The 2025 Drama Desk Award winners were revealed last night, with Maybe Happy Ending taking home a total of six awards, including Outstanding Musical; Boop! The Musical three awards; Gypsy, Just in Time and Pirates! The Penzance Musical each winning two apiece; and Sunset Blvd., Death Becomes Her, Once Upon a Mattress, Operation Mincemeat, and Smash each taking one. See the full breakdown of nominees and winners below.
It’s been such an incredible year of theater and we couldn’t be more thrilled for all of this year’s nominees and winners! Just one more award show left to go with the Tony’s on June 8th. Check out our Tonys Prep List and join us as we live tweet, facebook, instagram, and update on Sunday! Wheeee!
2025 Drama Desk Awards
Outstanding Play
Purpose
Blood of the Lamb
Deep Blue Sound
Grangeville
John Proctor is the Villain
Liberation
Outstanding Musical Maybe Happy Ending
Boop! The Musical
Death Becomes Her
Just in Time
Music City
Outstanding Revival of a Play Eureka Day
Garside’s Career
Home
Wine in the Wilderness
Yellow Face
Outstanding Revival of a Musical Gypsy
Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Floyd Collins
Once Upon a Mattress
See What I Wanna See
Sunset Blvd.
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Betsy Aidem, The Ask
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)
Paul Sparks, Grangeville
Olivia Washington, Wine in the Wilderness
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical Audra McDonald, Gypsy Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The 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
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.
Helen J. Shen, Maybe Happy Ending
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play Amalia Yoo, John Proctor is the Villain Kara Young, Purpose
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
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat Michael Urie, Once Upon a Mattress
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
Lesli Margherita, Gypsy
Zachary Noah Piser, See What I Wanna See
Jenny Lee Stern, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
Natalie Walker, The Big Gay Jamboree
Outstanding Solo Performance Andrew Scott, Vanya
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
Outstanding Direction of a Play Danya Taymor, John Proctor is the Villain
David Cromer and Caitlin Sullivan, The Antiquities
Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Tyne Rafaeli, Becoming Eve
Jack Serio, Grangeville
Whitney White, Liberation
Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Outstanding Direction of a Musical Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
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 Jerry Mitchell, Boop! The Musical
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”
Sergio Trujillo, Real Women Have Curves
Outstanding Music Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
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 Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
Gerard Alessandrini, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
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
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 Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time
Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending
Doug Besterman, Boop! The Musical
Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Michael Starobin, All the World’s a Stage
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play Miriam Buether, and Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher (illusions and visual effects), Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Miriam Buether, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Johan Kølkjær, Dark Noon
Grace Laubacher, Life and Trust
Matt Saunders, Walden
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending (includes video design)
Clifton Chadick, Music City
Rachel Hauck, Swept Away
Derek McLane, Just in Time
David Rockwell and Finn Ross (projections), Boop! The Musical
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play Dede Ayite, Our Town
Brenda Abbandandolo, The Antiquities
Christopher Ford, The Beastiary
Camilla Lind, Dark Noon
Karl Ruckdeschel, Twelfth Night
Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical Gregg Barnes, Boop! The Musical
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 Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Isabella Byrd, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
Natasha Katz, John Proctor is the Villain
Tyler Micoleau, The Antiquities
Paul Whitaker, SUMO
Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd.
Kevin Adams, Swept Away
Adam Honoré, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
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
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 Peter Hylenski, Just in Time
Adam Fisher, Sunset Blvd.
Scott Lehrer, Gypsy
Mick Potter, Old Friends
Dan Moses Schreier, Floyd Collins
Outstanding Projection and Video Design David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, Sunset Blvd.
Jake Barton, McNeal
Jesse Garrison, The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [redux]
Hana S. Kim, Redwood
Outstanding Wig and Hair Charles G. LaPointe, Death Becomes Her
Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, SUMO
Sabana Majeed, Boop! The Musical
Nikiya Mathis, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Nikiya Mathis, Liberation
Outstanding Puppetry Amanda Villalobos, Becoming Eve
Dorothy James, Bill’s 44th
Tom Lee, See What I Wanna See
Simple Mischief Studio, Small Acts of Daring Invention
Kirjan Waage, Dead as a Dodo
Outstanding Fight Choreography Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Drew Leary, Romeo + Juliet
Chelsea Pace and James Yaegashi, SUMO
Bret Yount, King Lear
Outstanding Adaptation Pirates! The Penzance Musical, by Rupert Holmes
Becoming Eve, by Emil Weinstein Cymbeline, by Andrea Thome
Medea: Re-Versed, by Luis Quintero
The Devil’s Disciple, by David Staller
Outstanding Revue Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now!
The Jonathan Larson Project
The World According to Micki Grant
Unique Theatrical Experience The Picture of Dorian Gray
Odd Man Out
The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [redux]
The Voices in Your Head
The Wind and the Rain: A story about Sunny’s Bar
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)
Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award Stephen Michael Spencer
Additional Special Awards Pregones/PRTT: Pregones and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Stacey Derosier The team behind Danger and Opportunity (Ken Urban, Jack Serio, Juan Castano, Julia Chan, and Ryan Spahn)
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