New York’s Drama League Awards 2025 winners announced including Nicole Scherzinger, Vanya & Maybe Happy Ending

The Drama League has announced the winners of its 91st annual Drama League Awards 2025.

The awards took place on 16 May 2025 at New York’s Ziegfeld Ballroom, hosted by NY1 reporter Frank DiLella.

The Drama League Awards nominations were announced on 22 April 2025.

Nicole Scherzinger won the Distinguished Performance Award for her performance in Sunset Boulevard. The award can only be won once during the career of an actor.

Maybe Happy Ending took home the Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical, and Oh, Mary! won for Outstanding Production of a Play.

For the first time in 25 years, in any category, Eureka Day and Vanya tied for the honor of Outstanding Revival of a Play; and Outstanding Revival of a Musical was awarded to Sunset Boulevard.

In the directing categories, Sam Pinkleton took home the Outstanding Direction of a Play award for Oh, Mary!, and Michael Arden took home Outstanding Direction of a Musical for Maybe Happy Ending.

The Drama League Awards Steering Committee is led by co-chairs Bonnie Comley and Darin Oduyoye and members Trish Chambers, Irene Gandy, Sarah Hutton, Mary Jain, Paula Kaminsky Davis, Fred Siegel, and Kumiko Yoshii. The Awards Honorary Committee included Annaleigh Ashford, Danny Burstein, Sutton Foster, Audra McDonald, Lance Roberts, and Will Swenson.

First awarded in 1922 and formalized in 1935, The Drama League Awards are the oldest theatrical honors in America.

Drama League Awards 2025 – Full list of winners

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY

Winner:

OH, MARY!
Lyceum Theatre
Written by Cole Escola
Directed by Sam Pinkleton
Associate Director: Sunny Min-Sook Hitt
Lead Producer: Kevin McCollum & Lucas McMahon and Mike Lavoie & Carlee Briglia; Co-Produced by Bob Boyett, The Council, Jean Doumanian Productions, Nicole Eisenberg, Jay Marcus & George Strus, Irony Point, Richard Batchelder / Bradley Reynolds, Tyler Mount / Tommy Doyle, Nelson & Tao, Palomares & Rosenberg, and ShowTown Productions

Nominees:

THE ANTIQUITIES
BECOMING EVE
ENGLISH
GOOD BONES
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES
JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN
LIBERATION
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
PURPOSE
STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW
WALDEN

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY

Winners:

EUREKA DAY
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Written by Jonathan Spector
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
Assistant Director: Zoë Adams
Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Chris Jennings, Executive Director); By special arrangement with Sonia Friedman Productions, Wagner Johnson Productions, and Seaview Productions

VANYA
Lucille Lortel Theatre
After Anton Chekhov
Adaptor and Co-Creator: Simon Stephens
Adaptor and Co-Creator: Sam Yates
Produced by Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions, Kater Gordon, Aleri Entertainment, Eilene Davidson Productions, Nicole Eisenberg, Grace Street Creative, Jim Kierstead, Lucille Lortel Theatre, Tilted, Tulchin, Bartner Productions, Winkler & Smalberg; Executive Producers: Sue Wagner, John Johnson, and Jillian Robbins

Nominees:

THE CHERRY ORCHARD
GHOSTS
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
HOME
OTHELLO
ROMEO + JULIET
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
WINE IN THE WILDERNESS
YELLOW FACE

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

Winner:

MAYBE HAPPY ENDING
Belasco Theatre
Book by Will Aronson and Hue Park
Music by Will Aronson, Lyrics by Hue Park
Directed by Michael Arden
Associate Director: Emilio Ramos; Assistant Director: Caroline Fairweather
Lead Producer: Jeffrey Richards and Hunter Arnold; Co-Produced by Darren Criss, Dr. Pam Hurst-Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, NHN Link Corporation, Greg & Lisa Love, Kayla Greenspan, Jayne Baron Sherman, Louise Gund, Spencer Ross, Yonge Street Theatricals, Ruth Hendel, Kaplan-Gopal-MMC, Adam Zotovich, At Rise Creative, Broadway Strategic Return Fund, Curt Cronin, Fahs Productions, Greg Field, Paul Gavriani / Michael Patrick, Rebecca Gold, Grace Street Creative Group, John Gore Organization, Willette & Manny Klausner, Kent Knudsen, James L. Nederlander, Salmira Productions, The Shubert Organization, Jacob Stuckelman & John Albert Harris, Wooran Foundation, You Should Smile More Productions, Mark and David Golub Productions, Diego Kolankowsky, Takonkiet Viravan, Brad Blume, Hugo Six, Clarissa Cueva, Ali Daylami, Maia Kayla Glasman, Patrick W. Jones, and Brandon J. Schwartz; Associate Producer: Glass Half Full

Nominees:

BOOP! THE MUSICAL
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB
DEAD OUTLAW
DEATH BECOMES HER
DRAG: THE MUSICAL
JUST IN TIME
MACBETH IN STRIDE
OPERATION MINCEMEAT
REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES
SMASH
STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S OLD FRIENDS

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

Winner:

SUNSET BLVD.
St. James Theatre
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton
Directed by Jamie Lloyd
U.S. Associate Director: Benita de Wit; U.K. Associate Director: Rupert Hands
Produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company, ATG Productions, Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, and Gavin Kalin Productions; Co-Produced by Wessex Grove, Christopher Ketner, Aleri Entertainment, Sonia Friedman, Roth-Manella Productions, Winkler Smalberg, Caitlin Clements, 42nd.club, Abrams Johnson, Aron on Broadway, The Array V, At Rise Creative, Bad Robot Live, Craig Balsam, Greg Berlanti, Boardman Cannova Productions, Bob Boyett, Burnt Umber Productions, Patrick Catullo, Crane McGill Trunfio, Core Four Productions, Nicole Eisenberg, The Factor Gavin Partnership, Federman Jenen Koenigsberg, Forshaw Turchin, John Gore, Jake Hine, LAMF Secret Hideout, Jack Lane, Lang Entertainment Group, Lelli Armstrong, Alex Levy, Luftig Reade St. Kawana, Mary Maggio, Jay Marcus, Stephanie P. McClelland, James L. Nederlander, No Guarantees Productions, P3 Productions, Thomas Steven Perakos, Pam Hurst-Della Pietra, Shari Redstone, Regian Davison Buckman, Sand & Snow Entertainment, SBK Productions, The Shubert Organization, Smedes Stern Productions, Tilted, Willowrow Entertainment, and WMKlausner; Produced by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd

Nominees:

CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL
FLOYD COLLINS
GYPSY
THE LAST FIVE YEARS
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL
URINETOWN

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A PLAY

Winner:

Sam Pinkletonn – Oh, Mary!, Lyceum Theatre

Nominees:

Knud Adams – English, Roundabout Theatre Company/Todd Haimes Theatre
Saheem Ali – Good Bones, The Public Theater
David Cromer – Good Night, And Good Luck, Winter Garden Theatre
Tyne Rafaeli – Becoming Eve, New York Theatre Workshop
Anna D. Shapiro – Eureka Day, Manhattan Theatre Club/Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Danya Taymor – John Proctor is The Villain, Booth Theatre
Whitney White – Liberation, Roundabout Theatre Company/Laura Pels Theatre
Kip Williams – The Picture of Dorian Gray, Music Box Theatre
Sam Yates – Vanya, Lucille Lortel Theatre

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Winner:

Michael Arden – Maybe Happy Ending, Belasco Theatre

Nominees:

Saheem Ali – Buena Vista Social Club, Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
Christopher Gattelli – Death Becomes Her, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Robert Hastie – Operation Mincemeat, John Golden Theatre
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch – Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Perelman Arts Center
Jamie Lloyd – Sunset Blvd., St. James Theatre
Jerry Mitchell – Boop! The Musical, Shubert Theatre
Susan Stroman – Smash, Imperial Theatre
Alex Timbers – Just In Time, Circle In The Square Theatre
Annie Tippe – Three Houses, Signature Theatre Company
Sergio Trujillo – Real Women Have Curves, James Earl Jones Theatre
George C. Wolfe – Gypsy, Majestic Theatre

DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE

Winner:

Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.

Nominees:

Tala Ashe, English
Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash
Stori Ayers, Home
Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Kit Connor, Romeo+Juliet
Tatianna Córdoba, Real Women Have Curves
Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
Kieran Culkin, Glengarry Glen Ross
André De Shields, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Tommy Dorfman, Becoming Eve
Robert Downey, Jr., McNeal
Adam Driver, Hold On To Me Darling
Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw
Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!
Mia Farrow, The Roommate
Tom Francis, Sunset Blvd.
Amber Gray, Eureka Day
David Greenspan, I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan
Jonathan Groff, Just In Time
Jake Gyllenhaal, Othello
Ryan J. Haddad, Hold Me In The Water
Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her
Robyn Hurder, Smash
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose
Nick Jonas, The Last Five Years
Ramin Karimloo, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Gracie Lawrence, Just In Time
Beth Leavel, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends
Justina Machado, Real Women Have Curves
Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat
Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Idina Menzel, Redwood
Paul Mescal, A Streetcar Named Desire
Jinkx Monsoon, Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Marjan Neshat, English
Sandra Oh, The Welkin
Lily Rabe, Ghosts
Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical
Lea Salonga, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends
Andrew Scott, Vanya
Helen J. Shen, Maybe Happy Ending
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her
Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Ephraim Sykes, Our Town
Alaska Thunderfuck, Drag: The Musical
Adrienne Warren, The Last Five Years
Denzel Washington, Othello
Joy Woods, Gypsy
Kara Young, Purpose and Table 17

The Drama League also wishes to acknowledge the previous recipients of the Distinguished Performance Award who appeared in Broadway or Off-Broadway productions this season. As the Award can only be won once in a performer’s lifetime, they are ineligible to be nominated; however, their exemplary work is recognized and applauded.

Annaleigh Ashford, All In
Danny Burstein, Gypsy
Norbert Leo Butz, Vladimir
Sutton Foster, Once Upon A Mattress
Neil Patrick Harris, Shit. Meet. Fan.
Patti LuPone, The Roommate
Audra McDonald, Gypsy
Lin-Manuel Miranda, All In
Bernadette Peters, Stephen Sondheim: Old Friends

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Main photo: Drama League Awards