‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Named Best Musical, ‘Purpose’ Wins Best Play, ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and ‘Eureka Day’ Nab Top Revival Prizes
At the 78th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 8, Maybe Happy Ending, a love story of two abandoned robots, was named best musical.
Purpose, a blisteringly funny look at a Civil Rights icon’s dysfunctional family, won best play. The prize for best musical revival went to a stripped-down reimagining of “Sunset Boulevard,” while “Eureka Day,” a comedy about vaccine mandates, nabbed best play revival.
In one of the most closely watched races, Sunset Boulevard star Nicole Scherzinger edged out Gypsy‘s Audra McDonald to be named best leading actress in a musical.
Nicole Scherzinger
Playing a Hollywood icon prematurely put out to pasture was a career-redefining role for the “Pussycats Doll” singer, who publicly admitted that she had experienced ageism in an entertainment business that didn’t always know what to do with her talent.
Sarah Snook was named best leading actress in a play for “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” a one-woman tour de force that finds her playing 26 different roles. Best leading actor in a play winner Cole Escola only played one role in “Oh, Mary!” — that of an alcoholic first lady and aspiring cabaret singer. But Escola did double duty by writing the show, in addition to starring in it.
“You all have made me feel like I belong, and I have come home at last,” a teary Scherzinger said. “So, if there’s anyone out there who feels like they don’t belong or your time hasn’t come, don’t give up. Just keep on giving, because the world needs your love and your light now more than ever.”
Sarah Snook was named best leading actress in a play for “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” a one-woman tour de force that finds her playing 26 different roles. Best leading actor in a play winner Cole Escola only played one role in “Oh, Mary!” — that of an alcoholic first lady and aspiring cabaret singer. But Escola did double duty by writing the show, in addition to starring in it.
Julie Harris has a Tony for playing Mary Todd Lincoln,” Escola reminded the audience in a rococo speech that also saw them thank Amy Sedaris and “Tebow from Grindr.”
Sam Pinkleton, who helped Escola turn “Oh, Mary!” from Off-Broadway hit into an unlikely Broadway smash, won the award for best director of a play.
“Maybe Happy Ending,” which struggled at the box office initially until word-of-mouth and rave reviews made it a commercial winner, picked up a leading six Tony Awards, including prizes for Darren Criss’ leading performance and for Michael Arden’s direction. It was followed closely by “Buena Vista Social Club,” which brought a legendary album of Cuban music to the stage. The show won four prizes, including the best featured actress in a musical award for Natalie Venetia Belcon.
There was plenty to celebrate for the theater business, which seems to have recaptured its stride after a long and painful post-pandemic recovery. Ticket sales for the season topped out at a record $1.89 billion.
“Broadway is officially back, provided we don’t run out of cast members from ‘Succession,’” Cynthia Erivo, who served as Tony host for the first time, joked. Snook’s “Succession” castmates Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Peter Friedman have all recently appeared on the Great White Way.
It was a ceremony filled with milestones. With his win for “Purpose,” Brendan Jacobs-Jenkins became only the third playwright to win Tonys in consecutive years (he was awarded the best play revival prize in 2024 for “Appropriate”). With her award for best featured actress in a play, Kara Young (“Purpose) became the first Black performer to win a Tony two years in a row. And “Death Becomes Her” costume designer Paul Tazewell picked up a Tony months after he won an Oscar for “Wicked.” “The Black, queer, little boy, in Akron, Ohio, had no idea that in 2025, he would have the year that he had,” Tazewell said in his acceptance speech.
The theater community is a liberal one, and many winners used their time on stage to criticize the Trump administration.
“To those who don’t feel seen, to those who are being targeted in these authoritarian times, I see you,” said Francis Jue, winner of best featured actor in a play for “Yellow Face.” “At its best, this community sees you, and I hope that encourages you to be brave, to dream and to dream big.”
Jak Malone was named best featured actor in a musical for “Operation Mincemeat,” which sees him play a female member of the intelligence services staff named Hester. In his speech, Malone referenced the discrimination facing the trans community.
“If you watched our show and found yourself believing in Hester, well then I am so glad to tell you that intentionally or otherwise, you might have just bid farewell to cynicism, to outdated ideas, to that rotten old binary and opened yourself up to a world that is already out there in glorious technical and isn’t going away anytime soon.”
“It changed not just Broadway, but how Americans view their own history,” Erivo said, while introducing the “Hamilton” reunion. “Or so I’m told.”
