The best of Broadway and off-Broadway were honored this past weekend at the 2025 Drama Desk Awards!
Audra McDonald, Jasmine Amy Rogers, and Sarah Snook all accepted the top acting prizes at the awards show on Sunday (June 1) at the NYU Skirball Center in New York City.
The event featured gender-free performance categories with each category featuring twice as many nominees as the former gendered ones. Each acting category also had two winners, with one category getting three winners because of a tie!
Audra and Jasmine won the awards for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical for their work in Gypsy and BOOP! The Musical, respectively. Sarah won Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play for her work in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The second win in that category went to The Hills of California‘s Laura Donnelly, who wasn’t in attendance.
Also pictured inside are Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play winners Amalia Yoo (John Proctor is the Villain) and Kara Young (Purpose), as well as Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical winners Jak Malone (Operation Mincemeat) and Michael Urie (Once Upon a Mattress).
Andrew Scott picked up the Outstanding Solo Performance award for Vanya.
Other nominees in attendance included Sunset Blvd‘s Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Francis, Death Becomes Her‘s Jennifer Simard, Maybe Happy Ending‘s Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, Just in Time‘s Jonathan Groff, Once Upon a Mattress‘ Sutton Foster, Floyd Collins‘ Jeremy Jordan, and Pirates! The Penzance Musical‘s Nicholas Barasch. See all of their photos in the gallery!
Tituss Burgess and Debra Messing hosted the show.
Head inside to check out the full winners list…
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
WINNER – Purpose, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Outstanding Musical
BOOP! The Musical
Death Becomes Her
Just in Time
WINNER – Maybe Happy Ending
Music City
Outstanding Revival of a Play
WINNER – Eureka Day
Garside’s Career
Home
Wine in the Wilderness
Yellow Face
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”
Floyd Collins
WINNER – Gypsy
Once Upon a Mattress
See What I Wanna See
Sunset Blvd.
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play
Betsy Aidem, The Ask
WINNER – Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California
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)
WINNER – Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray
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
WINNER – Audra McDonald, Gypsy
WINNER – Jasmine Amy Rogers, BOOP! The Musical
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
WINNER – Amalia Yoo, John Proctor is the Villain
WINNER – Kara Young, Purpose
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical (Three-Way Tie)
WINNER – Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash
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
WINNER – Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat
Lesli Margherita, Gypsy
Zachary Noah Piser, See What I Wanna See
Jenny Lee Stern, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
WINNER – Michael Urie, Once Upon a Mattress
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
WINNER – Andrew Scott, Vanya
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
WINNER – Danya Taymor, John Proctor is the Villain
Whitney White, Liberation
Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Outstanding Direction of a Musical
WINNER – 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
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”
WINNER – Jerry Mitchell, BOOP! The Musical
Sergio Trujillo, Real Women Have Curves
Outstanding Music
WINNER – 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
Gerard Alessandrini, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
WINNER – Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
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
WINNER – 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
Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending
Doug Besterman, BOOP! The Musical
Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
WINNER – Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time
Michael Starobin, All the World’s a Stage
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
WINNER – Miriam Buether, and Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher (illusions and visual effects), Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Johan Kølkjær, Dark Noon
Gabriel Hainer Evansohn and Grace Laubacher, Life and Trust
Matt Saunders, Walden
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical
Clifton Chadick, Music City
Rachel Hauck, Swept Away
WINNER – Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending (includes video design)
Derek McLane, Just in Time
David Rockwell and Finn Ross (projections), BOOP! The Musical
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, The Antiquities
WINNER – Dede Ayite, Our Town
Christopher Ford, The Beastiary
Camilla Lind, Dark Noon
Karl Ruckdeschel, Twelfth Night
Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical
WINNER – 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
Isabella Byrd, Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
WINNER – Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
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”
WINNER – Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd.
Philip S. Rosenberg, BOOP! The Musical
Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun (projections), Floyd Collins
Outstanding Sound Design of a Play
WINNER – 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
Adam Fisher, Sunset Blvd.
WINNER – Peter Hylenski, Just in Time
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
WINNER – David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Jesse Garrison, The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [redux]
Hana S. Kim, Redwood
Outstanding Wig and Hair
Alberto “Albee” Alvarado, SUMO
WINNER – Charles G. LaPointe, Death Becomes Her
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
WINNER – Amanda Villalobos, Becoming Eve
Kirjan Waage, Dead as a Dodo
Outstanding Fight Choreography
Drew Leary, Romeo + Juliet
Chelsea Pace and James Yaegashi, SUMO
WINNER – Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Bret Yount, King Lear
Outstanding Adaptation
Becoming Eve, by Emil Weinstein
Cymbeline, by Andrea Thome
Medea: Re-Versed, by Luis Quintero
WINNER – Pirates! The Penzance Musical, by Rupert Holmes
The Devil’s Disciple, by David Staller
Outstanding Revue
WINNER – 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
Odd Man Out
The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [redux]
WINNER – The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Voices in Your Head
The Wind and the Rain: A story about Sunny’s Bar
