2025 Tony Awards: A Night to Remember
The 78th Annual Tony Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall on June 8, was a night to remember, with a dazzling ceremony hosted by Cynthia Erivo. The evening was filled with surprises, and one of the biggest winners of the night was the new musical Maybe Happy Ending, which took home the award for Best Musical.
According to Playbill, Maybe Happy Ending was one of three shows tied for most-nominated productions of the season, along with Buena Vista Social Club and Death Becomes Her, each with 10 total nominations. The musical, which tells the story of South Korean HelperBots that have been deemed obsolete, ended up winning six 2025 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, the most of any show of the season.
"I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and I don’t even know where to begin," said Darren Criss, star of Maybe Happy Ending, in a statement to Playbill. "This musical is a labor of love, and I’m so proud of what we’ve created. Thank you to the Tony Awards for this incredible honor."
The Best Play Tony went to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Purpose, which spotlights the secrets of an Illinois family of civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen, who are pillars of Black American politics. Jacobs-Jenkins made history as one of only three playwrights who have won back-to-back Tonys, following Tony Kushner and the late Terrence McNally; he is, however, the first Black playwright to achieve that distinction.
As reported by Playbill, Jamie Lloyd’s stripped-down production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Blvd., which was a hit in London before arriving at Broadway’s St. James with four of its principal players, including now Tony–winning star Nicole Scherzinger, earned the Best Revival of a Musical Tony.
In the leading actor categories, Scherzinger repeated her Olivier-winning London success, earning the Tony for Leading Actress in a Musical for her work as ill-fated Norma Desmond in the revival of Sunset Blvd.; Darren Criss won his first Tony for Leading Actor in a Musical playing a robot with a heart named Oliver in Maybe Happy Ending; Sarah Snook won Leading Actress in a Play for taking on 26 characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray, often interacting with herself in pre-recorded video segments that blend the world of filmmaking with live theatre; and Cole Escola made history as the first openly non-binary actor to win Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for their performance as an alcoholic Mary Todd Lincoln in their play Oh, Mary!.
The full list of winners can be found below:
- Best Musical: Maybe Happy Ending
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
- Best Revival of a Musical: Sunset Blvd.
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!
- Best Direction of a Musical: Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
- Best Direction of a Play: Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!
- Best Revival of a Play: Eureka Day, Jonathan Spector
- Best Play: Purpose, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
- Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: Maybe Happy Ending, Will Aronson (music and lyrics) and Hue Park (lyrics)
The Tony Awards are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, and White Cherry Entertainment. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are executive producers and showrunners for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss will serve as director.
The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At the Broadway League, Kristin Caskey is chair, and Jason Laks is president. At the American Theatre Wing, Emilio Sosa is chair, and Heather Hitchens is president and CEO.
In a statement to Playbill, Playbill’s editor-in-chief, David Rooney, said: "The 2025 Tony Awards were a celebration of the best of Broadway, and we’re thrilled to have been a part of it. Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees."
The 2025 Tony Awards were a night to remember, with many historic moments and outstanding performances. Playbill was on the ground, covering all the action from the red carpet to the awards ceremony. For more information and updates on the 2025 Tony Awards, visit Playbill.com.
