Feature: THE CRITICS AWARDS at BROADWAY WORLD HOUSTON

Right now, every theater fan is likely laser-focused on the Tonys, and that makes sense. We even have local hero Tye Blue nominated for TITANIQUE! But we here at BROADWAY WORLD HOUSTON are pretty dang proud of our city’s theater scene. And the critics wanted to look back at the best of the best from the last season in the Bayou City. So without further ado, here are our picks from the back of the house for the shows and thespians that hit us the hardest. So, in no order (and with no clarity of categories), here are the BROADWAY WORLD HOUSTON CRITICS’ CHOICE awards for the 2025-2026 season! CHEERS! 

BEST MUSICAL - THE CHOSEN ONES from Thunderclap Productions! Aaron Alon wrote the book and the music for this searing portrait of teens trapped in conversion therapy. It debuted at a time when the government decided this type of peculiar torture could go on. It was raw, honest, and it rocked. The cast was sublime! It eclipsed any other musical this year. Aisha Ussery guided the impeccable cast through this unforgettable journey and world premiere! 

BEST DRAMA - BUG from Dirt Dogs Theatre Co.! The show is an emotional dare, a technical nightmare, and one of the hardest scripts from celebrated actor and playwright Tracy Letts to produce, and Dirt Dogs did the darn thing. Kyle Clark and Callina Anderson were revelatory in their roles, and Malinda L. Beckham and Curtis Barber proved they were game to get down and dirty as directors. Unforgettable in all the best ways! 

BEST HOLIDAY SHOW - BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS DISORDER from the Catastrophic Theatre!  Playwright Kathy Ng gave us a feel-good story about a triangular-headed non-binary person, the murderous killer whale named Tilikum, and Mother Teresa, congregating with each other in the parking lot of Heaven. It was brilliant and fun, and probably the best vehicle for the artistic force that is T Lavois Thiebaud. They were stunning! And so were Kyle Sturdivant and Amy Bruce. They were three wise people bearing gifts of genius from Kathy Ng, right when we needed them the most - the holidays! 

BEST HISTORICAL SHOW - CAMP LOGAN from the Ensemble Theatre! Celeste Bedford Walker’s haunting presentation of a chapter from Houston’s history moved us and haunted us all at once. The seven actors under the direction of Allie Woods, Jr., cemented our love for what the Ensemble Theatre means to this city!  

BEST REVIVAL - ANGELS IN AMERICA from Rec Room Arts! Tony Kushner’s 90s epic about the AIDS epidemic seemed brutally relevant this year, and Matt Hune and Sophia Watt directed the heck out of it! Of course, it heralded two brilliant performances from Wesley Whitson and Meg Rodgers, who made it feel fresh and alive. 

BEST COMEDY - EUREKA DAY from 4th Wall Theatre! They presented a screwball comedy about vaccines, and at one point, a ZOOM chat stole the show. It was side-splittingly funny and oh-so-relevant to post-2020 America. 

BEST POLITICAL STATEMENT - THE LAST YIDDISH SPEAKER from Mildred’s Umbrella! Deborah Zoe Laufer’s imagining of America if the Capitol was taken over in 2021 was chilling and timely. Anyone who thought Houston theater was not making political statements obviously missed this show, and what a pity. Rhett Martinez directed Deborah Hope in a master class in acting, where Deborah became her character and delivered a warning to all of us. We are still shivering!  

BEST DIRECTOR - DEREK CHARLES LIVINGSTON of Stages Houston! Derek unleashed his home theater’s productions of LET.HER.RIP. and THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, and then moved over to a guest spot at 4th Wall and did FAT HAM. The man was unstoppable and created some of Houston’s most memorable moments last season. 

BEST TECH DESIGN - THE DA VINCI CODE from The Alley Theatre! Michael Locher designed a set that became the Louvre, Temple Church, Westminster Abbey, a restroom, a private plane, and two levels of a billionaire’s home! And it was stylish, drenched in neon, and turned the book and film into theater! Thom Weaver’s lights were an equally cool accomplice. Together, they made the best-looking production of the season! 

BEST COMMUNITY THEATRE SHOW - POPCORN FALLS from Theatre Suburbia! An all-volunteer, 64-year-old company proved they can do it just as well as the professionals with their two-person comedy about a small town trying to save itself through a play. Sam Martinez and Dean R. Dicks were fall-down funny, and Director Elvin Moriarty and Assistant Director Kristen Sheils showed them off in the best way. 

BEST ENSEMBLE - LEOPOLDSTADT from Main Street Theater! What an amazing and moving production of Tom Stoppard's last and most personal work. A production so powerful that even a blackout didn’t stop the show. The cast just kept going under the lights of the audience’s cell phones. Rebecca Greene Udden made magic.  

BEST WORLD PREMIERE - SEVEN ASSASSINS WALK INTO A BAR from Main Street Theater and KATY PERRY Candy Darling MARY MAGDELANE from Catastrophic Theatre! These two very different pieces proved that Houston is creative as all get out. Singer-songwriter (punk pop chanteuse) Joe Folladori and Dain Geist produced shows as you had never seen before, and they were huge WOWS! 

BEST ACTOR - Wesley Whitson! He did a one-two punch playing the lead in 4th Wall’s HAMLET, and then did ANGELS IN AMERICA in rep with Rec Room Arts. He also appeared in Main Street Theater’s THE 39 STEPS. He was breathtaking, daring, and basically everywhere, all at once! 

BEST ACTRESS - Sarah Sachi! Stages, TUTS, Midred’s Umbrella, and anywhere in the city, there she was. She stunned in Stages' THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME, and Mildred's Umbrella's THE WANDERERS. She was breathtaking, daring, and basically everywhere, all at once!  

BEST MUSICAL ACTRESS - Holland Vavra! DAS BARBECU and HONKY TONK LAUNDRY at Stages to BEAUTIFUL at TUTS. She even has her own cabaret coming up at Stages! Holland is just an amazing musical performer and a Houston treasure. 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY MARRIED PEOPLE - Chris Hutchison and Elizabeth Bunch for MISERY at the Alley! Spouses shouldn’t be this good at beating each other up, but man… did Chris and Elizabeth go for broke taking on each other in the summer’s most spectacular surprise at the Alley.  

MOST LEGENDARY LEADING LADY - Susan Koozin! She originated North America’s Miss Marple at The Alley Theatre and played a staggering number of male and female characters in ANGELS IN AMERICA for Rec Room Arts. Susan is a Houston treasure, and we just can’t get enough!  

BEST LOOKING CAST - AMERICAN PSYCHO from Houston Broadway Theatre! If you wanted eye candy, look no further than the underwear-only opening of the most ambitious musical of the year! It was flesh for fantasy for days, and it never stopped. It was like a model bomb had exploded in the Hobby Center. 

We could go on and on, never stopping, but you get the idea. Houston is a wonderful place to enjoy theater! And we couldn’t be prouder to cover it and see it unfold every week. This town has a ton of seats waiting for you to fill them. It’s an embarrassment of riches! BROADWAY has nothing on HOUSTON! See you next season!