78th Tony Awards (2025): Broadway Takes a Breath
The 78th Tony Awards, held on June 8, 2025, at Radio City Music Hall and hosted by the radiant Cynthia Erivo, felt less like a victory lap and more like a collective exhale. Broadway, still recalibrating its relationship to audience trust, accessibility, and artistic risk, used this ceremony not to posture — but to clarify. This was a year where intimacy mattered, storytelling trumped spectacle, and the idea of “the best” was defined not by scale, but by emotional precision.
Erivo’s hosting set the tone immediately: grounded, joyful, and deeply aware of the responsibility Broadway carries as both an entertainment engine and a cultural mirror. Her presence reminded viewers that theater, at its core, is about connection — a theme that echoed throughout the night’s winners.
What followed was a Tony ceremony that rewarded new work, complex performances, and shows willing to challenge form rather than simply replicate it.
BEST MUSICAL
Nominees:
- Buena Vista Social Club
- Dead Outlaw
- Death Becomes Her
- Operation Mincemeat
- Maybe Happy Ending — WINNER
Maybe Happy Ending emerged as the night’s defining musical triumph, sweeping nearly every category it was nominated for. A small, emotionally resonant piece centered on love, memory, and obsolescence, its win reaffirmed Broadway’s ability to embrace quieter storytelling in an era defined by IP-driven spectacles. The musical’s success was not about flashy staging — it was about emotional intelligence and trust in the audience’s capacity for reflection.
BEST PLAY
Nominees:
- English
- The Hills of California
- John Proctor is the Villain
- Oh, Mary!
- Purpose — WINNER
Purpose, a play about family, belief, and the weight of legacy, captured something essential about how private histories shape public lives. It’s a win felt like critics and voters recognizing theater that confronts power not with spectacle, but with clarity and care.
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Nominees:
- Sunset Boulevard — WINNER
- Floyd Collins
- Gypsy
- Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Sunset Boulevard’s win as best revival of a musical felt inevitable in the best way. A revival steeped in atmosphere and obsession, it reasserted the musical’s dark glamour while revealing new emotional depth beneath the spectacle. Jamie Lloyd took a show that could have felt tired and reinvented it as haunting as it is beautiful. Its win signaled a hunger for revivals that don’t merely revisit the past, but interrogate it—boldly, and without apology.
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Nominees:
- Thornton Wilder’s Our Town
- Romeo + Juliet
- Yellow Face
- Eureka Day- Winner
Eureka Day’s victory felt sharply of its moment. A biting, fast-moving comedy about consensus, community, and the limits of civility, it exposed how good intentions can fracture under pressure. Its win suggested voters were rewarding theater willing to provoke uncomfortable laughter—and to ask questions it has no interest in neatly resolving.
LEADING ACTING CATEGORIES — MUSICALS
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Nominees:
- Darren Criss — Maybe Happy Ending — WINNER
- Andrew Durand — Dead Outlaw
- Tom Francis — Sunset Boulevard
- Jonathan Groff — Just in Time
- James Monroe Iglehart — A Wonderful World
- Jeremy Jordan — Floyd Collins
Darren Criss’ win for Maybe Happy Ending felt quietly triumphant, while also a complete shock. This category was packed with so much talent, and no one could agree on how it was going to fall. Criss’ performance, defined by restraint and aching sincerity, brought warmth and vulnerability to a story about connection, memory, and what it means to be human at the margins. His victory honored acting that doesn’t push for attention, but earns it—one gentle, devastating beat at a time.
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Nominees:
- Megan Hilty — Death Becomes Her
- Audra McDonald — Gypsy
- Jasmine Amy Rogers — Boop! The Musical
- Jennifer Simard — Death Becomes Her
- Nicole Scherzinger — Sunset Boulevard — WINNER
Nicole Scherzinger’s win for Sunset Boulevard felt both revelatory and completely earned. In a performance of ferocious intensity and aching fragility, she reimagined Norma Desmond not as a relic, but as a living, burning need for recognition. Her victory honored a turn that was as vocally commanding as it was psychologically fearless—proof of a star willing to disappear into the dark. Much like the leading actor, this category had an insane amount of talent, proving just how stunning Scherzinger’s performance truly was.
LEADING ACTING CATEGORIES — PLAYS
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Nominees:
- George Clooney — Good Night, and Good Luck
- Cole Escola — Oh, Mary! — WINNER
- Jon Michael Hill — Purpose
- Daniel Dae Kim — Yellow Face
- Harry Lennix — Purpose
- Louis McCartney — Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Cole Escola’s win for Oh, Mary! was a standout of the entire 78th Tony Awards. In a performance that blends razor-sharp comedy with surprising emotional depth, they turned historical absurdity into something vibrantly alive and unmistakably personal. Their victory celebrates theater that dares to be strange, fearless, and unapologetically itself, perhaps signaling that now’s the time for more daring chances on Broadway.
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Nominees:
- Laura Donnelly — The Hills of California
- Sarah Snook — The Picture of Dorian Gray — WINNER
- Mia Farrow — The Roommate
- LaTanya Richardson Jackson — Purpose
- Sadie Sink — John Proctor is the Villain
Snook’s win for The Picture of Dorian Gray felt like a masterclass being recognized in real time. Amongst the others nominated in this category, Snook stood alone in that she was in a one-person production of this classic tale. With no one else to bounce off of, she stood alone each night, putting herself in a vulnerable position in the name of art, and made it look easy each and every time. Commanding the stage with astonishing precision and fluidity, she navigated its shifting identities and moral rot with both technical bravura and emotional clarity. Her victory honored a performance that was daring in scope, exacting in craft, and mesmerizing in its control.
FEATURED ACTING CATEGORIES
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Nominees:
- Brooks Ashmanskas — Smash
- Jeb Brown — Dead Outlaw
- Jak Malone— Operation Mincemeat — WINNER
- Danny Burstein — Gypsy
- Taylor Tresch — Floyd Collins
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Nominees:
- Julia Knitel — Dead Outlaw
- Natalie Venetia Belcon — Buena Vista Social Club — WINNER
- Justina Machado — Real Women Have Curves
- Joy Woods — Gypsy
Best Featured Actor in a Play
Nominees:
- Glenn Davis — Purpose
- Francis Jue — Yellow Face — WINNER
- Gabriel Ebert — John Proctor is the Villain
- Bob Odenkirk — Glengarry Glen Ross
- Conrad Ricamora — Oh, Mary!
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Nominees:
- Fina Strazza — John Proctor is the Villain
- Kara Young — Purpose — WINNER
- Marjan Neshat — English
- Tala Ashe — English
- Jessica Hecht — Eureka Day
DIRECTION, DESIGN & CRAFT
- Best Direction of a Musical: Michael Arden — Maybe Happy Ending — WINNER
- Best Direction of a Play: Sam Pinkleton — Oh, Mary! — WINNER
- Best Book of a Musical: Maybe Happy Ending — WINNER
- Best Original Score: Maybe Happy Ending — WINNER
- Best Scenic Design (Musical): Maybe Happy Ending — WINNER
- Best Costume Design (Musical): Death Becomes Her — WINNER
- Best Lighting Design: Sunset Boulevard — WINNER
These craft awards reinforced that this season valued cohesion — design and direction working in concert rather than competition.
Final thoughts on the 78th Tony Awards
The 78th Tony Awards didn’t chase trends or box-office headlines. Instead, they honored bravery — in form, in performance, and in storytelling. From Maybe Happy Ending’s gentle triumph to Purpose’s emotional reckoning, Broadway proved that its power lies not in spectacle alone, but in its willingness to confront, connect, and challenge.
For more information about the 78th Tony Awards, including the winners, check out their site! Did your favorites win this year? Let us know on social media!
The 77th Tony Awards Round-Up!
