With five wins and eight nominations, “Ragtime” took home the most awards last night at The Town Hall in New York City.
The ceremony, hosted by “Titanique’s” Marla Mindelle, honored Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway productions from the 2025-2026 season.
This year, Broadway shows and revivals took home the most awards, including plays “Oedipus” and “Death of a Salesman,” which both won four.
Mark Strong, star of “Oedipus,” at the Drama Desk Awards. (Austin Ruffer)
Off-Broadway musical “Mexodus” followed this with three wins, including Outstanding Music, Outstanding Book of a Musical and Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical. The show uses live looping to tell the story of the Underground Railroad path that ran south.
“I love the audience’s response to the show, because they’re walking away with an understanding of our collective livelihoods,” sound designer Mikhail Fiksel told The Knockturnal. “We’re all together in this thing called community.”
“Schmigadoon!,” which opened in April, took home Outstanding Musical. The show adapts the TV series’ first season, where travelers get stuck inside a musical town.
“The source material is the Golden Age musical, which I developed a love for when I was in college,” McKenzie Kurtz, who plays Betsy, said. “It’s really special and it’s our history and it’s fun to poke fun at it sometimes, but at the end of the day, [“Schmigadoon!”] is a love letter to it.”
“Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” earned the Outstanding Lyrics award. The original Broadway musical also has eight Tony award nominations, including Best Musical. Set in NYC, the British comedy focuses on the unexpected connection between a Brit and a lifelong New Yorker.
“We took great care to bathe ourselves in New York culture and try to do as authentic a version of the show as we could,” writers Jim Barne and Kit Buchan stated. “Now that we’re here, it feels like New York has embraced us with a really big cuddle.”
Off and Off-Broadway productions represented other categories of the night, including Unique Theatrical Experience. Winner “Burnout Paradise” was created by Australian theater collective Pony Cam. It features five performers on treadmills completing a series of tasks before the show ends.
“We grew up in Australia studying all of the incredible artists that made downtown theater in New York, and being a part of it is a special experience,” creators Dominic Weintraub and Hugo Williams said.
Host Marla Mindelle (“Titanique”) and Presenter Whitney Leavitt (“Chicago the Musical”) at the Drama Desk Awards. (Austin Ruffer)
Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire earned the William Wolf Award from the Drama Desk Board of Trustees. The award honors significant contributions to New York’s theater community. The pair have collaborated for over 70 years, most recently with their Off-Broadway revue “About Time,” which won Outstanding Revue.
“[A lifetime achievement] is a spooky title, but I’m very happy to get it,” Maltby Jr. joked.
Also present at the ceremony was Commissioner Rafael Espinal from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. He said the Office hopes to increase New Yorkers’ access to theatrical productions by making the city more affordable.
“What’s exciting to me this season is the breadth and amount of stories being told across the board,” Espinal stated. “There’s something for everyone, and it’s a testament to what NYC is all about: diversity, amazing stories, and inclusivity.”
The full list of winners is available on the Drama Desk Awards site.
