​On June 9, during a merry event at the 04 Center in South Austin, nine journalists from five publications revived a cherished tradition by handing out etched-glass prizes at the first-ever Austin Theatre Critics Awards.

Organized by ATX Theatre, a nonprofit that serves 80 local theater producers, as well as Austin artists and audiences, the honors echoed the long-running, but now defunct, Austin Critics Table Awards. Those older prizes faded away after the COVID-19 pandemic and major disruptions in local arts journalism.

Among the winning shows were Roustabout’s staging of “Company” and Ground Floor Theatre’s “Falsettos,” which tied for Outstanding Musical. Among non-musicals, Rude Mechs’ “Our Town” took Outstanding Play. Special citations for bodies of work were given to The Baron’s Men for dedication to Elizabethan and Jacobean theater at the outdoor Curtain Theatre, and Entre’acte for its highly polished cabaret shows and concert stagings of musicals. 

And the awards went to …

These were celebrated as outstanding during the 2024-2025 season:

Musical: (tie) “Company” (Roustabout) and “Falsettos” (Ground Floor Theatre)

Play: “Our Town” (Rude Mechs)

Touring Show: “Come from Away” (Texas Performing Arts / Broadway in Austin)

Original Script: Anikka Lekven (“Hungry Teenage Track Stars”)

Director of a Musical: (tie) Adam Roberts (“Company”) and Cassie Abate (“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”)

Director of a Play: Elizabeth V. Newman (“Suddenly Last Summer”)

Actress in a Musical: Megan DeYoung (“Falsettos)

Actor in a Musical: Jordan Williams (“Guys and Dolls”)

Actress in a Play: Katherine Catmull (“Feast”)

Actor in a Play: Andy Bond (“King Lear”)

Supporting Actress in a Musical: Laura Huffman-Powell (“Company”)

Supporting Actor in a Musical: Sebastián Vitale (“King of Hearts”)

Supporting Actress in a Play: Linda Nenno (“Suddenly Last Summer”)

Supporting Actor in a Play: Mike Ooi (“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”)

Ensemble: “A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes” (University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance)

Movement Direction: Sadé M. Jones (“The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body”)

Music Direction: Lyn Koenning (“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”)

Scenic Design: Cody Arn (“Trash Planet”)

Costume Design: Cecelia Gay (“The Three Musketeers”)

Lighting Design: Patrick Anthony (“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” “Falsettos”)

Sound Design: Allen Robertson (“Bob & Jean: A Love Story”)

Special Citation for Raising the Bar of Musical Entertainment: Entr’acte

Special Citation for Continuous Dedication to Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre: The Baron’s Men