2025 Drama Desk Awards Winners- The Full List

Debra Messing and Tituss Burgess hosted the 69th Annual Drama Desk Awards at 7:30pm ET at NYU Skirball. In keeping with the Drama Desk’s mission, the nominators considered shows that opened on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway during the 2024-2025 New York theater season, that the Drama Desk determined ended as of April 27, 2025. Productions must run for 21 or more live performances to be considered eligible.

The most nominated show of the season was BOOP! The Musical with eleven nominations, closely followed by Just in Time and Maybe Happy Ending each with nine nominations.

See the full list of winners below! NOTE: Winners will be marked: **WINNER**

2025 DRAMA DESK AWARDS:

Outstanding Play

Blood of the Lamb, by Arlene Hutton
Deep Blue Sound, by Abe Koogler
Grangeville, by Samuel D. Hunter
John Proctor is the Villain, by Kimberly Belflower
Liberation, by Bess Wohl
Purpose, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins **WINNER**

Outstanding Musical

BOOP! The Musical
Death Becomes Her
Just in Time
Maybe Happy Ending **WINNER**
Music City

Outstanding Revival of a Play

Eureka Day **WINNER**
Garside’s Career
Home
Wine in the Wilderness
Yellow Face

Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Floyd Collins
Gypsy **WINNER**
Once Upon a Mattress
See What I Wanna See
Sunset Blvd.

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play

Betsy Aidem, The Ask
Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California **WINNER**
Patsy Ferran, A Streetcar Named Desire
Danny J. Gomez, All of Me
Doug Harris, Redeemed
Patrick Keleher, Fatherland
Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Lily Rabe, Ghosts
Jay O. Sanders, Henry IV (Theatre for a New Audience)
Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray **WINNER**
Paul Sparks, Grangeville
Olivia Washington, Wine in the Wilderness

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical

Tatianna Córdoba, Real Women Have Curves
Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
Sutton Foster, Once Upon a Mattress 
Tom Francis, Sunset Blvd.
Jonathan Groff, Just in Time
Grey Henson, Elf
Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins
Audra McDonald, Gypsy **WINNER**
Jasmine Amy Rogers, BOOP! The Musical **WINNER**
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.
Helen J. Shen, Maybe Happy Ending
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play

Greg Keller, Pre-Existing Condition
Julia Lester, All Nighter
Adrienne C. Moore, The Blood Quilt
Deirdre O’Connell, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
Maria-Christina Oliveras, Cymbeline
Maryann Plunkett, Deep Blue Sound
Michael Rishawn, Table 17
Jude Tibeau, Bad Kreyòl
Anjana Vasan, A Streetcar Named Desire
Frank Wood, Hold On to Me Darling
Amalia Yoo, John Proctor is the Villain **WINNER**
Kara Young, Purpose **WINNER**

Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical

Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash **WINNER**
Nicholas Barasch, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
André De Shields, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
John El-Jor, We Live in Cairo
Jason Gotay, Floyd Collins
Gracie Lawrence, Just in Time
Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat **WINNER**
Lesli Margherita, Gypsy
Zachary Noah Piser, See What I Wanna See
Jenny Lee Stern, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
Michael Urie, Once Upon a Mattress **WINNER**
Natalie Walker, The Big Gay Jamboree

Outstanding Solo Performance

David Greenspan, I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan
Ryan J. Haddad, Hold Me in the Water
Sam Kissajukian, 300 Paintings
Mark Povinelli, The Return of Benjamin Lay
Andrew Scott, Vanya **WINNER**

Outstanding Direction of a Play

David Cromer and Caitlin Sullivan, The Antiquities
Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Tyne Rafaeli, Becoming Eve
Jack Serio, Grangeville
Danya Taymor, John Proctor is the Villain **WINNER**
Whitney White, Liberation
Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Outstanding Direction of a Musical

Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending **WINNER**
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Jamie Lloyd, Sunset Blvd.
Jerry Mitchell, BOOP! The Musical
Alex Timbers, Just in Time
George C. Wolfe, Gypsy

Outstanding Choreography

Camille A. Brown, Gypsy
Warren Carlyle, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Jakob Karr, Ain’t Done Bad
Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Jerry Mitchell, BOOP! The Musical **WINNER**
Sergio Trujillo, Real Women Have Curves

Outstanding Music

Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending **WINNER**
David Foster, BOOP! The Musical
Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, Real Women Have Curves
Zoe Sarnak, The Lonely Few
The Lazours, We Live in Cairo

Outstanding Lyrics

Gerard Alessandrini, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending **WINNER**
David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat
Adam Gwon, All the World’s a Stage
Marla Mindelle and Philip Drennen, The Big Gay Jamboree
Luis Quintero, Medea: Re-Versed

Outstanding Book of a Musical

Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending **WINNER**
David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat
Warren Leight and Isaac Oliver, Just in Time
Bob Martin, BOOP! The Musical
Marla Mindelle and Jonathan Parks-Ramage, The Big Gay Jamboree
Marco Pennette, Death Becomes Her

Outstanding Orchestrations

Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending
Doug Besterman, BOOP! The Musical
Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time **WINNER**
Michael Starobin, All the World’s a Stage

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play

Miriam Buether, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
Miriam Buether, and Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher (illusions and visual effects), Stranger Things: The First Shadow **WINNER**
Gabriel Hainer Evansohn and Grace Laubacher, Life and Trust
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Johan Kølkjær, Dark Noon
Matt Saunders, Walden

Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical

Clifton Chadick, Music City
Rachel Hauck, Swept Away
Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending (includes video design) **WINNER**
Derek McLane, Just in Time
David Rockwell and Finn Ross (projections), BOOP! The Musical

Outstanding Costume Design of a Play

Brenda Abbandandolo, The Antiquities
Dede Ayite, Our Town **WINNER**
Christopher Ford, The Beastiary
Camilla Lind, Dark Noon
Karl Ruckdeschel, Twelfth Night

Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, BOOP! The Musical **WINNER**
Sarah Cubbage, The Big Gay Jamboree
Toni-Leslie James, Gypsy
Qween Jean, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her
Catherine Zuber, Just in Time

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play

Isabella Byrd, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow **WINNER**
Natasha Katz, John Proctor is the Villain
Tyler Micoleau, The Antiquities
Paul Whitaker, SUMO

Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical

Kevin Adams, Swept Away
Adam Honoré, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd. **WINNER**
Philip S. Rosenberg, BOOP! The Musical
Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun (projections), Floyd Collins

Outstanding Sound Design of a Play

Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow **WINNER**
Johnny Gasper, Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotica in the Woods
Matt Otto, All of Me
Bray Poor, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
Clemence Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Fan Zhang, Good Bones

Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical

Adam Fisher, Sunset Blvd.
Peter Hylenski, Just in Time **WINNER**
Scott Lehrer, Gypsy
Mick Potter, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends
Dan Moses Schreier, Floyd Collins

Outstanding Projection and Video Design

Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, Sunset Blvd.
Jake Barton, McNeal
David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray **WINNER**
Jesse Garrison, The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [redux]
Hana S. Kim, Redwood

Outstanding Wig and Hair

Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, SUMO
Charles G. LaPointe, Death Becomes Her **WINNER**
Sabana Majeed, BOOP! The Musical
Nikiya Mathis, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Nikiya Mathis, Liberation

Outstanding Puppetry

Dorothy James, Bill’s 44th
Tom Lee, See What I Wanna See
Simple Mischief Studio, Small Acts of Daring Invention
Amanda Villalobos, Becoming Eve **WINNER**
Kirjan Waage, Dead as a Dodo

Outstanding Fight Choreography

Drew Leary, Romeo + Juliet
Chelsea Pace and James Yaegashi, SUMO
Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Pirates! The Penzance Musical **WINNER**
Bret Yount, King Lear

Outstanding Adaptation

Becoming Eve, by Emil Weinstein
Cymbeline, by Andrea Thome
Medea: Re-Versed, by Luis Quintero
Pirates! The Penzance Musical, by Rupert Holmes **WINNER**
The Devil’s Disciple, by David Staller

Outstanding Revue

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song **WINNER**
Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now!
The Jonathan Larson Project
The World According to Micki Grant

Unique Theatrical Experience

Odd Man Out
The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [redux]
The Picture of Dorian Gray **WINNER**
The Voices in Your Head
The Wind and the Rain: A story about Sunny’s Bar

Special Awards:

Ensemble Award

The ensemble of Roundabout Theatre Company's Liberation (Betsy Aidem, Audrey Corsa, Kayla Davion, Susannah Flood, Kristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio, Charlie Thurston, and Adina Verson) for bringing to vibrant life the specific and universal stories of women staring across the social battle lines of the 1970s from their perch "somewhere in Ohio" in Bess Wohl's beautiful new play.

Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award

The incredibly versatile Stephen Michael Spencer for his electric and empathetic performances in two of this season’s strongest new Off-Broadway musicals. In Medea: Re-Versed, Spencer’s funny yet revelatory take on a character we all thought we knew allowed us the rare opportunity to actually understand Jason’s motivations. And then in Music City, Spencer was almost unrecognizable as TJ, a charismatic singer-songwriter who we couldn’t help but root for.

Additional Special Awards

Pregones/PRTT: Pregones (founded in 1979) and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (founded in 1967) merged in 2014 to become a powerhouse producer of Latinx shows on two NYC stages: one in Manhattan's Theater District, the other in the South Bronx, both evoking an atmosphere of warmth and inclusivity. This season brought the blazing world premiere of Matthew Barbot’s the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo), a history-inspired fantasia about two Puerto Rican freedom fighters that deftly explores colonialism while riffing on Waiting for Godot, plus dozens of one-offs showcasing Latinx artists and culture.

Lighting designer Stacey Derosier for her deeply intimate and consistently gorgeous work across this season’s Off-Broadway stages. Whether lighting the minimalist theatricality of The Welkin and Grangeville, or the rich naturalism of The Counter and Danger and Opportunity, Derosier shows us not only that less is often so much more, but also that just a single light can have such a profound impact in the darkness.

The team behind Danger and Opportunity – playwright Ken Urban, director Jack Serio, and ensemble Juan Castano, Julia Chan, and Ryan Spahn – for their genuinely serious, deeply moving consideration of the messy implications of a three-way relationship, done in an imaginatively immersive way that made such a small-scale story feel like a meaningful event.