a Box Tracey Ullman The Big Love 1992 Patrick Stewart A Christmas Carol Stan Freeman At Wit's End Kevin Kling Home and Away Josh Kornbluth Red Diaper Baby 1993 Anna Deavere Smith Fires in the Mirror John Leguizamo Spic-O-Rama Lynn Redgrave Shakespeare for My Father Ron Vawter Roy Cohn/Jack Smith 1994 Anna Deavere Smith Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 Eric Bogosian Pounding Nails in the Floor with my Forehead Sherry Glaser Family Secrets Spalding Gray Gray's Anatomy Claudia Shear Blown Sideways Through Life 1995 Celeste LecesneNominated as James Lecesne. Word of Mouth Dan Butler The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me Danny Hoch Some People Avi Hoffman Too Jewish? Lisa Kron 101 Humiliating Stories 1996 Mary Louise Wilson Full Gallop Andrea Martin Nude Nude Totally Nude Karen Trott Springhill Singing Disaster 1997 Fiona Shaw The Waste Land Eve Ensler The Vagina Monologues Eddie Izzard Eddie Izzard Roger Guenveur Smith A Huey P. Newton Story Julia Sweeney Julia Sweeney's God Said "Ha!" 1998 John Leguizamo Freak Lewis Black Black Humor Danny Hoch Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop 1999 David Hare Via Dolorosa Will Bond Bob Aviva Jane Carlin Jodie's Body Alexander H. Cohen Star Billing Lisa Kron 2.5 Minute Ride Laurence Luckinbill Clarence Darrow Tonight!
2000s Year Performer Production 2000 Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna: The Royal Tour Olympia Dukakis Rose Spalding Gray Morning, Noon and Night Mark Linn-Baker Chesapeake Mark Setlock Fully Committed Marc Wolf Another American: Asking and Telling 2001 Pamela Gien The Syringa Tree Eric Bogosian Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Bette Bourne Resident Alien Brian d'Arcy James The Good Thief Sarah Jones Surface Transit Ruben Santiago-Hudson Lackawanna Blues 2002 Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch at Liberty Dave Gorman Are You Dave Gorman? Charles Nelson Reilly Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly Reno Rebel Without a Pause T. Ryder Smith Underneath the Lintel 2003 Tovah Feldshuh Golda's Balcony Barbara Cook Mostly Sondheim Frank Gorshin Say Goodnight, Gracie Ricky Jay Ricky Jay: On the Stem Priscilla Lopez Class Mother '68 Charlayne Woodard In Real Life 2004 Jefferson Mays I Am My Own Wife Barbara Cook Barbara Cook's Broadway! Ben Gazzara Nobody Don't Like Yogi Sarah Jones Bridge and Tunnel Martin Moran The Tricky Part Will Power Flow 2005 Billy Crystal 700 Sundays Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance Dave Gorman Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure Jackie Mason Jackie Mason: Freshly Squeezed Tim Miller Us James Urbaniak Thom Pain (based on nothing) 2006 Antony Sher Primo Judy Gold 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother Marga Gomez Los Big Names Jon Peterson George M. Cohan Tonight! Janis Stevens Vivien Michael Winther Songs from an Unmade Bed 2007 Vanessa Redgrave The Year of Magical Thinking Iris Bahr Dai (enough) Ed Harris Wrecks Capathia Jenkins (mis)Understanding Mammy: The Hattie McDaniel Story Anna Manahan Sisters Nilaja Sun No Child... 2008 Laurence Fishburne Thurgood Kris Anderson Dixie's Tupperware Party Stephen Lang Beyond Glory April Yvette Thompson Liberty City 2009 Lorenzo Pisoni Humor Abuse Mike Birbiglia Sleepwalk with Me Frank Blocker Southern Gothic Novel Michael Laurence Krapp, 39 Matt Sax Clay Campbell Scott The Atheist
2010s Year Performer Production 2010 Jim Brochu Zero Hour Theodore Bikel Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears Colman Domingo A Boy and His Soul Carrie Fisher Wishful Drinking Judith Ivey The Lady with All the Answers Anna Deavere Smith Let Me Down Easy 2011 John Leguizamo Ghetto Klown Daniel Beaty Through the Night Mike Birbiglia Mike Birbiglia's My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Juliette Jeffers Batman and Robin in the Boogie Down Colin Quinn Colin Quinn: Long Story Short Joanna Tope The Promise 2012 Cillian Murphy Misterman Baba Brinkman The Rap Guide to Evolution Suli Holum Chimera Jeff Key The Eyes of Babylon Denis O'Hare An Iliad Stephen Spinella An Iliad 2013 Michael Urie Buyer & Cellar Joel de la Fuente Hold These Truths Kathryn Hunter Kafka's Monkey Bette Midler I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers Julian Sands A Celebration of Harold Pinter Holland Taylor Ann 2014 John Douglas Thompson Satchmo at the Waldorf David Barlow This is My Office Jim Brochu Character Man Hannah Cabell Grounded Debra Jo Rupp Becoming Dr. Ruth Ruben Santiago-Hudson August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned 2015 Benjamin Scheuer The Lion Christina Bianco Application Pending Jonny Donahoe Every Brilliant Thing Tom Dugan Wiesenthal Mona Golabek The Pianist of Willesden Lane Joely Richardson The Belle of Amherst 2016 Jesse Tyler Ferguson Fully Committed Simon Callow Tuesdays at Tesco's Kathleen Chalfant Rose Celeste Lecesne The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey Daphne Rubin-Vega Empanada Loca2017Ed DixonGeorgie: My Adventures with George RoseNancy AndersonThe Pen (Inner Voices)Marin IrelandOn the ExhaleSarah JonesSell/Buy/DateBrian QuijadaWhere Did We Sit on the Bus?Anna Deavere SmithNotes from the Field2018Billy CrudupHarry ClarkeDavid GreenspanStrange InterludeJon LevinA Hunger ArtistLesli MargheritaWho's Holiday!Sophie MelvilleIphigenia in Splott2019Mike BirbigliaThe New OneCarey MulliganGirls & BoysLiza Jessie PetersonThe Peculiar PatriotErin TreadwaySpacemanPhoebe Waller-BridgeFleabag
2020s Year Performer Production 2020 Laura Linney My Name Is Lucy Barton David Cale We're Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time Kate del Castillo the way she spoke Jacqueline Novak Get on Your Knees Deirdre O'Connell Dana H. 2021 colspan="2" 2022 Kristina Wong Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord Alex Edelman Just for Us Arturo Luís Soria Ni Mi Madre2023Jodie ComerPrima FacieDavid Greenspan Four Saints in Three ActsJessica Hendy Walking With BubblesAnthony Rapp Without YouTracy ThorneJack Was Kind2024Patrick PageAll the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain Michael Cruz Kayne Sorry for Your Loss Madeleine MacMahon Breathless Wade McCollum Make Me Gorgeous! Robert MontanoSMALL2025Andrew ScottVanyaDavid GreenspanI’m Assuming You Know David GreenspanRyan J. HaddadHold Me in the WaterSam Kissajukian300 PaintingsMark PovinelliThe Return of Benjamin Lay2026Jack HoldenKenrexSavon BartleyHoles in the Shape of My FatherHailey McAfeeand her ChildrenNatalie PalamidesWEERJulia McDermottWeather GirlJosh Sharpta-da!
Statistics Multiple Wins 2 wins Anna Deavere Smith John Leguizamo
Multiple Nominations 4 nominations Anna Deavere Smith Spalding Gray Eric Bogosian Barbara Cook
3 nominations David Greenspan Mike Birbiglia John Leguizamo Sarah Jones
2 nominations Dave Gorman Dame Edna Everage Ruben Santiago-Hudson Celeste Lecesne Jim Brochu Danny Hoch
Notes
References
External links