At the 78th Annual Tony Awards, the stage didn’t just sparkle—it cracked wide open.
Held at Radio City Music Hall, this year’s Tonys felt less like a tradition and more like a transformation. Hosted by Cynthia Erivo with radiant charm and a touch of drama, the night unfolded as a love letter to possibility, identity, and reinvention. From heart-tugging speeches to genre-defying wins, it was a moment that redefined what it means to make it on Broadway.
And the biggest star of the night? A musical about two discarded service robots falling in love in future Seoul.
That show—Maybe Happy Ending—walked away with six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The story is tender, the visuals futuristic, and the performances unforgettable. Darren Criss won Best Actor in a Musical for his role in it, making history as the first Asian American to take home that title. The win felt emotional not just because of the performance itself, but because it marked a broader shift: Broadway is finally starting to tell more stories that reflect its audience.
Criss’s acceptance speech was a moment—a pause in the night where you could feel history happening in real time.
But Maybe Happy Ending was just the beginning of a night full of breakthroughs.
Nicole Scherzinger Is Officially a Broadway Icon
Pop star turned powerhouse actress Nicole Scherzinger stunned in her role as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd., earning her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her performance was brooding, magnetic, and masterfully restrained. And when her name was announced, she burst into tears.
Standing on that stage in front of Broadway’s elite, she dedicated her win to the younger version of herself—the girl who almost gave up. “Don’t give up,” she said through sobs, her voice trembling. “Your story matters.” As a woman of Hawaiian, Ukrainian, and Filipino descent, her presence and win marked another needed moment of visibility and belonging.
Kara Young: Lighting Up the Stage, Again
In one of the most moving moments of the night, Kara Young became the first Black performer to win Tony acting awards two years in a row, thanks to her fiery performance in Purpose, which also won Best Play. Her win wasn’t just a career highlight—it was a cultural landmark. Dressed in deep red and visibly moved, she accepted the award with grace and urgency, speaking to the power of women’s voices in theater and the importance of expanding who gets to take center stage.
From Succession to 26 Characters: Sarah Snook’s One-Woman Takeover
Australian actress Sarah Snook left audiences speechless with her performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray, where she portrayed 26 characters—yes, 26—over the course of one mesmerizing play. Her Tony win for Best Actress in a Play felt inevitable. Watching her work is like watching transformation happen live. One moment she’s the vain Dorian, the next she’s an aging painter, then a gossiping aristocrat. It’s masterful, exhausting, and electric. Her win was a testament to pure, unrelenting craft.
A Night of Firsts
History was made in so many ways, it felt like a collective curtain call for a new era. Cole Escola became the first openly non-binary performer to win Best Actor in a Play for their hilarious, genre-punching performance in Oh, Mary!, a twisted retelling of Mary Todd Lincoln’s life. Their win was both radical and joyful—a reminder that the future of theater is weird, queer, and wide open.
Other wins that added to the magic? Eureka Day snagged Best Revival of a Play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow swept design categories for its mind-bending visuals, and Natalie Venetia Belcon brought warmth and power to her role in Buena Vista Social Club, winning Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Broadway’s New Energy
This year’s Tonys didn’t feel like a closed-door ceremony for insiders. It felt like an invitation—to rethink what a “leading man” looks like, to expand what love stories sound like, and to cheer for characters and creatives who have long lived in the wings.
It was emotional. It was electric. And it was real.
As the lights dimmed on Radio City, one thing was clear: the future of Broadway is braver, louder, and more reflective of the world we actually live in. The 2025 Tonys weren’t just about trophies. They were about truth—and the courage to tell it in your own voice.
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