At the 2025 Tony Awards Nominee Luncheon, George Clooney, Audra McDonald, Sarah Snook, Jonathan Groff, and More Mixed and Mingled High Above Midtown
Early on Monday afternoon, Broadway’s biggest stars gathered at the iconic Rainbow Room—65 floors above Rockefeller Center—for the annual Tony Awards Nominee Luncheon. The treasured ritual honored this year’s newly nominated class of actors, directors, producers, and craft artists ahead of the June 8 ceremony at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, with Wicked star (and Tony winner herself) Cynthia Erivo hosting.
Vogue had the exclusive invite to the swanky yet laid-back affair—sponsored this year by Cunard—which began with a buzzing cocktail hour before pivoting into a lavish three-course lunch that concluded with a class photo (and a gift of congratulatory Cunard cruises for all).
The jubilant party was already bustling by noon, with 193 Tony Award veterans and numerous first-timers in attendance: this year, 28 of the 42 acting nominees are celebrating their first-ever nominations. George Clooney, a first-time nominee for his lead performance in Good Night, and Good Luck, showed up looking relaxed, wearing a blue suit and a Broadway League baseball cap. Upon arrival, he mingled with four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, who will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Tonys ceremony, and had a big laugh with Tom Francis, nominated for his leading role in Sunset Boulevard. Clooney also shared some giggles with Kara Young, who earned her fourth consecutive Tony nod for best featured actress in a play for the drama Purpose. (She won the Tony last year for her performance in Purlie Victorious.)
Darren Criss, who scored his first Tony nod in the best actor in a musical category for his role in Maybe Happy Ending, was equally revelrous. He caught up with pals, enjoyed the spicy tuna on crispy rice canapés, and even snapped a selfie with Stranger Things: The First Shadow star Louis McCartney.
“It feels pretty damn good,” Criss said of being a Tony nominee. “The best part of being nominated and being here today is celebrating with the theater community. These are all people [on whom] I have gladly spent a lot of my time and my money for inspiration in my own life and career. So to be in a category at this level with a lot of these people is hugely exciting, because we’ve all gotten each other here—which is a really profoundly beautiful thing.”
Audra McDonald, a six-time Tony winner, walked into the cocktail reception in an elegant white floral eyelet dress. As she made the rounds, she met up with LaTanya Richardson Jackson, nominated for Purpose, and Jak Malone, nominated for the musical Operation Mincemeat, before making a beeline for Jonathan Groff. This year’s Tony Awards mark a milestone for McDonald, who earned her 11th acting nomination for her lead performance in the latest revival of Gypsy—becoming the most Tony-nominated performer in Broadway history. The secret to her astonishing success? “You can’t do anything to make it happen,” McDonald said. “All you can do is do your work—and that’s what I love more than anything.”
As a veteran now vying for her seventh trophy, McDonald had some tips for the first-time nominees this season: “Remember, it’s just a night. Stay present and, no matter what happens, you are enough. Because once that day is over, you still have to go back to being you. So make sure that you’re settled and happy with who you are. And bring a fan—it gets hot—and some snacks. Some people bring flasks... but you didn’t hear that from me!”
Socializing together near the bar were Andrew Durand, nominated for Dead Outlaw, and Cole Escola, a double nominee for best play and leading actor for Oh, Mary!. Numerous nominees approached Escola to congratulate them for their ridiculous reimagining of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, who, in Escola’s madcap show, is desperately yearning to become a cabaret star. For the writer-performer, however, Oh, Mary! is deeply personal. “The play is about having a dream that no one else around you understands, or wanting things you’re not supposed to want. This is something that I have felt in my life and I still feel,” they said, wearing a vintage thrifted suit (with two Tony nominee buttons on their lapel). “There is heart in the play for people that want to see it—and if they aren’t in the mood for that, I hope they can laugh.”
A veteran of New York’s alt-comedy scene, Escola is still processing being a Tony nominee. “I can’t believe that my big break came from doing this,” they said. “We were a little afraid the show would fail, but we only wanted to run it for eight weeks off-Broadway. If we were aiming for Broadway, we would have been a lot more afraid—but because the bar felt a little lower for us, we were less scared. We just wanted to make a great play.”