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George Clooney, Cole Escola, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Andrew Scott Win Major Theater Awards
May 5, 2025, 10:50.02 pm ET

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Purpose (Photo: Marc J. Franklin)

Theater awards season is in full swing, with a host of prestigious honors being announced over the past few days. Here’s a breakdown of who is taking home these coveted prizes.

PULITZER PRIZE

“Purpose” by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins was awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The finalists were “Oh, Mary!” by Cole Escola and “The Ally” by Itamar Moses

NEW YORK DRAMA CRITICS CIRCLE

The New York Drama Critics' Circle also named Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s “Purpose” as Best Play of the 2024-25 season, while the award for Best Musical went to “Maybe Happy Ending.” New awards for Best Individual Performance went to Andrew Scott for “Vanya,” while Best Ensemble Performance went to the cast of “Liberation.” Finally, Special Citations were awarded to Cole Escola for his work as writer and star of “Oh, Mary!,” the recent production of “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” and actor/playwright David Greenspan for lifetime achievement.


Good Night and Good Luck (Photo: Emilio Madrid)

THEATRE WORLD AWARDS

Winners for the historic 79th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony, which will be held June 2 at 7pm at the Hard Rock Café Times Square, have been announced. The evening, which honors the 2024-2025 season’s outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance, will be hosted by theater journalist Peter Filichia.

This year’s winners are Alana Arenas, “Purpose”; Kit Connor, “Romeo & Juliet”; Patsy Ferran, “A Streetcar Named Desire”; Tom Francis, “Sunset Boulevard”; Jak Malone, “Operation Mincemeat”; Paul Mescal, “A Streetcar Named Desire”; Louis McCartney, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”; Marjan Neshat, “English”; Jasmine Amy Rogers, “Boop!”; “Nicole Scherzinger, “Sunset Boulevard”; Helen J. Shen, “Maybe Happy Ending”; and Sarah Snook, “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

In addition, the 16th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in The Theater will go to Shailene Woodley for “Cult of Love”; the 12th Annual John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will be presented to Leslie Uggams; and George Clooney will receive a 2025 Special Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut Performer/ Playwright for “Good Night and Good Luck.”

STEINBERG AWARDS

The 25 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award was given to Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins for “Purpose,” while two other 2025 Steinberg/ATCA citations were presented to “The Janeiad” by Anna Ziegler and “Little Bear Ridge Road” by Samuel D. Hunter.


Table 17 (Photo: Daniel J. Vasquez)

LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS

The Lucille Lortel Awards, honoring the best of Off-Broadway in the 2024-2025 season, were handed out on May 4. “Our Class” led the field with four awards, including Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Director and Outstanding Ensemble. “Here There Are Blueberries” received two awards including Outstanding Play. “Three Houses” was named Outstanding Musical, while “Vanya,” starring Andrew Scott, was awarded Outstanding Solo Show. Finally, actors Kara Young and Michael Rishawn took home Outstanding Performance awards for their work in Douglas Lyons’ “Table 17.”

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