Outstanding New York Stage Performances of 2025

By The Recs RDC - Randall David Cook 3 months ago

Our chief NYC reviewer Randall David Cooks selects his pick of great performances from 2025 that will not soon be forgotten

In any given year, New York City has a bounty of actors giving terrific performances on and off Broadway. As 2025 comes to a close, The Recs would like to highlight twelve performers whose work went beyond the range of terrific into the truly exceptional. Among these dazzling dozen are a few well-known names who would be expected to make a list such as this one, two ensemble members in large casts who managed to stick out for all the right reasons, and one very famous drag queen who has now proven that her acting chops are as impressive as her ferocious wit. Here, in alphabetical order, are the standout performances of the year.

Alana Arenas, Purpose

Somehow Arenas was the sole member of the Purpose cast who was not nominated for a Tony Award, an absurd omission considering that her performance was arguably the strongest of the bunch. As Morgan Jasper, the wife of a disgraced congressman, Arenas was a live wire who electrified every scene she detonated. What a brilliant Broadway debut.

Bianca Del Rio, Tartuffe (NYTW)

Del Rio, aka Roy Haylock, is most famous for slaying all her competitors on the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Now she’s tackling Molière and triumphing once again. As Madame Pernelle in Lucas Hnath’s new take on Tartuffe (which recently got extended to January 25th), Del Rio opens the show with a witheringly funny monologue, then leaves until the play’s final scene, upon which she receives a wild round of re-entrance applause from an audience eagerly awaiting her return. This Madame serves.

Laurie Metcalf, Little Bear Ridge Road

Samuel D. Hunter’s poignant, minimalist show may have closed prematurely, but Metcalf, as always, made her mark. As a reclusive Idaho nurse who reconnects with her estranged nephew (a terrific Micah Stock) during America’s most recent plague, Metcalf demonstrated once again that she doesn’t need Broadway bells and whistles to make theatrical magic. Don’t fret too much if you missed her; she’s returning to Broadway in the spring to play Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman, where no doubt attention will be paid.

Sally Murphy, The Baker’s Wife

Ariana DeBose is a genuine star and did the thing, Scott Bakula has been missed as a musical lead since Romance/Romance decades ago, and Kevin Del Aguila somehow made a town-drunkard part actually funny. But the performance from Classic Stage Company’s gorgeous revival of The Baker’s Wife that resonated the most was from ensemble member Sally Murphy, whose quiet portrayal of put-upon wife Hortense gave the show its aching heart and reminded all on stage and off that love can bring immense pain as well as joy.

Cynthia Nixon, Marjorie Prime

Nixon is a consummate theater veteran with credits out the wazoo, so, incredible as it is to say, it nonetheless must be said: she’s possibly never been better than she is in Marjorie Prime. As the depressed and perplexed daughter of the title character, Nixon gives a controlled, empathetic performance that eventually devastates and wows.

Deirdre O’Connell, Glass.Kill.What If If Only.Imp.

O’Connell is having a deserved late-career renaissance, most recently with major roles in Ari Aster’s Eddington and on HBO’s The Penguin, but she was an Off-Broadway mainstay for years before she was eventually “discovered” by Hollywood. Fortunately she still graces OB stages on occasion, and her portrayal of God in “Kill,” the second part of Caryl Churchill’s gorgeous quartet of plays, was truly heavenly.

Patrick Page, Archduke

As Serbian nationalist leader Dragutin “Apis” Dimitrijevic in Rajiv Joseph’s timely new play about the dangers of ignoring the disaffected, Page was so charismatic and mesmerizing that none in the audience needed to suspend disbelief to understand how he could convince young men to commit political assassinations on his behalf. In the very near future, politicians hoping to improve their oratorical skills might very well be paging Page.

Richard Riaz Yoder, Wonderful Town

The not-quite-right 2025 Encores! production of Wonderful Town may have been less than wonderful, but saving the day was Riaz Yoder, a standout from the chorus who brought an additional burst of sparkle every time he appeared. Like Cassie in A Chorus Line, he’s a reminder that there are stars in the ensemble who come undeniably alive on stage, no matter the size of the part.

June Squibb, Marjorie Prime

Squibb is 96 years old and in her performance prime in Jordan Harrison’s elegiac play about an 85-year-old widow mourning the loss of her husband and her memory. Funny and affecting, Squibb’s sense of comic timing is a wonder to behold, and when the truth of her character’s past occasionally creeps into her muddled mind, Squibb captures those moments with fleeting but unforgettable expressions.

Olivia Washington, Wine in the Wilderness

Denzel is her dad and John David her brother, but if we were to compare all their most recent stage performances, Olivia Washington would be the winner in her esteemed family thanks to her brilliant performance as Tomorrow in Alice Childress’s rarely seen play. Magnetic from start to finish, Washington managed to both charm and pierce the heart. Can’t wait to see what she does next.

Natalie West, Revolution

Too few saw Brett Neveu’s sweet play at The Flea Theater when it opened in late spring, but those who did got to marvel at the incomparable West as Georgia, a lonely “Dress For Less” employee who crashes an impromptu back-alley birthday party and turns it into a celebration for those surviving life in the face of constant disappointments. Fearless and funny, West primarily works in Chicago but needs to be treading more boards in the Big Apple.

Pete Zias, Messy White Gays

As Thacker, the messiest of messy white gays, Zias took an outrageous part, covered it in glitter, then injected it with amphetamines. The result is a side-splittingly funny theatrical creation that would make even the boys in the band blush. If you’ve not seen the sui generis Zias strut his stuff, you have a few more chances to do so; Messy White Gays closes January 11th.

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