On Sunday, the annual Tony Awards saw the best of Broadway commended for their skill at Radio City Music Hall.

Hosted by Cynthia Erivo, the 78th Tony Awards show was attended by numerous star celebrities on the screen, yet still firmly served as a platform to elevate the unsung musical cast and crew of live performances.

In addition to the many smooth quips Erivo delivered on stage, she also showcased her stellar vocals, singing her original number “Sometimes All You Need Is A Song.”

Notably, the 2025 awards show featured three historic wins for Asian American performers, who are regularly subject to stereotypes and prejudice in the business. The first Asian male to win a Tony was B.D. Wong for M. Butterfly, in 1988, and the first Asian woman was Lea Salonga for Miss Saigon in 1991.

Darren Criss won Best Actor in a Musical, making history as the first Asian American actor to ever win in this category. He was recognized for his role as the robot Oliver in the currently-running Broadway show Maybe Happy Ending.

Nicole Scherzinger became the second Asian woman to win Best Actress in a Musical, and Francis Jue became the second Asian man to win Best Male Actor in a Musical. In Jue’s acceptance speech, he shared the heartwarming anecdote that he had been given the tuxedo he was wearing 20 years earlier by his mentor, who instructed him to wear it when he won a Tony.

The ‘In Memorials’ segment of the Tonys annually sparks debate about how and who the award show chooses to honor and the host’s commentary during the montage. However, many internet users spoke favorably about the 2025 dedication, during which Erivo and Sara Bareilles duetted the musical Annie’s iconic “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow.”

Erivo closed out the awards show with a rendition of the Dreamgirls‘ classic “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going,” which shifted lyrics to summarize the evening.

Tonys 2025: Full Winners List

Best Musical

Buena Vista Social Club
Dead Outlaw
Death Becomes Her
Maybe Happy Ending (WINNER)
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical

Best Play

English
The Hills of California
John Proctor is the Villain
Oh, Mary!
Purpose (WINNER)

Best Revival of a Musical

Floyd Collins
Gypsy
Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Sunset Blvd. (WINNER)

Best Revival of a Play

Eureka Day (WINNER)
Romeo + Juliet
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town
Yellow Face

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her
Audra McDonald, Gypsy
Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd. (WINNER)
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending (WINNER)
Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw
Tom Francis, Sunset Blvd.
Jonathan Groff, Just in Time
James Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical
Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 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 (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Cole Escola, Oh, Mary! (WINNER)
Jon Michael Hill, Purpose
Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face
Harry Lennix, Purpose
Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash
Jeb Brown, Dead Outlaw
Danny Burstein, Gypsy
Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical (WINNER)
Taylor Trensch, Floyd Collins

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club (WINNER)
Julia Knitel, Dead Outlaw
Gracie Lawrence, Just in Time
Justina Machado, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
Joy Woods, Gypsy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Glenn Davis, Purpose
Gabriel Ebert, John Proctor is the Villain
Francis Jue, Yellow Face (WINNER)
Bob Odenkirk, Glengarry Glen Ross
Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Tala Ashe, English
Jessica Hecht, Eureka Day
Marjan Neshat, English
Fina Strazza, John Proctor is the Villain
Kara Young, Purpose (WINNER)

Best Book of a Musical

Buena Vista Social Club, Marco Ramirez
Dead Outlaw, Itamar Moses
Death Becomes Her, Marco Pennette
Maybe Happy Ending, Will Aronson and Hue Park (WINNER)
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Dead Outlaw, Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna
Death Becomes Her, Music & Lyrics: Julia Mattison and Noel Carey
Maybe Happy Ending, Music: Will Aronson; Lyrics: Will Aronson and Hue Park (WINNER)
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, Music & Lyrics: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts
Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, Music & Lyrics: Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez

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 (WINNER)
Scott Pask, Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Rachel Hauck, Swept Away
Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
Catherine Zuber, Just in Time

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Natasha Chivers, The Hills of California
Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow (WINNER)
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. (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
Adam Fisher, Sunset Blvd.
Peter Hylenski, Just in Time
Peter Hylenski, Maybe Happy Ending
Dan Moses Schreier, Floyd Collins

Best Direction of a Play

Knud Adams, English
Sam Mendes, The Hills of California
Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary! (WINNER)
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 (WINNER)
David Cromer, Dead Outlaw
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Jamie Lloyd, Sunset Blvd.

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 (WINNER)

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 (WINNER)
David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sunset Blvd.

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Article by Baila Eve Zisman

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