Another banner Broadway season has come to an end, crammed with record-shattering, blockbuster productions; thrilling Broadway debuts; and the heralded revivals of more than a few beloved shows. But what will actually take home Tony gold come Sunday, June 8?
On Thursday, May 1, Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce joined forces to announce this year’s Tony nominees. A few quick stats: Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending are all tied with 10 nominations each, with Dead Outlaw, John Proctor Is the Villain, and Sunset Blvd. trailing them at seven each. Also, the great Audra McDonald has now made history as the most nominated actor in Tony history, with 11 to her name. (She edges out the legendary Julie Harris and Chita Rivera, who each received 10 in their lifetimes.)
“I’m so honored to have been nominated for Gypsy alongside Joy Woods, Danny Burstein, and Camille A. Brown,” McDonald said in a statement. “As a Black actor, Rose was never a character I thought I would play until my dear friend Gavin Creel planted the idea in my head. It took a long time for the idea to germinate, and I never would’ve been able to get here without the vision of our director, George C. Wolfe, and the immense talent of our creative team and cast. I feel so incredibly grateful to share this Gypsy with the world and to be a part of the legacy of one of the most perfect musicals ever written.”
But that wasn’t the only good news from the Great White Way: Over the course of the morning, scores of other nominees also shared their joyous reactions.
“It’s a thrill to have five nominations for this play,” George Clooney said of Good Night, and Good Luck, his first play in some 40 years. “For everyone involved, this has been an incredible experience. I couldn’t be more proud or feel more lucky.”
“We are all over the moon about our six Tony nominations for Just in Time!” said Jonathan Groff, a Tony winner last year for Merrily We Roll Along. “Receiving that love after eight years of developing this project means so much, and I am feeling so amped to get to the theater and celebrate with everyone—Circle in the Square is gonna be lit up tonight!”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect this!” said Mia Farrow of last fall’s two-hander The Roommate. “I burst into tears. I wish my mom were here—she would have been so proud of me. I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude to be among these nominees, as this is just the best community in the world. I’m still in the ‘oh my God, oh my God, oh my God’ mode!”
“My mother was my softball coach and instilled in me the meaning of teamwork,” said Jennifer Simard, who is up for best lead actress in a musical alongside her costar Megan Hilty. (Simard has received two prior nominations, for her roles in 2016’s Disaster! and 2022’s Company.) “We at Death Becomes Her are a team, and I am so grateful for every single player who makes me better.”
“This is absolutely wild,” said Tom Francis, a nominee for his thrilling lead performance opposite Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Blvd., which marked his Broadway debut. “I am stunned and a bit lost for words. To be recognized among this incredible group of artists is an unbelievable honor and beyond my wildest dreams.”
Said playwright David Henry Hwang: “This morning’s nomination is a joyful affirmation of the work director Leigh Silverman and I have done over 20 years, to create and refine Yellow Face into a play which can bring audiences together, to laugh and think about how to move our country forward.”
See the full list of 2025 Tony nominees below.
Best New Play
John Proctor Is the Villain
Best New Musical
Dead Outlaw
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Best Revival of a Play
Yellow Face
Best Revival of a Musical
Gypsy
Sunset Blvd.
Best Leading Actress in a Play
Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California
Mia Farrow, The Roommate
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose
Sadie Sink, John Proctor Is the Villain
Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Leading Actor in a Play
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!
Jon Michael Hill, Purpose
Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face
Harry Lennix, Purpose
Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her
Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her
Best Leading Actor in a Musical
Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw
Tom Francis, Sunset Blvd.
James Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical
Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins
Best Featured Actor in a Play
Glenn Davis, Purpose
Gabriel Ebert, John Proctor Is the Villain
Francis Jue, Yellow Face
Bob Odenkirk, Glengarry Glen Ross
Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Tala Ashe, English
Jessica Hecht, Eureka Day
Marjan Neshat, English
Fina Strazza, John Proctor Is the Villain
Kara Young, Purpose
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash
Jeb Brown, Dead Outlaw
Danny Burstein, Gypsy
Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Taylor Trensch, Floyd Collins
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
Julia Knitel, Dead Outlaw
Gracie Lawrence, Just in Time
Justina Machado, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
Joy Woods, Gypsy
Best Direction of a Play
Knud Adams, English
Sam Mendes, The Hills of California
Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!
Danya Taymor, John Proctor Is the Villain
Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Direction of a Musical
Saheem Ali, Buena Vista Social Club
Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
David Cromer, Dead Outlaw
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Jamie Lloyd, Sunset Blvd.
Best Book of a Musical
Marco Ramirez, Buena Vista Social Club
Itamar Moses, Dead Outlaw
Marco Pennette, Death Becomes Her
Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Best Original Score
David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw
Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, Death Becomes Her
Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Marsha Ginsberg, English
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Marg Horwell and David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Scott Pask, Good Night, and Good Luck
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending
Arnulfo Maldonado, Buena Vista Social Club
Derek McLane, Death Becomes Her
Derek McLane, Just in Time
Best Costume Design of a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, Good Night, and Good Luck
Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Holly Pierson, Oh, Mary!
Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Dede Ayite, Buena Vista Social Club
Gregg Barnes, Boop! The Musical
Clint Ramos, Maybe Happy Ending
Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her
Catherine Zuber, Just in Time
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Chivers, The Hills of California
Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Heather Gilbert and David Bengali, Good Night, and Good Luck
Natasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski, John Proctor Is the Villain
Nick Schlieper, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd.
Tyler Micoleau, Buena Vista Social Club
Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, Floyd Collins
Ben Stanton, Maybe Happy Ending
Justin Townsend, Death Becomes Her
Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Palmer Hefferan, John Proctor Is the Villain
Daniel Kluger, Good Night, and Good Luck
Nick Powell, The Hills of California
Clemence Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, Buena Vista Social Club
Adam Fisher, Sunset Blvd.
Peter Hylenski, Just in Time
Peter Hylenski, Maybe Happy Ending
Dan Moses Schreier, Floyd Collins
Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, Smash
Camille A. Brown, Gypsy
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Jerry Mitchell, Boop! The Musical
Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club
Best Orchestrations
Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time
Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending
Bruce Coughlin, Floyd Collins
Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club
David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sunset Blvd.
