About the Joe A. Callaway Award
The Joe A. Callaway Awards recognize excellence in directing and choreography in New York City and are the only awards given by peer directors and choreographers for work on a single production.
Joe A Callaway dedicated more than 50 years to the theatre as an actor, director, lecturer and critic. He was a founding member and director of San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, the first recipient of a master’s degree from the Goodman School of Theatre, an associate professor at Michigan State University, a noted radio and television reviewer, and an actor off-Broadway and in regional theatre. Since his death in 1991, his legacy lives on in awards he endowed for direction and choreography (through SDCF), for acting (through Actors’ Equity Association), for playwriting (through Young Playwrights Inc.) and for theatre scholarships (through NYU).
SDCF’s Joe A. Callaway Award was first presented in 1989. Recipients and finalists are chosen by the Callaway Award Selection Committee, comprised of current SDC Members, from around 100 productions considered each season. The 2023-2024 Joe A. Callaway Committee is chaired by Shea Sullivan and current members are William Carlos Angulo, Maggie Burrows, Roger Danforth, Kyle Donnelly, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Dell Howlett, Kenny Ingram, Gerry McIntyre, Margarett Perry, Danya Taymor, and Daniela Varon.
Eligibility
Directors or choreographers who are SDC members in good standing are eligible for their work on NYC productions that have employed AEA performers – except under the Showcase Code, Broadway agreement or LORT A+ – and for which the director and/or choreographer were employed under an eligible SDC contract. Staged readings and concerts – including the Encores! Series at City Center – are not eligible. Events that are annual – i.e. A Christmas Carol – will be considered only the first time they are presented. Productions that are “remounted” are not eligible.
Past Recipients
| 1989 | Gloria Muzio | Other People’s Money |
| 1990 | Frank Galati | The Grapes of Wrath |
| 1991 | Susan Stroman | And the World Goes Round |
| 1992 | George C. Wolfe (Dir) & Hope Clarke (Chor) | Jelly’s Last Jam |
| 1993 | Harold Prince | Kiss of the Spider Woman |
| 1994 | Gerald Gutierrez | Abe Lincoln in Illinois |
| 1995 | Joe Mantello | Love! Valour! Compassion! |
| Scott Elliott | Ecstasy | |
| 1996 | Julie Taymor | The Green Bird |
| 1997 | Moises Kaufman | Gross Indecency |
| 1998 | Frank Galati (Dir) & Graciela Daniele (Chor) | Ragtime |
| 1999 | Trevor Nunn | Not About Nightingales |
| 2000 | Gabriel Barre (Dir) & Mark Dendy (Chor) | Wild Party |
| 2001 | Jack O’Brien | The Invention of Love & The Full Monty |
| 2002 | Bartlett Sher | Cymbeline |
| 2003 | Doug Hughes (Dir) | Flesh & Blood |
| Devanand Janki (Chor) | Zanna Don’t | |
| 2004 | Daniel Sullivan | Intimate Apparel |
| 2005 | Doug Hughes (Dir) | Doubt |
| 2005 | Christopher Gattelli (Chor) | Altar Boyz |
| 2006 | Peter DuBois (Dir) | Measure for Pleasure |
| Bill T. Jones (Chor) | Spring Awakening | |
| 2007 | Thomas Kail (Dir) & Andy Blankenbuehler (Chor) | In the Heights |
| 2008 | Giovanna Sardelli (Dir) | Animals Out of Paper |
| Lynne Taylor Corbett (Chor) | Wanda’s World | |
| 2009 | Garry Hynes (Dir) | The Cripple of Inishmaan |
| Martha Clarke (Chor) | Garden of Earthly Delights | |
| 2010 | Ciaran O’Reilly (Dir) | The Hairy Ape |
| Byron Easley (Chor) | Langston in Harlem | |
| 2011 | Carolyn Cantor (Dir) | After The Revolution |
| Larry Keigwin (Chor) | Rent | |
| 2012 | John Tiffany (Dir) | Once |
| Steven Hoggett (Chor) | Once | |
| 2013 | Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Dir) | The Piano Lesson |
| Marlo Hunter (Chor) | Unlock’d | |
| 2014 | John Rando (Dir) | The Heir Apparent |
| Martha Clarke (Chor) | Chéri | |
| 2015 | Mike Donahue (Dir) | The Legend of Georgia McBride |
| Alex Sanchez & Lainie Sakakura (Chor) | Red Eye of Love | |
| 2016 | Sarah Benson (Dir) | Futurity |
| James Walski (Chor) | Trip of Love | |
| 2017 | David Cromer (Dir) | The Band’s Visit |
| Rachel Rockwell (Chor) | Ride the Cyclone | |
| 2018 | Anne Kauffman (Dir) | Mary Jane |
| Susan Stroman (Chor) | The Beast in the Jungle | |
| 2019 | Kenny Leon (Dir) | Much Ado About Nothing |
| Jeff & Rick Kuperman (Chor) | Alice By Heart |
| 2020 | Danya Taymor (Dir) | Heroes of the Fourth Turning |
| Travis Wall (Chor) | The Wrong Man |
| 2022 | Saheem Ali (Dir) | Fat Ham |
| Josh Prince (Chor) | Trevor: The Musical |
2023 Pam MacKinnon (Dir) DOWNSTATE
Orlando Pabotoy (Chor) The Half-God of Rainfall