This year's Drama Desk Awards will bestow honorary awards on Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell and the late Gavin Creel. Tony winner Creel, who passed away last year at the age of 48 following a brief battle with cancer, will posthumously receive the Harold S. Prince Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Mitchell will receive the William Wolf Award, which recognizes individuals and entities whose achievements represent extraordinary, commendable contributions to the high standards, innovativeness, and/or humane character of the industry, including instances of unusual largesse and/or "giving back" to the entertainment community.
Both will be honored at the 2025 Drama Desk Awards ceremony, planned for June 1 at NYU Skirball. Debra Messing and Tituss Burgess will host. The event, which will benefit the Entertainment Community Fund, is open to the public, with tickets available .
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to recognize two remarkable artists whose contributions have greatly influenced the heart and soul of American theatre,鈥� say Co-Executive Producers Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jenen in a joint statement. 鈥淕avin Creel was a visionary artist whose career was marked by bold choices, emotional depth, and a fearless commitment to authenticity, intelligence, and heart in every role. Beyond the stage, his leadership in arts activism helped amplify voices and causes that matter deeply to the theatre community. Brian Stokes Mitchell has defined excellence in American musical theatre for over four decades with his commanding presence and extraordinary talent. Just as impactful is his dedication to service鈥攎entoring young artists, championing the arts, and strengthening the theatre community through tireless advocacy, particularly as a former board chair of the Entertainment Community Fund for nearly 20 years.鈥�
Broadway's BOOP! The Musical emerged as the most nominated production of the season when nominations for the 69th Annual Drama Desk Awards were revealed April 30, earning 11 nods. Along with a nomination in the Outstanding Musical category, the show picked up recognition for its leading lady, Jasmine Amy Rogers; direction and choreography, both for Jerry Mitchell; music, for David Foster; book, for Bob Martin; and more.
The colorful musical will go up against Death Becomes Her, Just in Time, Maybe Happy Ending, and Music City for Outstanding Musical, with Maybe Happy Ending and Just in Time both runners up for the most nominations with nine each. The Outstanding Play category includes Blood of the Lamb, Deep Blue Sound, Grangeville, John Proctor is the Villain, Liberation, and Purpose.
The nominees on the whole favored Broadway productions, with Cats: "The Jellicle Ball" becoming the most nominated Off-Broadway show. The PAC NYC production garnered seven nominations, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical and for Andr茅 De Shields' featured performance as Old Deuteronomy, Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch's direction, and Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles' choreography.
Also getting nominations in the musical revival category were Floyd Collins, Gypsy, Once Upon a Mattress, See What I Wanna See, and Sunset Blvd., with the play revival category going to Eureka Day, Garside's Career, Home, Wine in the Wilderness, and Yellow Face.
See the full list of this year's Drama Desk nominees here.
The Drama Desk Awards are the only major New York City theatre awards for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories. As was the case last year, all performance categories are gender-free. The updated gender-free categories are Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, and Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical.
The creative team for this year鈥檚 ceremony includes director Lorin Latarro, writers Steve Rosen and David Rossmer, musical director Dan Lipton, lighting designer Abby May, production manager and sound designer Five Ohm, video designer Ido Levran, and production manager Ira Mont.
David Barbour and Charles Wright are the Drama Desk co-presidents. The 69th Annual Drama Desk Awards are executive-produced by Staci Levine and Jessica R. Jenen.
