After a fantastic opening number from host Cynthia Erivo, the 2025 Tony Awards were a fast-paced awards ceremony that featured some fan-favorite winners, a “Hamilton” reunion performance, and Hollywood cameos. Among the big winners was “Purpose,” which took Best Play. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play won the Pulitzer Prize for drama last month. Cole Escola won best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for “Oh, Mary!”, accepting in Bernadette Peters drag when she won a Tony in 1999.
“Maybe Happy Ending” dominated the proceedings, taking Best Musical, Darren Criss won Best Actor in a Musical, and Michael Arden for Direction of a Musical. It also took Music & Lyrics, Best Book, and Scenic Design of a Musical.
Despite a lot of “talking” as Oprah Winfrey dished, Nicole Sherzinger won Best Actress in a Musical for “Sunset Blvd.” It also won Best Revival of a Musical. It also took Best Lighting Design for a Musical.
“Eurka Day” won Best Revival of a Play. Sam Pinkleton won Best Direction of a play for “Oh, Mary!”
Sarah Snook followed up her Olivier Award win with a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for “The Picture of Dorian Gray.“ That production, which originated in Australia before transferring to the West End and then Broadway, also won Best Costume Design for a Musical.
Francis Jue won Best Featured Actor in a Play for “Yellow Face.” Jak Malone took Best Featured Actor in a Musical for “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical.” Kara Young won her second win in a row in the Featured Actress in a Play category for “Purpose.” Natalie Venetia Belcon took Featured Actress in a Musical for “Buena Vista Social Club.” The latter also took Best Choreography, Best Sound Design, and Best Orchestrations for a musical.
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” took Best Scenic Design, Best Sound Design, and Best Lighting Design for a Play.
Paul Tazewell won his second Tony Award for Best Costume Design for a Musical for “Death Becomes Her.” He becomes the first person to win a Tony Award and an Academy Award in the same year. He won an Oscar in March for “Wicked.”
This year’s nominees and winners are as follows:
Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play
- Sadie Sink, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- LaTanya Richardson Jackson, “Purpose”
- Laura Donnelly, “The Hills of California”
- Sarah Snook, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” – ***WINNER***
- Mia Farrow, “The Roommate”
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play
- Henry Lennix, “Purpose”
- Jon Michael Hill, “Purpose”
- George Clooney, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Louis McCartney, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
- Daniel Dae Kim, “Yellow Face”
- Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!” – ***WINNER***
Best play
- “Purpose” – ***WINNER***
- “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- “English”
- “Oh, Mary!”
- “The Hills of California”
Best musical
- “Maybe Happy Ending” – ***WINNER***
- “Dead Outlaw”
- “Death Becomes Her”
- “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”
- “The Buena Vista Social Club”
Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical
- Audra McDonald, “Gypsy”
- Nicole Scherzinger, “Sunset Boulevard” – ***WINNER***
- Megan Hilty, “Death Becomes Her”
- Jennifer Simard, “Death Becomes Her”
- Jasmine Amy Rogers, “BOOP! The Musical”
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical
- Tom Francis, “Sunset Boulevard”
- James Monroe Iglehart, “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical”
- Andrew Durand, “Dead Outlaw”
- Darren Criss, “Maybe Happy Ending” – ***WINNER***
- Jeremy Jordan, “Floyd Collins”
- Jonathan Groff, “Just in Time”
Best book of a musical
- Marco Ramirez, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Itamar Moses, “Dead Outlaw”
- Marco Pennette, “Death Becomes Her”
- Will Aronson and Hue Park, “Maybe Happy Ending” – ***WINNER***
- David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts, “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”
Best original score written for the theatre
- Music and lyrics: David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, “Dead Outlaw”
- Music and lyrics: Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, “Death Becomes Her”
- Music: Will Aronson, lyrics: Will Aronson and Hue Park, “Maybe Happy Ending” – ***WINNER***
- Music and lyrics: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts, “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”
- Music and lyrics: Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical”
Best scenic design of a play
- Marsha Ginsberg, “English”
- Rob Howell, “The Hills of California”
- Marg Horwell and David Bergman, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
- Miriam Buether and 59, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” – ***WINNER***
- Scott Pask, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
Best scenic design of a musical
- Rachel Hauck, “Swept Away”
- Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, “Maybe Happy Ending” – ***WINNER***
- Arnulfo Maldonado, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Derek McLane, “Death Becomes Her”
- Derek McLane, “Just in Time”
Best costume design of a play
- Brenda Abbandandolo, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Marg Horwell, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” – ***WINNER***
- Rob Howell, “The Hills of California”
- Holly Pierson, “Oh, Mary!”
- Brigitte Reiffenstuel, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
Best costume design of a musical
- Dede Ayite, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Gregg Barnes, “BOOP! The Musical”
- Clint Ramos, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Paul Tazewell, “Death Becomes Her” – ***WINNER***
- Catherine Zuber, “Just in Time”
Best lighting design of a play
- Natasha Chivers, “The Hills of California”
- Jon Clark, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” – ***WINNER***
- Heather Gilbert and David Bengali, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Natasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Nick Schlieper, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Best lighting design of a musical
- Jack Knowles, “Sunset Boulevard” – ***WINNER***
- Tyler Micoleau, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, “Floyd Collins”
- Ben Stanton, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Justin Townsend, “Death Becomes Her”
Best sound design of a play
- Paul Arditti, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” – ***WINNER***
- Palmer Hefferan, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Daniel Kluger, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Nick Powell, “The Hills of California”
- Clemence Williams, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Best sound design of a musical
- Jonathan Deans, “Buena Vista Social Club” – ***WINNER***
- Adam Fisher, “Sunset Boulevard”
- Peter Hylenski, “Just in Time”
- Peter Hylenski, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Dan Moses Schreier, “Floyd Collins”
Best direction of a play
- Knud Adams, “English”
- Sam Mendes, “The Hills of California”
- Sam Pinkleton, “Oh, Mary!” – ***WINNER***
- Danya Taymor, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Kip Williams, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Best direction of a musical
- Saheem Ali, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Michael Arden, “Maybe Happy Ending” – ***WINNER***
- David Cromer, “Dead Outlaw”
- Christopher Gattelli, “Death Becomes Her”
- Jamie Lloyd, “Sunset Boulevard”
Best choreography
- Joshua Bergasse, “Smash”
- Camille A. Brown, “Gypsy”
- Christopher Gattelli, “Death Becomes Her”
- Jerry Mitchell, “BOOP! The Musical”
- Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, “Buena Vista Social Club” – ***WINNER***
Best orchestrations
- Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, “Just in Time”
- Will Aronson, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Bruce Coughlin, “Floyd Collins”
- Marco Paguia, “Buena Vista Social Club” – ***WINNER***
- David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, “Sunset Boulevard”
Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play
- Tala Ashe, “English”
- Jessica Hecht, “Eureka Day”
- Marjan Neshat, “English”
- Fina Strazza, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Kara Young, “Purpose” – ***WINNER***
Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play
- Glenn Davis, “Purpose”
- Gabriel Ebert, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Francis Jue, “Yellow Face” – ***WINNER***
- Bob Odenkirk, “Glengarry Glen Ross”
- Conrad Ricamora, “Oh, Mary!”
Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical
- Natalie Venetia Belcon, “Buena Vista Social Club” – ***WINNER***
- Julia Knitel, “Dead Outlaw”
- Gracie Lawrence, “Just in Time”
- Justina Machado, “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical”
- Joy Woods, “Gypsy”
Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical
- Brooks Ashmanskas, “Smash”
- Jeb Brown, “Dead Outlaw”
- Danny Burstein, “Gypsy”
- Jak Malone, “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical” – ***WINNER***
- Taylor Trensch, “Floyd Collins”
Best revival of a play
- “Eureka Day,” author: Jonathan Spector – ***WINNER***
- “Romeo + Juliet”
- Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town”
- “Yellow Face,” author: David Henry Hwang
Best revival of a musical
- “Floyd Collins”
- “Gypsy”
- “Pirates! The Penzance Musical”
- “Sunset Boulevard” – ***WINNER***
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