The Tony Awards celebrate the strongest Broadway season in recent memory
From Oh, Mary! to Sunset Boulevard, the Tonys largely focused on turning first-time nominees into first-time winners.
Images: Theo Wargo, Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Broadway is back and better than ever. That seemed to be the main message from last night’s Tony Award ceremony, capping off one of the strongest Broadway seasons in recent memory, and certainly the strongest since the 2020 lockdowns closed Broadway for over a year. The recovery was slow and took years, but it finally feels safe to say that the theaters have recovered. As host Cynthia Erivo said during the ceremony, this was the highest-grossing season in Broadway history.
Some of that financial success can certainly be attributed to the A-list Hollywood talent who came to Broadway this season and drove up ticket prices. (The Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal-starring Othello was perhaps this season’s worst offender, with ticket prices reaching almost $1000. The production didn’t receive any Tony nominations.) But the season’s breakout hits were more often original works by artists who have been grinding it out for years. Oh, Mary! is arguably the season’s biggest success story, opening in early 2024 off-Broadway and becoming not only the first show of the season to recoup its investment, but the rare Broadway show that attracts major fandom outside of New York. The expectation that Cole Escola would win Best Actor for their performance didn’t dull the room’s excitement or pride as they literally ran up to the stage, dressed as Bernadette Peters, to accept their first Tony. Though it didn’t win Best Play (that went to this year’s Pulitzer-winning Purpose), watching both Escola and director Sam Pinkleton get their moments on stage was thrilling. As Pinkleton accepted the award, he thanked Escola for teaching him to “do what you love, not what you think people want to see.”
All four of the night’s big acting awards were handed to not just first-time winners, but first-time nominees. Darren Criss, an actor who seemed destined for a Tony since his Glee days, won Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Maybe Happy Ending, and was also honored as a producer when the show won Best Musical. Sarah Snook’s win for Best Actress in a Play felt pretty in-the-bag going into the night (her performance in The Picture Of Dorian Gray was crazy in a great way) but the award for Best Actress in a Musical was always going to be a tossup between Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Boulevard and Audra McDonald in Gypsy. McDonald is the performer with the most Tony Awards in history, playing the role that has netted its stars three Tonys since its inception in 1959. Her performance of “Rose’s Turn” on the Tony stage was hair-raising and startling, but the award ultimately went to Scherzinger. The former Pussycat Doll has been establishing her theater bona fides for years, and her performance in Sunset Boulevard was another talk of New York before the show had even transferred from London. It was certainly the category to watch this year, but one that would have resulted in a deserved win no matter what.
Other highlights from the show included a very energetic reunion from the original cast of Hamilton, which celebrates the ten-year anniversary of its Broadway debut this year, and a performance of Death Becomes Her‘s very fun opening number “For The Gaze.” Another highlight: the telecast only went over its allotted three hours by about ten minutes! Take note, Grammys.
You can check out the full list of winners below.
Best Musical
Maybe Happy Ending