Please join us for the
91st Annual Drama League Awards at The Ziegfeld Ballroom on Friday, May 16, 2025
Hosted by
Frank DiLella
Honorees
Kate Navin and Audible Theater
Contribution to the Theater Award
Lea Salonga
Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater
Photo Credit: Raymund Isaac
Whitney White
Founders Award for Excellence in Directing
Photo Credit: Mecca McDonald
for By Pedestal
Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron
Gratitude Award
NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT
Tune in to our 91st Annual Drama League Awards Nominations Announcement on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 11am on BroadwayWorld.com!
Co-Hosted By
Sarah Hyland & Orville Peck
Photo Credit: Araya Doheny
Photo Credit: Sam Ramirez
Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees!
Thank you to our Nominations Announcement Co-Hosts Vanessa Williams and Bebe Neuwirth.
Miss the announcement? Watch the reading of the nominees HERE!
Photo Credit: Catalin Media
Drama League Awards winners are determined by Drama League Members. Become a Member by April 15, 2025 to vote on the 2025 Drama League Awards.
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY
NOMINEES
Signature Theatre
The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre
Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Eric Ting
Produced by Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; Timothy J. McClimon, Executive Director)
Lincoln Center Theater
Written by Candrice Jones
Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz
Produced by Lincoln Center Theater (André Bishop, Producing Artistic Director; Adam Siegel, Managing Director; Naomi Grabel, Executive Director of Development and Planning)
Clubbed Thumb
Written by Liza Birkenmeier
Directed by Tara Ahmadinejad
Produced by Clubbed Thumb (Maria Striar, Artistic Director and Founder; Michael Bulger, Producing Director) in partnership with New Georges (Susan Bernfield, Artistic Director); presented at The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director)
St. Ann’s Warehouse
Written by Thomas Vinterberg & Tobias Lindholm
Adapted by David Farr
Directed by Rupert Goold
Produced by the Almeida Theatre (Rupert Goold, Artistic Director; Denise Wood, Executive Director), presented by St. Ann’s Warehouse (Susan Feldman, Artistic Director; Lianna Portnoy, Managing Director; Erik Wallin, General Manager)
Manhattan Theatre Club
Written by Jocelyn Bioh
Directed by Whitney White
Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Chris Jennings, Executive Director) and Madison Wells Live, with LaChanze & Taraji P. Henson
Second Stage Theater
Written by Paula Vogel
Directed by Tina Landau
Produced by Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, President and Artistic Director; Lisa Lawer Post, Executive Director) in association with Salman and Vienn Al-Rashid, Courtney Lederer and Mark Thierfelder, Jerry and Roz Meyer, Alix L.L. Ritchie and Jayne Baron Sherman
Lucille Lortel Theatre
Written by Cole Escola
Directed by Sam Pinkleton
Produced by Kevin McCollum, Lucas McMahon, Mike Lavoie and Carlee Briglia by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Theatre
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Written by Peter Morgan
Directed by Rupert Goold
Produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, NETFLIX, Nederlander Presentations Inc., Richard Winkler, Stephanie P. McClelland, Ted Snowdon, Jamie deRoy/Ken & Rande Greiner, Richard D. Batchelder Jr., The Almeida Theatre
PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
Manhattan Theatre Club
Written by Joshua Harmon
Directed by David Cromer
Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Chris Jennings, Executive Director)
John Golden Theatre/Playwrights Horizons
Written by David Adjmi
Directed by Daniel Aukin
Produced by Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Seaview, Sonia Friedman Productions, Linden Productions, Ashley Melone, Nick Mills; Co-Produced by Jillian Robbins, Stella La Rue, Alex Levy & David Aron, Dori Berinstein, James Bolosh, Burnt Umber Productions, The Cohn Sisters, Cathy Dantchik, Alexander R. Donnelly, Emerald Drive, Federman Koenigsberg, Dann Fink, Ruth Hendel, Larry Hirschhorn, Jenen Rubin, John Gore Organization, Willette & Manny Klausner, LAMF Protozoa, Katrina McCann, Stephanie P. McClelland, No Guarantees, Marissa Palley & Daniel Aron, Anna Schafer, Soto Namoff Productions, Sean Walsh, Bruce & Peggy Wanta, Hillary Wyatt, deRoy Howard, Winkler & Smalberg, 42nd.CLUB, Craig Balsam, Concord Theatricals, Creative Partners Productions, Jonathan Demar, Douglas Denoff, DJD Productions, Echo Lake Entertainment, Faliro House, FilmNation Entertainment, Roy Gabay, GFour Productions, Candy Kosow Gold, Wes Grantom, Rachel Bendit & Mark Bernstein; and Playwrights Horizons (Adam Greenfield, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director; Carol Fishman, General Manager); Associate Producer: Zachary Baer
Playwrights Horizons/MCC Theater
Written by John J. Caswell, Jr.
Directed by Dustin Wills
Produced by Playwrights Horizons (Adam Greenfield, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director; Carol Fishman, General Manager) and MCC Theater (Bernie Telsey and Will Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director)
Keeping in the tradition of honoring the outstanding accomplishments of the theatrical community, as they have since 1935, The Drama League Awards will be bestowed in the following competitive categories:
- Distinguished Performance Award
- Outstanding Direction of a Play
- Outstanding Direction of a Musical
- Outstanding Production of a Play
- Outstanding Production of a Musical
- Outstanding Revival of a Play
- Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Broadway and Off-Broadway (non-virtual only) productions eligible for the 2025 Drama League Awards must be in preview performances between April 21, 2024, and April 20, 2025 (inclusive of evening performances).
HONORARY COMMITTEE
The following members of our Honorary Committee will be hosting our
Pre-Luncheon Cocktail Reception at 11AM.
Annaleigh Ashford
Read Bio
Annaleigh Ashford is a Tony Award-winning, Emmy and Grammy-nominated actor, singer, and writer who is currently starring in the Paramount+ Original Series Happy Face. Ashford most recently earned the 2023 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance, a Tony Award nomination, and a Drama Desk Award for her portrayal of Mrs. Lovett opposite Josh Groban in the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Her NY stage credits include Sunday in the Park with George (opposite Jake Gyllenhaal), You Can’t Take It With You (Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award), Sylvia, Kinky Boots (Clarence Derwent Award; Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Wicked, Hair, Legally Blonde the Musical, and All In. Off-Broadway, she appeared in Sunday in the Park with George (Encores!), Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park), Rent (New World Stages), and Dogfight (Second Stage). On screen, Ashford’s credits include Happy Face, Dust, Welcome to Chippendales, American Crime Story: Impeachment, B Positive, Unbelievable, Masters of Sex, Law & Order: SVU, Second Act, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Disney’s Frozen. She holds an honorary doctorate from Marymount Manhattan College, where she also graduated.
Danny Burstein
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DANNY BURSTEIN currently starring as Herbie in the acclaimed revival of Gypsy, has appeared in 20 Broadway productions including: Pictures From Home; Moulin Rouge; Fiddler…; Golden Boy; South Pacific and Drowsy Chaperone. Off-Broadway: Describe the Night; Midsummer…; Talley’s Folly; Mrs. Farnsworth; All in the Timing; etc. Film: tick, tick, BOOM; The Same Storm; Indignation; The Family Fang; Transamerica; etc. TV: “Julia”, “Tokyo Vice”, “Winning Time”, “The Good Fight”, “Dr. Death”, “Evil”, “Fosse/Verdon”, “Tales of the City”, “Boardwalk Empire”, “Absolutely Fabulous”, “Dora…”, etc. He’s received the 2020 Drama League Award, two Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, three Grammy Award nominations and one Tony Award (seven nominations).
Sutton Foster
Photo Credit: Jenny Anderson
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Sutton Foster is a Tony Award winning actress, singer, and dancer who most recently starred in an acclaimed turn as Princess Winnifred in the Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress at the Hudson Theatre. Sutton reprised the role after leading the critically adored adaptation at New York City Center Encores! before concluding the run at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Prior, Sutton starred as Mrs. Lovett in the Tony Award winning Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opposite Aaron Tveit at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
The two-time Tony winning actress starred as Marian Paroo in the 2022 Broadway Revival of
The Music Man at the Winter Garden Theatre. Her performance earned her a seventh Tony award nomination as well as the 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award.
In 2021, Foster reprised her role as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre in London in which she earned an Oliver Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
On television, Sutton led the critically acclaimed TV Land series, “Younger” for seven seasons, making it the longest running original series in TV Land history.
Previously, Foster’s Broadway credits include Violet, Anything Goes (Tony Award), Shrek, Young Frankenstein, The Drowsy Chaperone, Little Women, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony Award), Les Misérables, Annie, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Grease. Off-Broadway, Sutton has been seen in Sweet Charity, The Wild Party, Trust, and Anyone Can Whistle. Additional television includes “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Bunheads.” Solo recordings include
Take Me to the World, Wish, and An Evening with Sutton Foster: Live at the Café Carlyle. Foster released her debut memoir Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life in 2021, and she holds an honorary doctorate from Ball State University, where she also teaches.
Richard Kind
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Richard Kind is an accomplished stage, screen and television actor who continues to redefine the term character actor. Broadway: The Big Knife (Drama Desk Award winner for Best Supporting Actor and nominated for a Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Play); The Producers; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; Sly Fox; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Kiss Me, Kate; All In: Comedy About Love. Regional: Sondheim’s Bounce (Goodman Theatre and Kennedy Center); Bye Bye Birdie (Kennedy Center); Candide (New York City Opera at Lincoln Center); The Lady in Question: Rough Crossing (Bay Street Theatre); Once in a Lifetime (Guthrie Theater); Guys and Dolls (London); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: The Front Page (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Power Failure (Actors Studio Free Theatre Co.); The Seagull (Matrix Theatre); The Second City in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles; 12 Angry Men; An Enemy of the People (L.A. Theatre Works). Film: Wolfs; Argo; Inside Out; Hereafter; Beau Is Afraid; Bombshell; Tick, Tick… BOOM!; A Serious Man; The Visitor; Cars; The Station Agent; A Bug’s Life; Clifford; and Stargate. Television (series regular): “East New York,” “The Watcher,” “Red Oaks,” “Luck,” “Spin City,” “Mad About You,” “Big Mouth” and “Carol Burnett & Co.” Television (recurring): “Only Murders in the Building” (Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series), “Young Sheldon,” “History of the World: Part II,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Goldbergs,” “I’m Dying up Here,” “Brockmire,” “The Other Two,” “Everybody;s in L.A.” and more.
Patti LuPone
Photo Credit: Hana Mendel
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PATTI LuPONE is a three-time Tony Award winner for her performances in Evita, Gypsy, and Company. Her NY stage credits include: The Roommate, War Paint (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations) Shows for Days; The Seven Deadly Sins ( NY City Ballet); Company (NY Philharmonic); Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations); Sweeney Todd (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations); Noises Off; The Old Neighborhood; Master Class; Anything Goes (Tony nomination., Drama Desk Award); Oliver!; Accidental Death of An Anarchist; The Water Engine; and The Robber Bridegroom (Tony and Drama Desk nominations). Film credits include: Beau is Afraid, The School for Good and Evil (Netflix), Last Christmas, The Comedian, Parker, Union Square, Driving Miss Daisy, Witness. TV/Streaming: “And Just Like That” (upcoming), Marvel’s “Agatha All Along” (Independent Spirit and Critics Choice Award nominations), “Hollywood,” “Pose,” “Mom,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Penny Dreadful” (Critics Choice Award nomination), “Girls,” “American Horror Story: Coven and NYC,” “30 Rock,” and four seasons as Libby Thatcher on ABC’s “Life Goes On.” She is a founding member of both the Drama Division of The Juilliard School and John Houseman’s The Acting Company and the author of the NY Times best-seller Patti LuPone: A Memoir.
Audra McDonald
Photo Credit: Tyler Twins
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Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actor. The winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy, in 2015 she received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. She won Tonys for her performances in Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, which also served as the vehicle for her Olivier-nominated 2017 West End debut. On television, McDonald won an Emmy as the official host of PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center, and is known for recurring roles on Private Practice (ABC), The Good Wife (CBS), The Good Fight (Paramount+), and The Gilded Age (HBO). Her film credits include Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast and MGM’s 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect. A Juilliard-trained soprano, McDonald maintains a major career as a Grammy-winning recording and concert artist. Her latest solo album, Sing Happy, was recorded live with the New York Philharmonic for Decca Gold. She is a founding member of Black Theatre United, board member of Covenant House International, and prominent advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, whose favorite roles are those performed offstage, as an activist, wife to actor Will Swenson, and mother to her amazing children.
Lance Roberts
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Lance has been in the original Broadway companies of the Music Man with Hugh Jackman, The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway, Sister Act, Ghost, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Scarlett Johansson , Moss Hart’s Act One, Finding Neverland, Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close, My Fair Lady, I Need That with Danny DeVito and is currently featured in Just in Time, as well as over 150 productions around the world. He’s been in 8 films, including This Is Where I Leave You and I am Michael. On TV, Pokerface, Blacklist, Mrs. Maisel, The Best Man, Love Life, Pose, Most Wanted: FBI, Good Fight, and reruns of Law & Order, Nurse Jackie, Elementary, White Collar, the Affair, Will and Grace, Girlfriends, Knots Landing, The Colby’s and Drew Carey. He costars in the short film , The Entertainer with Andre DeShields coming out later in 2025. More info on imdb.com/lanceroberts
Will Swenson
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WILL SWENSON most recently starred as Neil Diamond in A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical on Broadway, earning acclaim for his captivating portrayal of the legendary singer-songwriter. Known for his performance as Berger in the 2009 revival of Hair (Tony, Drama Desk, and Drama League nominations), he also played the role in London’s West End. Other Broadway credits include Waitress (Earl), Les Misérables (Inspector Javert), Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Drama League nomination), Disaster!, Lestat, Brooklyn: The Musical, and 110 in the Shade. Off-Broadway highlights include Assassins (2022 Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Lucille Lortel nominations) and Jerry Springer: The Opera (Obie Award). On screen, he’s appeared in The Greatest Showman, The Bite, and Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Hit and Run and First Kill.
STEERING COMMITTEE
Bonnie Comley, Awards Co-Chair
Darin Oduyoye, Awards Co-Chair
- Trish Chambers
- Irene Gandy
- Sarah Hutton
- Mary Jain
- Paula Kaminsky Davis
- Fred Siegel
- Kumiko Yoshii
*In Formation
THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS
J.P. Morgan
BroadwayHD
Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron, Producers of Broadway’s SMASH
Darin Oduyoye
Audible
Good Night, and Good Luck
Mary Jain
Una Jackman /
TALU Productions
John Gore Organization
John Proctor is the Villain
Paula Kaminsky Davis
THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Lincoln Center Theater
Glitzy Finale LP /
Operation Mincemeat
Nederlander Organization
Stan Ponte
RB Theatricals
Roundabout Theatre Company
Frederic J. and Barby K. Siegel
WJP / Seaview
Womens Independent
Producer Network
Trish Chambers
FineWomen Productions
GYPSY
No Guarantees Productions
Teague Theatrical Group
WME