Shows don’t go on, but awards do

Though the city’s theater industry was devastatingly impacted by the coronavirus crisis, the show went on for the 65th Annual Drama Desk Awards over the weekend.

On Saturday, the best in New York theater got a chance to be honored, with “Moulin Rouge!” taking home five awards, including Outstanding Choreography and other technical awards.

Michael R. Jackson’s critically acclaimed semiautobiographical romp, “A Strange Loop,” took home the trophy for Outstanding Musical, while “The Inheritance,” Matthew Lopez’s remixed exploration of gay history inspired by E.M. Forster’s classic novel “Howards End” was named Outstanding Play.

Kenny Leon’s Broadway revival of Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize-winner, “A Soldier’s Play,” garnered the award for Outstanding Revival of a Play, while the new version of “Little Shop of Horrors” received the award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical.

Adrienne Warren, who wowed audiences as the rock ’n’ roll legend in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” joined Larry Owens (“A Strange Loop”), Paul Hilton (“The Inheritance”) and Lois Smith (“The Inheritance”) in taking home top honors for their performances.

Unlike the postponed and yet-to-be-determined Tony Awards, the Drama Desk Awards decided to move ahead with a ceremony held remotely.

Only shows that opened prior to the pandemic shutdown March 12 were eligible.

Originally set to air May 31, the broadcast was rescheduled because of the Black Lives Matter protests taking place in New York and around the world.

This year’s ceremony included the first lifetime achievement award, named in honor of Broadway producer Hal Prince, who died in 2019 at 91.

The winner of 21 Tony Awards posthumously became the inaugural recipient of the Harold Prince Award for Outstanding Contributions to Theater.