The 78th Tony Awards were held on June 8, 2025, to recognize excellence in Broadway productions during the 2024–25 season. The ceremony took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast on CBS, with streaming available on Paramount+ and Pluto TV.[1] The show was hosted by Cynthia Erivo.
| 78th Tony Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | June 8, 2025 |
| Venue | Radio City Music Hall |
| Hosted by | Cynthia Erivo |
| Most wins | Maybe Happy Ending (6) |
| Most nominations | Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending (10) |
| Website | tonyawards |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | CBS Paramount+ Pluto TV |
| Viewership | 4.9 million (CBS) |
| Produced by | Ricky Kirshner Glenn Weiss |
| Directed by | Glenn Weiss |
The musicals Death Becomes Her, Buena Vista Social Club, and Maybe Happy Ending led the field with ten nominations each. Maybe Happy Ending emerged as the night's most-awarded production, winning six Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play Purpose won Best Play.
Other top acting honors went to Nicole Scherzinger (Best Actress in a Musical), Cole Escola (Best Actor in a Play), and Sarah Snook (Best Actress in a Play).
Ceremony information
editPluto TV streamed the pre-ceremony broadcast The Tony Awards: Act One, hosted by Darren Criss and Renée Elise Goldsberry.[2] Brian Stokes Mitchell served as the announcer.[3]
Cynthia Erivo served as host.[4] Following the ceremony, NPR praised her comedy,[5] the Associated Press described her as an "amiable host",[6] and Deadline called her "absolutely flawless".[7] Vulture praised her opening number, noting she had "a really smart strategy...: joking to a minimum (not her strong suit), vocals on max (there’s no one better)".[8]
The ceremony opened with a brief sketch of Erivo walking from her dressing room to the stage, while various people advise her on what she should do for the opening number, before Oprah Winfrey advises her to be herself. Upon reaching the stage, Erivo sang "Sometimes All You Need Is a Song", an original piece written by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul which referenced various nominees.[6][7][9] She was joined by the Broadway Inspirational Voices choir partway through the number.[6]
Erivo and Sara Bareilles performed a duet of "Tomorrow" for the In Memoriam section of the ceremony.[5][6] The original cast of Hamilton also performed a medley of eight songs from the show in honor of the musical's 10th anniversary, choosing to wear all-black rather than their original costumes.[5][6] The closing number was an adapted version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," with lyrics changed to reference events of the night.[8][9]
Eligibility
editThe Tony Awards eligibility dates for the 2024–2025 Broadway season were April 29, 2024, through April 27, 2025. Productions were also required to meet all other eligibility criteria as set forth by the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League. There are 41 legitimate Broadway-eligible theaters in which a production must be performed in to attain eligibility for award consideration. Nominations for the 2025 Tony Awards were announced on May 1, 2025.[10][11][12]
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Winners and nominees
editThe nominees for the 78th Tony Awards were announced on May 1, 2025, at 8:30am EDT by Wendell Pierce and Sarah Paulson. The winners were announced on June 8, 2025. The ceremony was hosted by Cynthia Erivo.[13] The awards were largely spread out across various shows, with no one show "sweeping" the awards.[5] Vulture criticized the choice to exclude some awards from the main ceremony, including Best Book, Best Score and Harvey Fierstein's acceptance of the Lifetime Achievement Award.[8]
Purpose, written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, won Best Play.[14] Jacobs-Jenkins had received Best Revival of a Play for his play Appropriate at the 77th Tony Awards.[15] Maybe Happy Ending received six awards including Best Musical, while its director Michael Arden won Best Direction of a Musical[16] and Darren Criss won Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Oliver,[17][18][19] the first Asian-American man to do so.[9] Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard won Best Revival of a Musical with Nicole Scherzinger winning Leading Actress in a Musical,[18][20] the second Asian-American woman to do so.[9] Paul Tazewell won Best Costume Design in a Musical for his work in Death Becomes Her.[21] Actors who won on their Broadway debut included Sarah Snook who won Best Actress in a Play for her 26 roles in The Picture of Dorian Gray, most notably Dorian Gray,[6] and Jak Malone, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role in Operation Mincemeat as Hester Leggatt.[21]
Other winners included Cole Escola who won Best Actor in a Play for their role in Oh, Mary! as Mary Todd Lincoln and Kara Young who won Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role in Purpose as Aziza Houston.[21] Escola was the first non-binary actor to win the category,[8][9] while Young became the first Black actor to win a Tony Award in two consecutive years.[22] Francis Jue won Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his role in Yellow Face, and said in his acceptance speech that 20 years prior, "he was gifted his tuxedo from another Asian actor who wanted him to wear it to the Tonys".[6][9] Jue was the second Asian-American man to win the category, the first being B.D. Wong for M. Butterfly in 1988.[9]
In an upset to some critics, the revival of Gypsy, headed by Audra McDonald, who is the most awarded performer in Tony history, did not win a single award.[23] Additionally, Death Becomes Her, which tied for most nominated with ten nominations, won only a single award for costuming.[23]
Awards
editSource:[21]
‡ The award is presented to the producer(s) of the musical or play.
Non-competitive awards
editThose being recognized with non-competitive awards are below.[24]
| Accolade | Names |
|---|---|
| Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre | Harvey Fierstein |
| Isabelle Stevenson Award | Celia Keenan-Bolger |
| Special Tony Award | "The musicians who make up the band of Buena Vista Social Club[a] |
| "The illusions and technical effects of Stranger Things: The First Shadow[b] | |
| Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre | Great Performances |
| New 42 | |
| New York Public Library for the Performing Arts | |
| Michael P. Price | |
| Regional Theatre Tony Award | The Muny[25] |
| Excellence in Theatre Education Award | Gary Edwin Robinson from Boys and Girls High School[26] |
Multiple nominations and awards
editProductions with multiple nominations and awards
edit| Nominations | Awards | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 4 | Buena Vista Social Club |
| 1 | Death Becomes Her | |
| 6 | Maybe Happy Ending | |
| 7 | 0 | Dead Outlaw |
| The Hills of California | ||
| John Proctor Is the Villain | ||
| 3 | Sunset Boulevard | |
| 6 | 0 | Floyd Collins |
| Just in Time | ||
| 2 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | |
| Purpose | ||
| 5 | 0 | English |
| Good Night, and Good Luck | ||
| Gypsy | ||
| 2 | Oh, Mary! | |
| 3 | Stranger Things: The First Shadow | |
| 4 | 1 | Operation Mincemeat |
| 3 | 0 | Boop! The Musical |
| 1 | Yellow Face | |
| 2 | Eureka Day | |
| 0 | Real Women Have Curves | |
| Smash |
Individuals with multiple nominations and awards
edit| Nominations | Awards | Individual |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | Will Aronson |
| 2 | 0 | David Cumming |
| 1 | Cole Escola | |
| 0 | Christopher Gattelli | |
| Felix Hagan | ||
| Natasha Hodgson | ||
| 1 | Marg Horwell | |
| 0 | Rob Howell | |
| Peter Hylenski | ||
| Derek McLane | ||
| 2 | Hue Park | |
| 0 | Zoë Roberts |
Presenters and performers
editPresenters
Performances
The ceremony featured performances from 11 nominated musicals, along with four additional performances.[27]
Reception
editRatings
editThe ceremony drew an average of 4.85 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-viewed Tonys ceremony since the 73rd Tony Awards in 2019. Figures from Paramount+, which was up 208%, brought total viewership up to 5.1 million.[28][29] This follows the news that the 2024-25 season was the highest grossing season ever for Broadway.[30]
Critical reception
editThe New York Times wrote that the ceremonies' highlights were the Hamilton 10-year anniversary performance, Cynthia Erivo's hosting abilities, and the performances of Nicole Scherzinger and Jonathan Groff.[31] Erivo received widespread acclaim for her hosting abilities with Deadline Hollywood declaring, "[She] did an absolutely flawless job as host...This is what an awards show should look like".[32] Entertainment Weekly cited her as one of the show's highlights saying, "From the opening seconds, Erivo defied expectations" adding, "Throughout the ceremony, she played to her strengths and it made for a superb outing as a host."[33]
See also
edit
Notes
edit- ^ Marco Paguia (music director, conductor/piano); David Oquendo (associate music director, guitar); Renesito Avich (tres); Gustavo Schartz (bass); Javier Días, Román Diaz, Mauricio Herrera (percussion); Jesus Ricardo (trumpet); Eddie Venegas (trombone); Hery Paz (woodwinds); and Leonardo Reyna (piano)"
- ^ Jamie Harrison, Chris Fisher, Gary Beestone, and Edward Pierce"
References
edit- ^ Evans, Greg (September 23, 2024). "Tony Awards Returning To Radio City Music Hall, Sets 2025 Date". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ Purdy, Shawn; Weissman, Elyse (May 28, 2025). "First-Time Tony Nominee Darren Criss and Tony Award Winner Renée Elise Goldsberry to Host "The Tony Awards: Act One"". Tony Awards. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
- ^ Gans, Andrew; Culwell-Block, Logan (June 3, 2025). "Oprah Winfrey, Ariana DeBose, Lea Michele, Lea Salonga, Samuel L. Jackson, More Are 2025 Tony Award Presenters". Playbill. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^ Intarasuwan, Kiki (February 19, 2025). "Cynthia Erivo will host the 2025 Tony Awards". CBS News. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Vanasco, Jennifer (June 9, 2025). "Broadway celebrates a spectacular season at the 2025 Tony Awards". NPR.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kennedy, Mark (June 8, 2025). "Tony Awards laud android rom-com 'Maybe Happy Ending' and history-making 'Purpose'". AP News. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b Evans, Greg; Oganesyan, Natalie; Gomez, Dessi (June 9, 2025). "'Oh, Mary!' Loses, Cole Triumphs And Oprah Shades Patti Lupone: The Biggest Takeaways From Tonight's Tonys". Deadline. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Alter, Rebecca; Frank, Jason P.; Hoepfner, Fran (June 9, 2025). "The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2025 Tony Awards". Vulture. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The best and worst moments from the 2025 Tony Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "Tony Awards Administration Committee Meets for First Time to Determine Eligibility for the 2024–2025 Season". tonyawards.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ "Tony Awards Administration Committee Meets for Second Time to Determine Eligibility for the 2024–2025 Season". tonyawards.com. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
- ^ "Tony Awards Administration Committee Meets for Third Time to Determine Eligibility for the 2024–2025 Season". tonyawards.com. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ "'Maybe Happy Ending' tops Broadway's Tony Awards". France24. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "'Purpose' makes Tony Awards history for Kara Young and wins best play". The Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2025 – via Rocky Mountain Outlook.
- ^ "'The Outsiders' wins best musical and 'Stereophonic' best play as women make strides at Tony Awards". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "Tony Awards biggest moments: Cynthia Erivo holds space, Nicole Scherzinger wins big". USA Today. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "Filipino-Americans Nicole Scherzinger, Darren Criss win Tony Awards". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b "Cole Escola, Nicole Scherzinger and More Win Big at the 78th Tony Awards! Read Full List of Winners". Broadway Buzz. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (June 8, 2025). "Maybe Happy Ending Wins Best Musical at the Tony Awards 2025". Playbill. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "Tony awards 2025: Maybe Happy Ending and Nicole Scherzinger win big while George Clooney misses out". Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "'Maybe Happy Ending,' 'Sunset Blvd.' Win Key 2025 Tony Awards: Full Winners List". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ Carson, Lexi (June 9, 2025). "Kara Young Becomes First Black Performer to Win a Tony Award Two Years in a Row". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b Cox, Gordon (June 9, 2025). "Tony Awards 2025 Snubs and Surprises: Nicole Scherzinger, Audra McDonald and More". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ Vanasco, Jennifer (May 1, 2025). "2025 Tony Nominations Are Out — And They're Full of Celebrities". NPR. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (May 4, 2025). "St. Louis' Muny Honored With 2025 Regional Theatre Tony Award". Playbill. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ "Brooklyn Teacher Receives Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education". The New York Carib News. May 30, 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ Purdy, Shawn; Weissman, Elyse (June 2, 2025). "Powerhouse Performances Announced for the 78th Annual Tony Awards". Tony Awards. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
- ^ "2025 Tonys Score 4.85 Million Viewers Across Platforms, Up 38% From Last Year". TheWrap. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "TV Ratings for Tony Awards 2025 Highest Since 2019; Streaming Audience Biggest Ever". Playbill. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "Broadway Grosses Analysis: 2024-2025 Broadway Season Is the Highest-Grossing in Recorded History". Playbill. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ "Best and Worst Moments From the 2025 Tony Awards". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "The Biggest Takeaways From The Tonys: 'Oh, Mary!' Loses, Cole Triumphs And Oprah Shades Patti Lupone". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
- ^ "The best and worst moments from the 2025 Tony Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 9, 2025.