The 2025 Tony Awards had it all — Cynthia Erivo, Oprah, a “Hamilton” reunion, and a fair share of snubs and surprises to keep awards-season prognosticators on their toes.
By Tony night, the winner seemed like a real toss-up between Scherzinger and Tony fave Audra McDonald (“Gypsy”), with a slight edge given to McDonald.
But Scherzinger triumphed after all, walking away with the trophy in what felt like the most competitive category of the season.
But “Sunset Boulevard” carried the day, winning the top-tier awards for Musical Revival and Leading Actress in a Musical (Nicole Scherzinger), and the show’s other nominees also left disappointed.
(“Yellow Face” wasn’t left out in the cold, however; the show earned a Tony for theater stalwart Frances Jue, the production’s standout featured actor.)
Everything was present at the 2025 Tony Awards: Oprah, Cynthia Erivo, a reunion of “Hamilton,” and plenty of surprises and snubs to keep award-season forecasters guessing. These are the night’s biggest turns and turns, following our winners predictions from earlier this week.
Nicole Scherzinger wins in “Sunset Boulevard,” which is a surprise.
People were beginning to believe that Nicole Scherzinger, who had been the early favorite for her inspiring performance in “Sunset Boulevard,” had lost the support of voters due to a social media blunder involving a baseball cap with the MAGA logo. The Best Actress in a Musical award was always a tie. By Tony night, Scherzinger and Tony favorite Audra McDonald (“Gypsy”) appeared to be in a real tie for first place, with McDonald winning by a slim margin. In what seemed to be the most competitive category of the season, Scherzinger ultimately prevailed and took home the trophy.
SNUB: Audra McDonald and “Gipsy” depart without a single item.
McDonald’s portrayal of Mama Rose in “Gypsy” nearly earned her a seventh Tony Award, according to this year’s poll of voters. Additionally, the revival itself was a strong candidate for the Musical Revival award, and Camille A. After being nominated five times, Brown was still awaiting her first honor. However, “Sunset Boulevard” took home the top honors for Leading Actress in a Musical (Nicole Scherzinger) and Musical Revival, and the other nominees for the show were also let down.
Popular on Variety.
Snubbed: “Death Becomes Her” receives little credit.
The well-liked stage adaptation of the cult comedy “Death Becomes Her” was one of three musicals this year to receive ten Tony nominations each. However, while “Maybe Happy Ending” won six awards, including Best Musical, and “Buena Vista Social Club” won four, including Best Featured Actress for Natalie Venetia Belcon, “Death Becomes Her” only brought home one trophy for costume designer Paul Tazewell.
Astonishingly, “Maybe Happy Ending” has Darren Criss as the composer.
Since Jonathan Groff received a lot of praise from the voters we spoke with for carrying the Bobby Darin bio-musical “Just in the Time” on his capable shoulders, we had assumed that he would win the Best Actor in a Musical trophy. However, Darren Criss, a former “Glee” star who has established himself as a Broadway mainstay (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “American Buffalo,” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”), was a fierce rival of Groff in the race. The award was ultimately given to him for his endearing and physically accurate portrayal of a robot in the near-future romance “Maybe Happy Ending.”. “.”.
SURPRISE: There was a lot of action and excitement at the Tony ceremony.
With so many performances from the very beginning, the Tony Awards gave viewers little time to grow disinterested. After the pre-telecast awards, the official ceremony began with a star-studded victory for Sarah Snook’s bold solo performance in “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” This was followed by heart-pounding performances from “Death Becomes Her,” “Buena Vista Social Club,” and “Just in Time” (with Jonathan Groff) in the first hour alone. At 9:30 p.m., Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play “Purpose” received one of the night’s top two awards, Best Play.
SNUB: The “Dead Outlaw” is snubbed.
Prior to the announcement of the nominations, “Maybe Happy Ending,” a popular and critically acclaimed show, and “Dead Outlaw,” which received numerous awards and critical acclaim during its run off Broadway the previous season, appeared to be the front-runners for the top musical award. “Dead Outlaw,” a darkly humorous show about a bumbling wild-west ne’er-do-well whose corpse receives a surprisingly long afterlife, was put forward for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. But ultimately, the darling of the critics failed to win a single statuette.
SNUB: Eureka Day defeats Yellow Face.
We projected that David Henry Hwang’s play “Yellow Face,” which explores race, representation, and the theater industry, would win the Best Revival of a Play award. The play felt as relevant this season as it did when it debuted in New York in 2008, if not more so. The crowd-pleasing comedy “Eureka Day,” which allowed viewers to find humanity and humor in a group of parents and teachers who were having a hard time coming to an agreement on a vaccine policy, instead won the award for revival. However, theater mainstay Frances Jue, the production’s most notable featured actor, won a Tony for “Yellow Face,” so the show wasn’t left out. ().
