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Maybe Happy Ending got its happy ending at the 78th annual Tony Awards, taking home six prizes including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score, Best Director and Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Darren Criss. Jamie Lloyd's reinvention of Sunset Blvd. won three statuettes including Best Musical Revival and Best Leading Actress in a Musical for star Nicole Scherzinger. And Buena Vista Social Club snagged four trophies, including Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Natalie Venetia Belcon and Best Choreographer for spouses Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck.
On the legit front, Purpose took home Best Play and Best Featured Actress in a Play for Kara Young, winning her second consecutive Tony Award. Cole Escola, who wore a stunning blue dress in tribute to Bernadette Peters' 1999 Tony Awards look, won for Best Actor in a Play for Oh, Mary!, which also garnered the Best Director prize for Sam Pinkleton. Sarah Snook scored in her solo The Picture of Dorian Gray as Best Leading Actress in a Play. And Stranger Things: The First Shadow won three design trophies.
Some Tony Awards history was made. Escola is the first nonbinary person to win Best Leading Actor in a Play and Darren Criss is the first Asian American performer to win Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Kara Young is the first Black performer to win Tonys back-to-back. Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck are the first married couple to win for Best Choreography. Three of the eight acting Tony winners (Criss, Nicole Scherzinger and Francis Jue) are of AAPI descent, the most in the ceremony's history. And Paul Tazewell became only the second costume designer to win an Oscar (for Wicked) and Tony (for Death Becomes Her) in the same year, the other being the legendary Irene Sharaff.
There were many amazing moments. Some of our favorites, along with all the winners, are below.
- Newly minted Tony winner Hue Park, who won Best Book and Best Original Score for Maybe Happy Ending with his collaborator Will Aronson, saying he's single... twice! May the Tonys be his Tinder!
- Seeing Marco Paguia, who's in the hot onstage Buena Vista Social Club band, win for Best Orchestrations. He gets to take two bows!
- Love that Best Choreography Tony winners Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck danced to songs from Buena Vista Social Club at their wedding!
- "I am Mr. Robinson and I proudly teach theatre." Excellence in Theatre Education Award recipient Gary Edwin Robinson. And he once sang backup for Diana Ross!
- Celia Keenan-Bolger's moving speech about how "any act of resistance or engagement or kindness can feel insufficient" right now. But she appreciated the Tonys recognizing that "the work of community care matters."
- After winning an Oscar for Wicked, costume designer (and TDF/Irene Sharaff Award winner) Paul Tazewell took home a Tony for Death Becomes Her. "This Black queer boy in Akron, Ohio had no idea he would have the year that he has in 2025!"
- Harvey Fierstein imploring, "Don't make mommy cry!" and giving a shout-out to Brooklyn's Gallery Players, where he first fell in love with the theatre as a teen.
- Host Cynthia Erivo's opening outfit, which looked like a sexy, sequined Annie dress!
- All the fabulous cameos in the opening number, not just Oprah! Also Larry Owens, Alex Edelman and impromptu singing from Kristin Chenoweth, Adam Lambert and Aaron Tveit.
- Loved Francis Jue's story about the late Broadway actor Alvin Ing giving him the tux 20 years ago and saying he should wear it when he won his first Tony Award!
- Jak Malone's shout-out to his dresser was very classy! And loved his championing of gender expansiveness.
- "The balcony is the safest place to see Jonathan Groff sing." - Cynthia Erivo
- "Theatre is a sacred space!" - two-time Tony Award winner Kara Young
- How do we get Natalie Venetia Belcon a date with Jason Momoa?!
- Love that Ariana DeBose returned as the bullet in Hamilton!
- Sam Pinkleton thanked his parents "who didn't stop a little gay boy from doing little gay things," and Cole Escola for telling him to "make what you love and what not what you think people want to see."
- "I'm going to go celebrate with my favorite kind of people to party with: THEATRE PEOPLE!" -Tony winner Darren Criss
WINNER Maybe Happy Ending
Buena Vista Social Club
Dead Outlaw
Death Becomes Her
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
WINNER Sunset Blvd.
Floyd Collins
Gypsy
Pirates! The Penzance Musical
WINNER Purpose
English
The Hills of California
John Proctor is the Villain
Oh, Mary!
WINNER Eureka Day
Romeo + Juliet
Thornton Wilder's Our Town
Yellow Face
WINNER Cole Escola in Oh, Mary!
George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck
Jon Michael Hill in Purpose
Daniel Dae Kim in Yellow Face
Harry Lennix in Purpose
Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow
WINNER Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray
Laura Donnelly in The Hills of California
Mia Farrow in The Roommate
LaTanya Richardson Jackson in Purpose
Sadie Sink in John Proctor is the Villain
WINNER Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Andrew Durand in Dead Outlaw
Tom Francis in Sunset Blvd.
Jonathan Groff in Just in Time
James Monroe Iglehart in A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical
Jeremy Jordan in Floyd Collins
WINNER Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Blvd.
Megan Hilty in Death Becomes Her
Audra McDonald in Gypsy
Jasmine Amy Rogers in BOOP! The Musical
Jennifer Simard in Death Becomes Her
WINNER Francis Jue in Yellow Face
Glenn Davis in Purpose
Gabriel Ebert in John Proctor is the Villain
Bob Odenkirk in Glengarry Glen Ross
Conrad Ricamora in Oh, Mary!
WINNER Kara Young in Purpose
Tala Ashe in English
Jessica Hecht in Eureka Day
Marjan Neshat in English
Fina Strazza in John Proctor is the Villain
WINNER Jak Malone in Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas in Smash
Jeb Brown in Dead Outlaw
Danny Burstein in Gypsy
Taylor Trensch in Floyd Collins
WINNER Natalie Venetia Belcon in Buena Vista Social Club
Julia Knitel in Dead Outlaw
Gracie Lawrence in Just in Time
Justina Machado in Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
Joy Woods in Gypsy
WINNER Will Aronson and Hue Park for Maybe Happy Ending
David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna for Dead Outlaw
Julia Mattison and Noel Carey for Death Becomes Her
David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts for Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez for Real Women Have Curves
WINNER Will Aronson and Hue Park for Maybe Happy Ending
Marco Ramirez for Buena Vista Social Club
Itamar Moses for Dead Outlaw
Marco Pennette for Death Becomes Her
David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts for Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
WINNER Sam Pinkleton for Oh, Mary!
Knud Adams for English
Sam Mendes for The Hills of California
Danya Taymor for John Proctor is the Villain
Kip Williams for The Picture of Dorian Gray
WINNER Michael Arden for Maybe Happy Ending
Saheem Ali for Buena Vista Social Club
David Cromer for Dead Outlaw
Christopher Gattelli for Death Becomes Her
Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Blvd.
WINNER Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck for Buena Vista Social Club
Joshua Bergasse for Smash
Camille A. Brown for Gypsy
Christopher Gattelli for Death Becomes Her
Jerry Mitchell for BOOP! The Musical
WINNER Miriam Buether and 59 for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Marsha Ginsberg for English
Rob Howell for The Hills of California
Marg Horwell and David Bergman for The Picture of Dorian Gray
Scott Pask for Good Night, and Good Luck
WINNER Dane Laffrey and George Reeve for Maybe Happy Ending
Rachel Hauck for Swept Away
Arnulfo Maldonado for Buena Vista Social Club
Derek McLane for Death Becomes Her
Derek McLane for Just in Time
WINNER Marg Horwell for The Picture of Dorian Gray
Brenda Abbandandolo for Good Night, and Good Luck
Rob Howell for The Hills of California
Holly Pierson for Oh, Mary!
Brigitte Reiffenstuel for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
WINNER Paul Tazewell for Death Becomes Her
Dede Ayite for Buena Vista Social Club
Gregg Barnes for BOOP! The Musical
Clint Ramos for Maybe Happy Ending
Catherine Zuber for Just in Time
WINNER Paul Arditti for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Palmer Hefferan for John Proctor is the Villain
Daniel Kluger for Good Night, and Good Luck
Nick Powell for The Hills of California
Clemence Williams for The Picture of Dorian Gray
WINNER Jonathan Deans for Buena Vista Social Club
Adam Fisher for Sunset Blvd.
Peter Hylenski for Just in Time
Peter Hylenski for Maybe Happy Ending
Dan Moses Schreier for Floyd Collins
WINNER Marco Paguia for Buena Vista Social Club
Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber for Just in Time
Will Aronson for Maybe Happy Ending
Bruce Coughlin for Floyd Collins
David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber for Sunset Blvd.
WINNER Jon Clark for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Natasha Chivers for The Hills of California
Heather Gilbert and David Bengali for Good Night, and Good Luck
Natasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski for John Proctor is the Villain
Nick Schlieper for The Picture of Dorian Gray
WINNER Jack Knowles for Sunset Blvd.
Tyler Micoleau for Buena Vista Social Club
Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun for Floyd Collins
Ben Stanton for Maybe Happy Ending
Justin Townsend for Death Becomes Her
Maybe Happy Ending - 6
Buena Vista Social Club - 4
Stranger Things: The First Shadow - 3
Sunset Blvd. - 3
Oh, Mary! - 2
The Picture of Dorian Gray - 2
Purpose - 2
Death Becomes Her - 1
Eureka Day - 1
Operation Mincemeat - 1
Yellow Face - 1
PBS Great Performances
Michael Price, longtime Executive Director of Goodspeed Musicals
New 42, which includes the New Victory Theater
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Harvey Fierstein
The band of Buena Vista Social Club
The illusions and technical effects of Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Celia Keenan-Bolger
The Muny — the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis
Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her on Facebook at @Raven.Snook. Follow TDF on Facebook at @TDFNYC.
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