Presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, the 78th annual Tony Awards, hosted by Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, with Brian Stokes Mitchell serving as the show’s announcer, returned to the ceremony’s longtime home at Radio City Music Hall tonight, Sunday, June 8, and, as it has been since 1978, was broadcast live on CBS TV (and also streamed on Paramount+), with a selection of the awards presented earlier on The Tony Awards: Act One, hosted by Darren Criss and Renée Elise Goldsberry, streaming live on Pluto TV from 6:40-8 pm.
The star-studded main event featured a tenth-anniversary reunion of the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, which won eleven Tony Awards in 2015, including Best Musical, with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Okieriete Onaodowan, Ariana DeBose, Javier Muñoz, Jon Rua, Ephraim Sykes, Carleigh Bettiol, Andrew Chappelle, Alysha Deslorieux, Sydney James Harcourt, Neil Haskell, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Stephanie Klemons, Morgan Marcell, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Austin Smith, Seth Stewart, Betsy Struxness, and Voltaire Wade-Greene performing a mix of the songs. There were also numbers from each of this year’s nominated Best Musicals (Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, Operation Mincemeat, and Dead Outlaw), Best Revivals of a Musical (Floyd Collins, Gypsy, Pirates! The Penzance Musical, and Sunset Blvd.), and musicals nominated in other categories (Just in Time and Real Women Have Curves).
The eligibility cut-off date for the 2024-25 Broadway season was Sunday, April 27, 2025, for 42 Broadway productions that met all eligibility requirements. Tonys were presented in 26 competitive categories, along with previously announced Special Awards in four honorary categories. The roster of presenters included Aaron Tveit, Adam Lambert, Alex Winter, Allison Janney, Ariana DeBose, Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, Carrie Preston, Charli D’Amelio, Danielle Brooks, Jean Smart, Jesse Eisenberg, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Kelli O’Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Lea Michele, Lea Salonga, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michelle Williams, Oprah, Rachel Bay Jones, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Samuel L. Jackson, Sara Bareilles, and Sarah Paulson.
Leading this year’s Tony wins was Maybe Happy Ending with six awards, followed by Buena Vista Social Club with four. Playwright Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins won the award for Best Play for the second year in a row and Kara Young made history as the first Black performer to win two consecutive Tonys.
And the winners are:
Best Musical – Maybe Happy Ending
Best Play – Purpose
Best Revival of a Play – Eureka Day
Best Revival of a Musical – Sunset Blvd.
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical – Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play – Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play – Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical – Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play – Francis Jue, Yellow Face
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play – Kara Young, Purpose
Best Scenic Design of a Play – Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best Scenic Design of a Musical – Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending
Best Costume Design of a Play – Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Best Costume Design of a Musical – Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her
Best Lighting Design of a Play – Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best Lighting Design of a Musical – Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd.
Best Sound Design of a Play – Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best Sound Design of a Musical – Jonathan Deans, Buena Vista Social Club
Best Direction of a Play – Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!
Best Direction of a Musical – Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
Best Choreography – Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club
Best Orchestrations – Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club
Best Book of a Musical – Maybe Happy Ending, Will Aronson and Hue Park
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre – Maybe Happy Ending, music by Will Aronson, lyrics by Will Aronson and Hue Park.
In addition to the competitive categories, the following honors were presented:
Special Awards – The musicians from the band of Buena Vista Social Club and the technical team for the illusions and effects of Stranger Things: The First Shadow
The Isabelle Stevenson Award – Celia Keenan-Bolger, for her dedication to advocacy work through the arts
Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Award – Harvey Fierstein
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre – Great Performances, Michael Price, New 42, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Congratulations to all the winners and honorees for this prestigious recognition.