The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category. Presented since 1955, they are considered one of the important American theater awards.

The Drama Desk organization was formed in 1949 by a group of New York theater critics, editors, reporters and publishers, born out of the desire to educate the community on vital issues concerning the theater. In 1955, the organization began presenting the Vernon Rice Awards in honor of theater critic Vernon Rice of the New York Post, who had pioneered Off-Broadway coverage in the New York press. The name was changed as of the 1963–1964 awards season. In the first fifteen years of the award, Broadway shows were not eligible for these awards, but as of the 1968–1969 season, Broadway productions were included. Only winners were announced in the early years, but in 1975, the Drama Desk began to announce nominees as well. In 1974, the Drama Desk became incorporated as a not-for-profit organization.

Laura Benanti (born July 15, 1979) is an American actress of television, film and Broadway theatre noted for her award winning performance as Louise in the 2008 production of Gypsy.

Benanti was born in New York City, the daughter of Linda Wonneberger, a vocal coach and former actress, and Martin Vidnovic, a Broadway actor and singer. She is of Yugoslavian-German-Irish-Native American heritage. When quite young, her parents divorced and she moved to Kinnelon, New Jersey, with her mother and her stepfather Salvatore Benanti, a psychotherapist, whose name she took and whom she has referred to as her father.

Benanti remembers being "very serious" and "a bit of an ugly duckling" as a child, and was intensely interested in musical theatre, which distanced her from other children. (In 2008, Benanti told The New York Times that she drew on this loneliness in her portrayal of the neglected Louise in Gypsy.) Though her parents refused to let Laura audition for professional theatre, Laura appeared in several high school and community productions, including Evita (as Peron's mistress), Follies (as Young Heidi), and Into the Woods (as Cinderella). At 16, Benanti played the title role in her high school production of Hello, Dolly! and won a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award for Outstanding Actress in a high school production. She graduated from Kinnelon High School in 1997.

Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968) is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999), for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked (2003). Her best-known television role is Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing. As Olive Snook on the ABC comedy-drama Pushing Daisies, she won a 2009 Emmy Award. Chenoweth stars in the ABC TV series GCB, which premiered in March 2012.

An Oklahoma native, Chenoweth sang gospel music as a child and studied opera before deciding to pursue a career in musical theatre. In 1997, she made her Broadway debut in Steel Pier. Besides You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Wicked, Chenoweth's stage work includes five City Center Encores! productions, Broadway's The Apple Tree in 2006 and Promises, Promises in 2010, as well as Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions.

Chenoweth had her own TV series Kristin in 2001, and has guest starred on many shows, including Sesame Street and Glee, for which she was nominated for Emmy awards in 2010 and 2011. In films, she has played mostly character roles, such as in Bewitched (2005), The Pink Panther (2006) and RV (2006). She has also played roles in made-for-TV movies, done voice work in animated films and the animated TV series Sit Down, Shut Up, hosted several award shows and released several albums of songs, including A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas (2008) and Some Lessons Learned (2011). Chenoweth also penned a 2009 memoir, A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages.

Jessie Mueller is an American actress and singer.

Jessie Mueller was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois. Her father Roger Mueller, mom Jill (Shellabarger), two brothers Andrew and Matt, and sister Abby are all actors known for their work in the Chicago, IL theatre community. Jessie performed in various shows while in high school and college including The Wiz and Working. She attended Syracuse University.

After graduation, Jessie returned to Chicago and acted for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and other theatre houses, performing in various roles including Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel, Lizzie Fields in Baby, Once Upon a Mattress as a Lady-In Waiting, Esther in Meet Me in St. Louis and Amalia Balash in She Loves Me. She also performed with the Marriot Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, where she performed roles including Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Tzeital in Fiddler on the Roof. She was named Actor of the Year by the Chicago Tribune in 2011.

Mueller made her Broadway debut in a revised revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Melinda Wells, a role originated by Barbara Harris. The show also co-starring Harry Connick Jr.. Mueller received critical praise for her performance, with one reviewer commenting "...Her voice contains notes of Garland, but she’s no diva — this is a star of supreme self-possession". For this role, Mueller was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Steven Pasquale (born November 18, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Sean Garrity in the critically acclaimed series Rescue Me. He made his debut on the HBO series Six Feet Under, playing a love interest for David. He also starred in the film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

Pasquale was born in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He has starred in numerous theatre productions. These include having created the role of Fabrizio in the original Seattle cast of The Light in the Piazza but his work on Rescue Me prevented him from reprising the role on Broadway, as he has been quoted, "That was the most heartbreaking thing that I've ever experienced professionally."

He played the role of Sheriff Joe Sutter in the musical The Spitfire Grill in which he introduced the song "Forest For the Trees." He then scored the lead role of Chris in the 1998 American tour of Miss Saigon. In 2002, he appeared in the New York production of A Man of No Importance in the role of Robbie Faye. He appeared at the Joey DiPaolo AIDS Foundation's concert of The Secret Garden as Archibald Craven, alongside Michael Arden, Jaclyn Nedenthal, Will Chase, Max von Essen, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Laura Benanti, whom he later married.^{[citation needed]}