The 2025 GROHNs!

The full list of winners just posted on Grohns.org, but we have in depth coverage of this amazing season’s winners!

The committee took in a whopping 62 qualifying live shows, resulting in an incredible 908 total nominations! With so many strong contenders, anticipation for who would come out on top at this year’s ceremony reached a fever pitch. The 2025 Tony season was the most competitive in memory, and while luckily some of those heavy hitters competed (and did well!) in the 2024 GROHNs, this year’s field was stacked with exceptional nominations from NYC. But don’t fret – the committee took in some amazing regional and cabaret performances, many of them eyeing upset wins against these mega-budget productions! 

In true GROHN spirit – and to no one’s surprise – getting to the final vote involved many rounds of ballots, not-so-secret backroom vote swapping deals, and the scandal of the season – a full gerrymandering of categories. Since voter-approved gerrymandering is totally fine, then why shan’t the GROHNs participate? This season introduced a brand-new category, “Achievement in Solo or Cabaret Production,” and the 24-hour GROHNs news-cycle pundits rejoiced after years of bemoaning how these performances were typically shut out of major categories – or occasionally pulling off head scratching wins such as the infamous 2022 headline: “What’s a Lane 8 and how could they possibly have been better than Victoria Clark?!” While it remains unclear which lobbyists were truly behind the gerrymandering – one thing was certain: it allowed the heavy-hitting musicals to dominate Lead Performance and Best in Show more easily.

The biggest storyline tracked by the Comms Committee was the inevitable point grab from the committee’s April NYC theater rampage. Thirteen of the season’s 62 shows were seen over a ten-day stint, resulting in some impressive entry nomination scores. And yes, the rumors are true: a special NYC-trip GROHN ballot did exist and definitely influenced the final votes. Unsurprisingly, these shows racked up a lot of points, nabbing the top spot in 7 of the 8 competitive categories!

Leading the way with a commanding 60.3 GROHN points was Maybe Happy Ending. Its Tony night success proved to be a strong indicator for this year’s GROHNs, including the top prize of the night: Best in Show. It also had a unanimous win in Best Design for its awe-inducing set and projection work. The set became the true star of the show, allowing the gentle script and small cast to fill the auditorium with spectacle. The Committee loves a ‘little show with heart’ joining past GROHN favorites like Kimberly Akimbo, Lizard Boy, and Fun Home, leaving not a dry eye in the house. In a final show of domination, it also picked up a Special GROHN for “Best Interpretation of Nature.” A fluke win, as the category was introduced as a nomination from Redwood – but upon evaluation of all interpretations of nature throughout the season – Maybe Happy Endings depiction of Fireflies was the true winner. Redwood’s… well…  “redwood” may have impressed some Manhattan-bound viewers, but this Best Coast boy was not moved by the bark and videos. 

Watching Dead Outlaw get shut out on Tony night gave the committee a serious case of the sads, but fear not – the show amassed a strong 44.3 GROHN points with a second place win in Best in Show and the top spot in the fiercely competitive Achievement in Production category for David Yazback and company’s beautiful score. The incidental music was enrapturing, with lead bandmate and storyteller Jeb Brown bringing home solid points in Supporting Performer. We hung on every word he delivered of the GROHN-wining Book. Julia Knitel, fresh off a well-earned Tony nomination, also brought home GROHN gold for her remarkable range of roles – most memorably as the child who grows up talking to her best friend mummy!

The real losers of this year’s awards were anyone who did not take Hanah Solow’s advice to see Boop!. It was exactly what the committee wants in a Broadway spectacle: big ensemble dance numbers in sparkly costumes tap dancing their way through a paper-thin plot led by a radiant breakout star! With a heard-fought Lead Performer win for Jasmine Amy Rogers, it was amazing to watch this triple threat work! While the book may not have earned much praise, the show racked up well-deserved wins for theater royalty director-choreographer Jerry Mitchel, costume designer Gregg Barns, and lighting designer Philip Rosenberg. Like summoning Captain Planet, these three powers combined for an unforgettable showstopping Act II opener: “Where is Betty” – get yourself to the national tour when you can!

Only six Broadway seasons later, the committee finally took in the spectacle of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – thankfully limited to a single performance now. The production racked up design points and earned a deserved Production win for the genius of movement, not choreography – Steven Hoggert. Stage magic is alive and well. Speaking of stage magic, Death Becomes Her shattered records with the most GROHN points ever for a revival. The NYC production nearly matched its Chicago out-of-town run from last season, buoyed by a great seat and the immediate availability of the cast recording. This delightful musical comedy earned a solid 7 points in Best in Show, proving once again that radiant stars and smart camp go a long way. 

Operation Mincemeat’s disqualifying sound design entry nomination tanked a lot of its chances in most categories but it still earned strong GROHN points thanks to a unanimous win for the heartwrenching show stopping number Dear Bill and Best Ensemble. Throughout the show, the committee frequently had to remind itself that there were, in fact, only five performers onstage doing all of that tomfoolery! The show also earned a Special GROHN:  “Hamilton for the British.” – As the most lauded show in West End history, it has been embraced with national pride – much like Hamilton, it tells today’s audience about a time when national pride felt uncomplicated – In this case: when the British beat the Nazis! This award did come with some controversy after Suffs’ unsuccessful campaign for “Hamilton for Women,” which lost traction after the late-season gerrymandering removed the DEI-infused nomination process.

The committee would also like to celebrate the 2025 season’s newfound clarity around deciding to see jukebox musicals: 1) you must have interest in the catalog being used, 2) the book CANNOT be biographical and 3) theater people have to be excited about it. Case in point: A Beautiful Noise was shut out while Smash, well smashed! True – the committee didn’t realize that Smash was a jukebox musical until the clarity of the Tony Awards pointed out that the music was, of course, not written for the stage – but of course we loved that catalog! A big Broadway spectacle with GROHN favorite Brooks Ashmanskas chewing the scenery? YES, please! As one committee member once said after & Juliet: “I didn’t know the lyrics of that Ke$ha song until someone with Broadway talent sang it with proper diction!” – Jukebox musicals matter.

Celebrating the committee’s relocation to California, a Special GROHN for ‘Best Representation of California life” was awarded to Marin Theater’s Eureka Day, a skin-crawlingly depiction of anti-vax culture set in liberal snowflake central: Berkeley, California. Some great honorable mentions for this award include a play about the incarceration pipeline for descendants of the Aztec nation in Fresno (Aztlán), Oakland-proud Black rapping tech workers trying to break into the white-dominated Venture Capital world (Co-Founders), a lesbian’s retrospective arriving into 1970’s Haight Street (Spanish Stew), and party gays facing the dreaded end of their 30’s on a Palm Springs birthday reunion weekend (To My Girls). Notably absent from this list: Redwood – yet another slap in the face for that beleaguered production. 

Location-based rivalries continued, with years of GROHN domination from Seattle’s 5th Avenue theater, Seattle Rep, and A.C.T. – how will SF Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, and well, still A.C.T.… compete?! The story writes itself with perennial favorite Seattle’s 5th Ave and newcomer SF Playhouse both competing with a production of Waitress! Unfortunately, the ingrained impressions of Jesse Mueller and crew from the 2017 GROHN season are not quite distant enough for either production to have found too many points in this year’s awards. However the 5th’s production of Waitress did pick up a Special GROHN for “Most Enthusiastic Audience” given the 300+ high school students at the end of their weeklong theater camp taking in the performance and radiating energy from the packed balcony. The real showdown came in the very close race for the Special GROHN “Best Interpretation of a Golden Age Musical,” which the 5th’s production of Bye Bye Birdie ultimately claimed. Updates to the text, and some great direction choices delighted the committee in revisiting this chestnut from Greg’s community theater days. Don’t worry, Bill English managed to bring home solid GROHN points in the very stacked Production Team category for his precision direction bringing new insight into what one thought they knew of My Fair Lady – spoiler – it’s about thrupples!!

SF’s ACT, coming in hot on the out-of-town tryout track, had two solid nominations this season with Nobody Loves You and Co-Founders. We here at the GROHNs definitely see a future for both of these shows! Luckily you can listen to the concept album of CoFounders, a hip hop and rap infused score about the hustle needed to break out big in the tech world. Despite not having a cast recording to help revisit the light hearted Nobody Loves You, a rom-com set in a fictitious reality slop TV dating show, it had a stellar cast and hummable tunes to look out for beyond SF!

Sometimes small black-box community theater can outshine bloated Broadway budgets — and Oakland Theater Project’s Cabaret proved exactly that. This low budget, small cast production in an odd little space buried in an art store picked up a Special GROHN for its Music Direction with funky dancefloor ready arrangements of the well known score performed by a DJ and electric bass (with occasional acoustic ukulele!). The data-management committee would like to ensure it is noted that this production of Cabaret picked up more GROHN points than the bloated budget, star-studded, scream-singing London-imported Cabaret revival on Broadway. The committee snagged a half price house seat between all the good shows they saw on their April NYC theater binge – sadly Orvel Peck was out sick that day, but shout out to GROHN favorite Eva Noblazano’s 7 point GROHN win as ‘the best Sally he’s ever seen.’

But what about this brand new category!? With 100 nominations across 27 shows, Achievement in Solo or Cabaret proved fiercely competitive – winning was Laura Benanti’s solo show: Nobody Cares at Berkeley Rep straight from a triumphant romp through the Edinburgh Fringe, it was the perfect balance of comedic writing, hilariously vulgar original numbers, and the stage presence of a true professional. In a close second was a lovely evening of story and standards from the still-hot-and-knows-it Cheyanne Jackson at our new favorite local cabaret space, Feinstein’s at the Nikko. …although we do wish this space had better house management… better booking management… and better communication… 

Sondheim’s Old Friends took full advantage of, and possibly was one of the leading lobbyists for, the gerrymandering of categories as it reclassified itself a cabaret performance taking home some big wins as well as showcasing the radiant and spry Bernadette Peters doing what she does best: breathing life into the amazing lyrics of theaters most important composer. 

While the GROHN committee has a mandatory eye-roll for the use of children or animals in any production, it is worth noting the Special GROHN awarded to Drag! The Musical for “Best use of a child actor” – as with most all parts of life – it takes a drag queen to do it right. It helped that the child’s arc was paired with GROHN favorite Nick Adams as his drag queen mentor. Nick, we all know as the GROHN legend having won the inaugural theatrical moment award back in 2012 for his mid act show stopper in Priscilla Queen of the desert while bouncing on his taint to end his athletic and sexy rendition of Material Girl! 

The Data management committee is always delighted tracking trends and milestones through the many tabs of their rats nest of spreadsheets, and was pleased to present a special GROHN for “Best Returning Performer from Shuked” – with three of those Broadway stars showing up in shows this season: Ashley D. Kelley (Nobody Loves You), Andrew Durrand (Dead outlaw) and John Behlmann (Smash)! Despite just standing around for half the show, Andrew Durrand took home the win in his third GROHN nominating performance after his debut back in 2018’s Head Over Heals!

Greg loves bringing his loved ones to theatrical events, with a whopping 41 different companions taking in a total of 166 performances with him this year! Thank you to all the companions – taking in live events with people Greg loves is the real joy that the GROHNs strive for. Huge shout out to the Admin of the Opera for attending 48 of the 62 shows, it’s not just web management that makes him a vital part of the GROHNs community! In a known power grab, this year saw a new winner for most shows taken in while not being on any GROHN committees: Susannah! Thank you for sharing 21 shows with the committee this year! 

While Greg loves bringing his loved ones to theatrical events, being invited to a show is always a real treat, with many great performances this season coming at the suggestion of a companion. To commemorate this, a Special GROHN for “Best Production a Companion Suggested” featured some excellent nominations — and in a true year of GROHN domination, Susannah took home the win. She discovered the buzz around the show and, upon learning it was sold out, worked her network of theater angels to secure comp’d seats — Greg simply had to show up! Oakland Theater Project’s Cabaret was a winner yet again!

And yes, while this Special GROHN — and the love of companions suggesting shows — is a delight, we must address the elephant in the room: new regulations now govern the committee’s willingness to say yes to invited productions, also known as the “Don’t Get Floyd Collins’d” rule. The companion at fault knows who they are.

What a great year at the GROHNs! Thank you to all the companions, congratulations to all the winners, and cheers to even more great performances in 2026!

Check out the full list of winners on Grohns.org. Sadly a cast recording of each of the 62 performances is not available – how rude! But of the lucky few that do – check out the highlight playlist over on Spotify!