Tuesday, July 1, 2025

The 14th Annual David Desk Awards

Operation Mincemeat deserved better
in this season's award-giving, IMHO.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes
The Tonys, Drama Desks, NY Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics, etc. are all long over. So it is time to deliver my own accolades with my choices for the best of the 2024-25 Broadway and Off-Broadway season. I was not as enamored with Maybe Happy Ending as all the major theater awards. Operation Mincemeat got my vote for Best Musical but Happy Ending won everything in spite of my opposition. I also felt Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, Smash and We Had a World were unfairly overlooked for nominations.


Outstanding Play
The Antiquities, Jordan Harrison
Grangeville, Samuel D. Hunter
The Hills of California, Jez Butterworth
Liberation, Bess Wohl
Purpose, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Vladimir, Erika Sheffer
We Had a World, Joshua Harmon


Outstanding Musical

The Big Gay Jamboree

Death Becomes Her

Operation Mincemeat

Smash


Outstanding Revival of a Play

Eureka Day

A Streetcar Named Desire

Yellow Face


Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Gypsy

Sunset Blvd.


Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play

George Clooney, Good Night and Good Luck

Adam Driver, Hold On to Me Darling

Jon Michael Hill, Purpose

Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Paul Mescal, A Streetcar Named Desire

Paul Sparks, Grangeville


Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play

Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California

Francesca Faridany, Vladimir

Patsy Ferran, A Streetcar Named Desire

Lily Rabe, Ghosts

Jeanine Serralles, We Had a World



Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical

Tom Francis, Sunset Blvd.

Jonathan Groff, Just in Time

James Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical

Christopher Seiber, Death Becomes Her


Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical

Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her

Audra McDonald, Gypsy

Marla Mindelle, The Big Gay Jamboree

Bernadette Peters, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

Lea Salonga, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.

Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her



Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Bill Burr, Glengarry Glen Ross

Clark Gregg, Good Night and Good Luck

Francis Jue, Yellow Face

Bob Odenkirk, Glengarry Glen Ross


Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Alana Arenas, Purpose

Jessica Hecht, Eureka Day

Debra Messing, Shit. Meet. Fan.

Anjana Vasan, A Streetcar Named Desire



Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash

Danny Burstein, Gypsy

Kevin Csolak, Gypsy

Gavin Lee, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat


Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Beth Leavel, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

Kristin Nielsen, Smash

Zoe Roberts, Operation Mincemeat

Jenny Lee Stern, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song

Natalie Walker, The Big Gay Jamboree

Joy Woods, Gypsy



Outstanding Direction of a Play

David Cromer, Good Night, and Good Luck

Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Rebecca Frecknall, A Streetcar Named Desire

Sam Mendes, The Hills of California

Ralph B. Pena, SUMO

Jack Serio, Grangeville

Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray



Outstanding Direction of a Musical

Matthew Bourne, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

Robert Hastie, Operation Mincemeat

Jamie Lloyd, Sunset Blvd.

George C. Wolfe, Gypsy



Outstanding Choreography

Camille A. Brown, Gypsy

Jerry Mitchell, Boop! The Musical


Outstanding Score

Gerard Alessandrini, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song

David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, Zoe Roberts, Operation Mincemeat

Marla Mindelle, Phillip Drenan, The Big Gay Jamboree

Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Smash


Outstanding Book of a Musical

David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, Zoe Roberts, Operation Mincemeat

Ric Elise, Bob Martin, Smash

Marla Midelle, Jonathan Parks-Ramage, The Big Gay Jamboree


Outstanding Revue

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song

The Jonathan Larson Project

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends



Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play

Miriam Buethner, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

dots, Grangeville

Rob Howell, The Hills of California

Arnulfo Maldonado, Curse of the Starving Class

Scott Pask, Good Night and Good Luck

Todd Rosenthal, Purpose

Michael Yeargan, Jake Barton, MacNeal



Outstanding Costume Design of a Play

Brenda Abbandandolo, The Antiquities

Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Rob Howell, The Hills of California

Qween Jean, Liberation



Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes, BOOP! The Musical

Toni-Leslie James, Gypsy

Qween Jean, Cats: The Jellicle Ball,

Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her


Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play

Jiyoun Chang, The Blood Quilt

Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Donald Holder, MacNeal

Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd.

Japhy Weideman, Ghosts

Paul Whitaker, SUMO


Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical

Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd.

Brian Tovar, The Big Gay Jamboree


Outstanding Projection and Video Design

59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, Sunset Blvd.

Jake Barton, MacNeal

David Bengali, Good Night and Good Luck

David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Hanna S. Kim, Redwood, SUMO

Outstanding Sound Design 

Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Outstanding Solo Performance

Khawla Ibraheem, A Knock on the Roof

Andrew Scott, Vanya

Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray


Outstanding Fight Choreography

James Yaegashi, Chelsea Pace, SUMO

Outstanding Adaptation

Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray

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