Nominations for the 2025 Drama Desk Awards have been revealed. Norm Lewis announced the nominations on April 30 on Spectrum News NY1. As previously announced, winners will be honored at the 69th annual Drama Desk ceremony, to be held on June 1 at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.
The Drama Desk Awards recognize excellence in Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions that played in the previous season. To be eligible for 2025 honors, productions must have opened between April 26, 2024 and April 27, 2025 and have played for a minimum of 21 performances.
Leading the pack of nominations was Broadway’s “Boop! The Musical.” The new tuner inspired by the classic Betty Boop cartoon netted 11 nominations, more than any other production (Broadway or otherwise). Among its citations were nods for Outstanding Musical, titular performer Jasmine Amy Rogers for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical and director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell for Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Choreography.
Close behind “Boop!” were “Just in Time” and “Maybe Happy Ending,” both of which earned nine nominations apiece, including nods for Outstanding Musical. Both musicals’ lead performers (Jonathan Groff for “Just in Time,” Darren Criss and Helen J Shen for “Maybe Happy Ending”) were included in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical category, alongside the aforementioned Rogers. “Maybe Happy Ending” was the only musical to be nominated in both Outstanding Music and Outstanding lyrics categories (categories that other awards bodies combine into a single award).
Three musicals scored seven nominations: Broadway’s “Gypsy” and “Sunset Boulevard,” as well as Off-Broadway’s “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.” All three were named in the Outstanding Revival of a Musical category.
Play-wise, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” each received five nominations, more than any other nonmusical. Both plays received nominations in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play category (Louis McCartney and Sarah Snook, respectively), Outstanding Direction of a Play (Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin for “Stranger Things,” and Kip Williams for “Dorian Gray”) and Outstanding Sound Design of a Play (Paul Adritti for “Stranger Things” and Clemence Williams for “Dorian Gray”). Moreover, “Dorian Gray” was included in the Unique Theatrical Experience and Outstanding Projection and Video Design categories, while “Stranger Things” nabbed nomination for scenic (Miriam Buether, Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher) and lighting design (Joon Clark).
The only two Broadway productions nominated for Outstanding Play were Kimberly Belflower’s “John Proctor Is the Villain” and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Purpose.”
Beyond nominations, several special awards were announced, including the Ensemble Award for the eight-person company of Roundabout Theatre Company’s Off-Broadway mounting of Bess Wohl’s “Liberation.” For his two separate performances this season in “Medea: Re-Versed” and “Music City,” Stephen Michael Spencer was named the recipient of the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award.
Other special awards went to lighting designer Stacey Derosier, who designed the lighting of “The Welkin, Grangeville,” “The Counter” and “Danger and Opportunity,” for her “deeply intimate and consistently gorgeous work across this season’s Off-Broadway stages.” The team behind the Off-Broadway production of Ken Urban’s play “Danger and Opportunity” was cited, as was Pregones and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater for its production of Matthew Barbot’s “the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo),” as well as numerous one-offs showcasing Latin artists and culture.
For productions that had received mountings in prior seasons (such as a Broadway production that bowed Off-Broadway previously), only new elements were deemed eligible. These productions included “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Hold On to Me Darling,” “Job,” “Odd Man Out,” “Our Class,” “Still,” “Teeth,” “The Christine Jorgensen Show” and “Yellow Face.” While some members of the “Floyd Collins” creative team also worked on the original 1996 Playwrights Horizons production, the nominating committee determined that their contributions to this revival were eligible as new work.
The following productions were not eligible because they were considered in their entirety in prior seasons or because they did not invite nominators: “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” “All In: Comedy About Love,” “Bringer of Doom,” “Dead Outlaw,” “English,” “Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha,” “Invasive Species,” “Oh, Mary!,” “On Beckett” and “The Dead, 1904.” Due to rescheduling factors, “Grief Camp” and “Rheology” will be considered as part of the 2025-2026 season.
The 2024-2025 Drama Desk nominating committee is led by chair Martha Wade Steketee; committee members include Linda Armstrong, Daniel Dinero, Peter Filichia, Kenji Fujishima, Raven Snook and Charles Wright.
The June 1 ceremony is being executive-produced by Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jenen and, for the first time, will benefit the Entertainment Community Fund.
The Drama Desk is led by co-presidents Wright and David Barbour.
A complete list of nominees can be found below:
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
Outstanding Musical
“Boop! The Musical”
“Death Becomes Her”
“Just in Time”
“Maybe Happy Ending”
“Music City”
Outstanding Revival of a Play
“Eureka Day”
“Garside’s Career”
“Home”
“Wine in the Wilderness”
“Yellow Face”
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
“Cats: ‘The Jellicle Ball’”
“Floyd Collins”
“Gypsy”
“Once Upon a Mattress”
“See What I Wanna See”
“Sunset Boulevard”
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play
Betsy Aidem, “The Ask”
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”
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 Boulevard”
Jonathan Groff, “Just in Time”
Grey Henson, “Elf”
Jeremy Jordan, “Floyd Collins”
Audra McDonald, “Gypsy”
Jasmine Amy Rogers, “Boop! The Musical”
Nicole Scherzinger, “Sunset Boulevard”
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”
Kara Young, “Purpose”
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical
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”
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”
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”
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”
Danya Taymor, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
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 Boulevard”
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”
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
Gerard Alessandrini, “Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song”
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
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
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.”
Miriam Buether, Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher, “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”
Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, “Maybe Happy Ending”
Derek McLane, “Just in Time”
David Rockwell and Finn Ross, “Boop! The Musical”
Outstanding Costume Design of a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, “The Antiquities”
Dede Ayite, “Our Town”
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
Isabella Byrd, “Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.”
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’”
Jack Knowles, “Sunset Boulevard”
Philip S. Rosenberg, “Boop! The Musical”
Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, “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
Adam Fisher, “Sunset Boulevard”
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 Boulevard”
Jake Barton, “McNeal”
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”
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”
Amanda Villalobos, “Becoming Eve”
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”
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
“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
“Odd Man Out”
“The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [redux]”
“The Picture of Dorian Gray”
“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.
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.
Productions with multiple nominations:
“Boop! The Musical” — 11
“Just in Time” — 9
“Maybe Happy Ending” — 9
“Cats: ‘The Jellicle Ball’” — 7
“Gypsy” — 7
“Sunset Boulevard” — 7
“Death Becomes Her” — 5
“Floyd Collins” — 5
“Pirates! The Penzance Musical” — 5
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” — 5
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” — 5
“Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.” — 4
“John Proctor Is the Villain” — 4
“The Big Gay Jamboree” — 4
“Becoming Eve” — 3
“Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song” — 3
“Grangeville” — 3
“Liberation” — 3
“Once Upon a Mattress” — 3
“Operation Mincemeat” — 3
“Real Women Have Curves” — 3
“See What I Wanna See” — 3
“Sumo” — 3
“The Antiquities” — 3
“A Streetcar Named Desire” — 2
“All of Me” — 2
“All the World's a Stage” — 2
“Cymbeline” — 2
“Dark Noon” — 2
“Deep Blue Sound” — 2
“Medea: Re-Versed” — 2
“Music City” — 2
“Purpose” — 2
“Swept Away” — 2
“The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [redux]” — 2
“The Hills of California” — 2
“We Live in Cairo” — 2
“Wine in the Wilderness” — 2
