The 2026 Dorian Theater Award Nominations Celebrate Queer Storytelling Across New York Stages – front mezz junkies, Theater News

Frontmezzjunkies reports: “Schmigadoon!” leads a nomination list celebrating queer storytelling and theatrical innovation

By Ross

Broadway has always thrived when it makes room for stories that challenge assumptions and expand the conversation, and few awards embrace that spirit as fully as the Dorian Theater Awards. Presented by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, these honours recognize not only artistic excellence but the productions and artists helping to reshape the theatrical landscape through bold, inclusive storytelling. Looking over this year’s nominations, I was struck by how many of the season’s most inventive and emotionally resonant works appear once again, confirming just how vibrant and wide-ranging New York theatre has been.

Leading the 2026 Dorian Theater Awards is Schmigadoon!, which earned an impressive nine nominations. The affectionate musical tribute to Golden Age Broadway received recognition for Outstanding Broadway Musical and Outstanding LGBTQ Broadway Production, while creator Cinco Paul picked up nominations for both score and book. Performers Sara Chase, Max Clayton, and Ana Gasteyer were also singled out, reinforcing the show’s remarkable blend of wit, affection, and dazzling theatrical craft.

Close behind is The Lost Boys with eight nominations, including Outstanding Design of a Broadway Production and three featured performance nominations for Shoshana Bean, Ali Louis Bourzgui, and Benjamin Pajak. Michael Arden earned nominations in both LGBTQ Theater Artist of the Season and LGBTQ Theater Trailblazer.

Elsewhere, Cats: The Jellicle Ball and Titaníque continued to demonstrate their remarkable durability. Because both productions had already won the Dorian Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Production in previous years, only newly eligible Broadway elements were considered this season. Even so, each showed impressive strength. Cats: The Jellicle Ball earned multiple Showstopper nominations, including “Memory,” “Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat,” and “Songs of the Jellicles and the Jellicle Ball,” while Titaníque remained firmly in the conversation through a featured performance nomination for Layton Williams and a Showstopper nod for his electrifying “River Deep, Mountain High.”

In the Off-Broadway categories, Prince Faggot emerged as a dominant force, earning nominations in every category for which it was eligible, including Outstanding Off-Broadway Play and Outstanding LGBTQ Off-Broadway Production. Playwright Jordan Tannahill was recognized for his writing, while John McCrea, K. Todd Freeman, and David Greenspan received acting nominations. The breadth of recognition speaks to a season in which queer voices have not simply found a place on New York stages, but have stood confidently at the centre of some of the year’s most compelling theatrical experiences.

Winners will be announced on June 1, coinciding with the start of Pride Month and arriving in the final days of Tony voting, giving these awards a particularly timely significance. What I admire most about the Dorian Theater Awards is the way they celebrate work that pushes theatre forward while honouring the artists who tell their stories with courage, wit, and imagination. From the joyful exuberance of Schmigadoon! to the daring theatrical vision of Prince Faggot and The Lost Boys, this year’s nominees offer a vivid reminder that Broadway and Off-Broadway continue to flourish when they embrace stories determined to be seen and heard.

See the full list of 2026 Dorian Theater Awards nominations below.

The 2026 Dorian Theater Awards

Outstanding Broadway Musical
The Lost Boys
Schmigadoon!
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Outstanding Broadway Play
The Balusters
Giant
Little Bear Ridge Road
Punch

Outstanding Broadway Musical Revival
Chess
Ragtime
The Rocky Horror Show

Outstanding Broadway Play Revival
Death of a Salesman
Becky Shaw
Fallen Angels
Marjorie Prime
Oedipus

Outstanding LGBTQ Broadway Production
Little Bear Ridge Road 
The Rocky Horror Show
Schmigadoon!
The Lost Boys

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

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

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

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, Death of a Salesman
Cynthia Nixon, Marjorie Prime
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
June Squibb, Marjorie Prime

Outstanding Broadway Ensemble
Death of a Salesman
The Balusters 
Ragtime
The Rocky Horror Show
Schmigadoon!

Outstanding Original Score of a Broadway Production
Death of a Salesman by Caroline Shaw
The Lost Boys by The Rescues
Schmigadoon! by Cinco Paul
The Queen of Versailles by Stephen Schwartz
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) by Jim Barne & Kit Buchan

Outstanding Book of a Broadway Musical
The Lost Boys by David Hornsby and Chris Hoch
Schmigadoon! by Cinco Paul
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) by Jim Barne & Kit Buchan

Outstanding Script of a Broadway Play
The Balusters by David Lindsay-Abaire
Giant by Mark Rosenblatt
Little Bear Ridge Road by Samuel D. Hunter.
Punch by James Graham

Outstanding Design of a Broadway Production
Bug
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
The Lost Boys
The Rocky Horror Show
Schmigadoon!

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)

Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical
Beau: The Musical
The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse
Mexodus
Saturday Church
The Seat of Our Pants

Outstanding Off-Broadway Play
Are the Bennett Girls Ok?
Bowl EP
Cold War Choir Practice
Meet the Cartozians
Prince Faggot 

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

Outstanding LGBTQ Off-Broadway Production
Beau: The Musical
Becoming Eve
Bowl EP
Prince Faggot 
Saturday Church
ta-da!

Outstanding Lead Performance in an Off-Broadway Production
Bryson Battle, Saturday Church
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, 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

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

Outstanding Writing for an Off-Broadway Production
Becoming Eve by Emil Weinstein
Bowl EP by Nazareth Hassan
Caroline by Preston Max Allen
Cold War Choir Practice by Ro Reddick
Practice by Nazareth Hassan
Prince Faggot by Jordan Tannahill

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 
Shayok Misha Chowdhury
Luke Evans
Qween Jean
Constantine Rousouli
Brandon Uranowitz

LGBTQ Theater Trailblazer
— For a lifelong commitment to creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity
Michael Arden
Junior LaBeija
Nathan Lane
Joe Mantello
Sam Pinkleton

Broadway Productions with Multiple Nominations
Schmigadoon!— 9
The Lost Boys — 8
The Rocky Horror Show — 7
Ragtime — 6
Death of a Salesman — 5
The Balusters  — 4
Cats: The Jellicle Ball — 4
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) — 4                   
Becky Shaw — 3
Chess — 3
Fallen Angels — 3
Giant — 3
Little Bear Ridge Road — 3
Oedipus — 3
Punch — 3
Titaníque — 3                           
Bug — 2
The Queen of Versailles — 2

Off-Broadway Productions with Multiple Nominations
Prince Faggot — 7
Bowl EP — 4
Cold War Choir Practice — 4
Saturday Church — 4
Beau: The Musical — 3        
Becoming Eve — 3
Heathers, The Musical — 3
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — 3