Inside the Drama Desk Awards: Sarah Snook, Nicole Scherzinger, Jasmine Amy Rogers and more on theater's big night
Maybe Happy Ending won big at the 69th annual Drama Desk Awards on Sunday night, earning a total of six trophies at the only awards show to recognize talent from Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway productions.
Hosted by Debra Messing and Tituss Burgess, the show unfolded at NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, with all proceeds benefiting the Entertainment Community Fund. Performers from a range of theater productions were both nominated and on hand to present, including Nicole Scherzinger of Sunset Boulevard, Jonathan Groff of Just in Time and Jeremy Jordan of Floyd Collins.
More from GoldDerby
Ready for her close-up: Nicole Scherzinger takes the lead in Tony odds for Best Actress in a Musical
'Maybe Happy Ending' dominates the 2025 Drama Desk Awards with 6 wins, 'Boop!' and 'Gypsy' stage upsets
Kate Hudson and Mindy Kaling shoot for Emmys recognition for 'Running Point' at the Lakers training facility
Among its many accolades, Maybe Happy Ending, which stars Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen as robots who fall in love, earned Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Music. Meanwhile, Outstanding Play went to Purpose, Outstanding Revival of Play went to Eureka Day and Outstanding Revival of a Musical went to Gypsy. (See the complete breakdown of winners.)
Photo byThe Drama Desk Awards recognized thespians in gender neutral categories, a change implemented in 2023, with two individuals honored per award, or more in the case of a tie. This year, the award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play went to Laura Donnelly for The Hills of California and Sarah Snook for The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Speaking to Gold Derby after her win, Snook reflected on returning to the stage after her time spent on television. 'It's like a homecoming,' the Succession alum said. 'It felt like a place that I've always been growing up, and I certainly pursued TV and film in my twenties, but I grew up doing theater, and it's where I really always wanted to come back to. So it's really special.'
Snook also spoke to the daunting and rewarding elements of participating in the technologically innovative production led by director Kip Williams.
'Kip has been working with digital screens and cameras for over a decade of his work, but this is the first show in which he used prerecorded elements and composite elements,' she explained. 'That being the risk was a massive challenge for me as the actor as well, because it means there's a certain amount of time between each line and cue that I have to act opposite my prerecorded self, and if I lose concentration, or I relax for a moment, then I've missed the cue, and it's all over. So it's an incredible challenge, but it's the challenge that I've really relished.'The most nominated show of the night Boop!, a musical based on the animated character Betty Boop, won three of its 11 nominations. This included rising star Jasmine Amy Rogers winning Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical alongside theater veteran Audra McDonald, who won for 'Gypsy.'
Sharing she was 'over the moon' with the win, Rogers went on to explain how playing Betty is quite strenuous — but that's part of the privilege of the role.
'The most challenging [part] is just the energy level that is required to deliver and pay homage to Betty,' she said. 'She is so full of life. She's so exuberant. She never stops moving. She never stops going, she never stops singing,' she said. 'So I would say that's the most challenging part, but the most rewarding part is also the fact that I get to do that, and that I am able to dive into this character and bring life to her in a way that we haven't been able to in almost the 100 years that she's been around. We've seen her in these small snippets here and there, but this is the first time we're bringing her to life. And it's an honor that I get to do that, that I get to be that girl that gets to do that.'
Rogers was nominated alongside Scherzinger, who revealed on the red carpet how she taps into the emotionality of her Sunset Boulevard character Norma Desmond. 'A lot of prayer and meditation, because I've got to anchor myself,' said Scherzinger. 'It's got to come from a really, really, really, really, really deep, soulful, spiritual place. And just trusting in the work, the work over the past two years that I've put into this.'
Also in the performance realm, Amalia Yoo of John Proctor Is the Villain and Kara Young of Purpose won in the category of Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play. Young spoke to Gold Derby about the profound topics addressed in Brendan Jacobs-Jenkins' story, which follows an African American family in Chicago.'I personally think that the story transcends race,' Young said. 'It's about a Black legacy family, but it transcends race because we're looking at actual family dynamics of a patriarch and a matriarch and their two children, and what love means in this household.'
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical resulted in three winners — Brooks Ashmanskas for Smash, Jak Malone for Operation Mincemeat and Michael Urie for Once Upon a Mattress. Andrew Scott took home the award for Outstanding Solo Performance for his role in Vanya.
Alongside Michael Arden nabbing Best Direction for a Musical for Maybe Happy Ending, Danya Taymor won Best Direction for a Play in recognition of her work on John Proctor is the Villain.
Several honors were bestowed outside of the contested awards categories. The late Broadway performer Gavin Creel, who died in September at the age of 48, was posthumously honored with the Harold S. Prince Award for Lifetime Achievement. Additionally, Norm Lewis presented Brian Stokes Mitchell with the William Wolf Award for his service to the entertainment community.
Mitchell, who served as chair of the Entertainment Community Fund from 2004 to 2023, spoke to Gold Derby about the recognition: 'I'm just so honored,' he said. 'I'm so happy to get this award, because it's not just for my accomplishments. It's for service as well, and that's done with the whole team, a whole cooperative of people, including all of the staff and board of the Entertainment Community Fund, all the volunteers, anybody that's ever donated money, anybody that's ever done a performance — it really is a community event.'
Elsewhere in the night, Kip Williams took home the award for Unique Theatrical Experience for The Picture of Dorian Gray. Asked if he believes that an innovative spirit has helped to fuel one of Broadway's most profitable seasons ever, Williams answered in the affirmative.
'Theater is my favorite art form, and it's my favorite art form because there's nothing like sitting in a room with several hundred other people, and all taking that creative leap of faith together to say what we're watching is real,' he shared. 'We're all going to take an imaginative leap and say 'That's real.' And for me, the bigger that leap, the more rewarding an experience it is for an audience, and particularly at a time where television is not only going through a golden age, it's going through a period of great accessibility.'
'I directed this show and conceived the show directorially whilst I was in the pandemic, not knowing if I would ever get to come back and make a piece of theater,' he continued. 'And so I was fueled by this desire to create an incredible live experience for audiences to say to them, 'Leave your homes that you've been trapped inside for so long. Come back to the theater. Join us in that extraordinary exchange between the stage and an audience.''
Best of GoldDerby
'Maybe Happy Ending' star Darren Criss on his Tony nomination for playing a robot: 'Getting to do this is the true win'
Who Needs a Tony to Reach EGOT?
Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow'
Click here to read the full article.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Tom Felton to Reprise Draco Malfoy Role in ‘Harry Potter' on Broadway
Tom Felton, who rose to fame as Draco Malfoy in the 'Harry Potter' film franchise, is reprising his role as the boy wizard's blond archnemesis in the Broadway production of the show, for a limited engagement beginning in November. He will be making his Broadway debut with his turn in 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' — his first return to the character in 15 years — and will be in the show through March, according to a news release. Felton said in a statement on Wednesday that being part of the Harry Potter films had been one of the greatest honors of his life. 'Joining this production will be a full-circle moment for me, because when I begin performances in 'Cursed Child' this fall, I'll also be the exact age Draco is in the play,' he said. 'It's surreal to be stepping back into his shoes — and of course his iconic platinum blond hair — and I am thrilled to be able to see his story through and to share it with the greatest fan community in the world.' The Broadway show takes place 19 years after the original series ended. Draco is now a father, and all grown up with Harry, Ron and Hermione, send their children to Hogwarts. Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, producers for the show, said in a joint statement that Draco left an indelible impression on Harry Potter fans around world and that Felton's return to the franchise will offer Potterheads a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see him again. 'This moment is powerful on many levels,' they said, adding that the moment was charged with nostalgia, evolution and emotion. 'Tom's return to Hogwarts bridges generations of fans and breathes new life into a beloved story.' Since appearing in the 'Harry Potter' films, Felton has acted in the 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and 'A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting' movies. He also made his West End debut in 2022, as the star of '2:22 A Ghost Story.'
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Tom Felton will become Draco Malfoy again — this time, on Broadway
NEW YORK — Tom Felton — the original Draco Malfoy from the 'Harry Potter' movies — will slip into his old role on Broadway this winter in 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.' 'Being a part of the 'Harry Potter' films has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Joining this production will be a full-circle moment for me, because when I begin performances in 'Cursed Child' this fall, I'll also be the exact age Draco is in the play,' Felton, currently 37, said in a statement.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Harvey Fierstein, on eve of Tony honor, looks back on his career
NEW YORK (AP) — Last year, Broadway actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein handed director Jack O'Brien the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. This year, it's his turn. 'Following him is not an easy task. In fact, I spoke to him and he said, 'I just want to put my name in there as someone who would love to give you the award.' And I said, 'Well, I'd rather you didn't.' I said, 'I'd rather you wrote my speech,'' Fierstein says. Fierstein, the four-time Tony winner behind 'Torch Song Trilogy' and 'Kinky Boots,' will get the award Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. He connected by Zoom from his home in 'a small fictional town in Connecticut' to talk about his career and a Broadway season dominated by George Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck' and Denzel Washington in 'Othello.' The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity. AP: Do you know what you're going to say on Tony night? FIERSTEIN: I never know what I'm going to say. But I have been trying to gather thoughts, which I guess is a good idea. And I watched at least five or six lifetime achievements speeches by others. AP: Has the honor triggered any personal thoughts? FIERSTEIN: I did write a line that may or may not end up in my speech, saying that the most humbling thing is to think that my life meant something to the community. It's one thing to be enjoyed, but to have the kind of meaning that they turn around and say, 'We want to give you a lifetime achievement'? That's a very heady idea. AP: Was a lifetime in the theater inevitable? FIERSTEIN: No, no, no. I guess there are theatrical types, but art was always inevitable. I was sort of artistic, but I thought I'd maybe be a Disney animator. I don't think I ever believed I was good enough to create the Disney characters, but there were people that took the creation and then did the other drawings. I thought I could do that. Something in the arts. I had my BA in painting from Pratt. That's what I thought was going to do. AP: You arrived on Broadway just as AIDS was consuming the arts. What was Broadway like then? FIERSTEIN: There was no time to think about it. We had to go to war immediately. If you remember, Ronald Reagan never said the word 'AIDS' in eight years. There was no attack against the disease; there was only an attack against people. People wouldn't go to restaurants because there were gay waiters. There were people that wouldn't go to Broadway because there were gay people. They might be in the audience with gay people. AP: You work has always been about compassion. Why didn't you want to burn it all down? FIERSTEIN: My writing is telling stories that mean something to me. And certainly there's hatred and there's anger in my stories — and truth — as far as I can tell them. But the horrible truth is that no matter how badly we act as human beings, there's still a humanity under it all. AP: What are your thoughts about the current Broadway season? FIERSTEIN: Who would have guessed that we'd have a season where the plays were the big thing and the musicals are sort of ignored? Thanks to George and Denzel and these stars that return to Broadway — thankfully return to Broadway — and they've done these plays and it's wonderful. They're bringing an audience that maybe wouldn't go see a musical or a play. AP: Just get them to experience it, right? FIERSTEIN: Once you go to the theater, once you get in there and if you have a good time, if it does something, you're going to come back. I don't care why you came in the first place. Come back and see what else we have and open your mind and heart — and wallets. AP: What about the pipeline of playwrights — are you happy with it? FIERSTEIN: There are people that are in love with theater, certainly, but there are people that want to make a living. And those people seem to drift to television and movies. I have a nephew married to a wonderful woman who wants to be a writer, but what she wants to write is movies and TV. It wouldn't even interest her to write a play. I don't know why. It seems easier to write television. It seems easier to write a half-hour where you already are given the characters. AP: Congratulations again. You are beloved in this community and a lifetime achievement award seems appropriate. FIERSTEIN: I thought it was because they just wanted to give me something else to dust, because I ain't got enough stuff to dust here. ___ For more coverage of the 2025 Tony Awards, visit
