Nikiya Mathis, MAYBE HAPPY ENDING, & More Earn 2025 Hewes Design Awards

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee has revealed the 2025 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees who will be recognized at the 61st annual ceremony on October 20 in New York.

“We are delighted to announce the 2025 Henry Hewes Design Awards honorees,” said Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chairman of the committee. “We continue to recognize the outstanding contribution designers make to the creative process in all theater productions and we congratulate the 2025 honorees for their excellent work.”

Honors for the 2024–25 season were earned by 14 artists for their work on and Off Broadway. Scenic designer Jason Sherwood (Bad Kreyòl, Signature Theatre Company), Costume Designer Qween Jean (Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”, Perelman PAC/NYC), lighting designer Adam Honoré (Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”, Perelman PAC/NYC), sound designer Rena Anakwe (The Swamp Dwellers, Theatre for a New Audience), media designer Finn Ross (Boop!, Broadway), and puppetry designer Greg Corbino (Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!, Soho Rep) will be honored with 2025 Henry Hewes Design Awards.

The Hewes Committee also voted two Special Citations during its deliberations. The Broadway design team of Maybe Happy Ending receives Special Citations for Excellence in Design. These Special Citation honorees are Dane Laffrey, Clint Ramos, Ben Stanton, Peter Hylenski, George Reeve, Craig Franklin Miller, and Suki Tsujimoto.

Designer Nikiya Mathis will be honored with a Special Citation for Individual Achievement in Design for her extraordinary contributions to hair and wig design in Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”, Liberation, and Wine in the Wilderness during the 2024-25 theater season.

Twelve of the fourteen 2025 honorees are receiving their first award from the Hewes committee. For the 2025 honors, 107 theater artists were nominated for outstanding artistry in 54 productions presented during the 2024-25 New York theater season on, Off, and Off-Off Broadway. (A complete list of 2025 nominees follows this awards announcement. Please share widely.) 

These annual awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway, recognizing the categories of Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Sound Design, Media Design, and Notable Effects. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions. The Hewes Awards Committee annually considers approximately 200 productions when making its nominations.

Hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis led all designers with three nominations in the Notable Effects category. Thirteen designers received two nominations for their work. Thirty productions received multiple nominations, with Broadway’s Maybe Happy Ending leading the way at seven nominations. Boop! on Broadway received six nominations and Bowl EP at Off Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre received five nominations. Four productions each received four nominations. Eleven productions received three nominations and 11 other productions each received two nominations.

The HHDA Committee named honorees in six standard categories: Scenic Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Sound Design, Media Design, and Notable Effects. As of the 2025 awards, the Committee has bestowed 357 honors on 243 artists representing 303 productions. (These numbers do not include the Ming Cho Lee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Design.) 

Known as the Maharam Awards at their inception in 1965, the Hewes Awards were later renamed the American Theatre Wing Design Awards in honor of the Wing’s generous sponsorship. In 1999, they became the Henry Hewes Design Awards in honor of noted critic Henry Hewes, who created the awards and served as a board member of the American Theatre Wing until his death in 2006 at age 89.

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee includes theater critics Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair; David Barbour; David Cote; Naveen Kumar; Brittani Samuel; Helen Shaw; and Martha Wade Steketee. The awards are sponsored by the Henry Hewes Foundation for the Theater Arts.

2025 Henry Hewes DESIGN AWARDS HONOREES

Scenic Design

Jason Sherwood (Bad Kreyòl, Signature Theatre Company) 

Costume Design

Qween Jean (Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”, Perelman PAC/NYC)

Lighting Design

Adam Honoré (Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”, Perelman PAC/NYC)

Sound Design

Rena Anakwe (The Swamp Dwellers, Theatre for a New Audience)

Media Design

Finn Ross (Boop!, Broadway)

Notable Effects

Greg Corbino (Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!, Soho Rep) (Puppetry Design)

Special Citation for Individual Achievement in Design

Nikiya Mathis, for the range and excellence of her work in hair and wig design on three distinct productions during the 2024-25 New York theater season.

Special Citation for Excellence in Design

Maybe Happy Ending (Broadway) Dane Laffrey (scenic and additional video), Clint Ramos (costumes), Ben Stanton (lighting), Peter Hylenski (sound), George Reeve (video), Craig Franklin Miller (hair and wig design), Suki Tsujimoto (makeup design)

2025 Henry Hewes DESIGN AWARDS NOMINEES

(2025 Honorees in bold)