NEW YORK — The Broadway spotlight burned bright on May 1, 2025, as the nominations for the 78th annual Tony Awards dropped, celebrating a season that roared with 42 eligible productions. From glitzy musicals to gut-punching plays, the list, announced by Tony winners Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce at the Sofitel New York, is a snapshot of a theater world firing on all cylinders. Three shows—Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending—tied for the lead with 10 nods each, proving the Great White Way’s got no shortage of swagger this year.
The season, which ran from April 26, 2024, to April 27, 2025, saw 21 musicals and 21 plays vie for glory, a jump from the 37 shows of the prior year. Buena Vista Social Club, a vibrant tribute to Cuban musicians, Death Becomes Her, a campy musical spin on the ‘90s film, and Maybe Happy Ending, a quirky robot-love story, dominated the pack. Hot on their heels, Dead Outlaw, John Proctor Is the Villain, Sunset Blvd., and The Hills of California each snagged seven nominations, while Floyd Collins, Just in Time, Purpose, and The Picture of Dorian Gray landed six apiece.
Standout performers got their due, too. Audra McDonald, already a six-time Tony winner, made history with her 11th nomination for playing the ultimate stage mom in Gypsy. She’s up against Nicole Scherzinger, dazzling in her Broadway debut as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd., alongside Death Becomes Her’s Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard, and Boop!’s Jasmine Amy Rogers. On the men’s side, Darren Criss earned a nod for Maybe Happy Ending, joined by Andrew Durand for Dead Outlaw, Tom Francis for Sunset Blvd., Jonathan Groff for Just in Time, and James Monroe Iglehart for A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical.
Plays held their own in a crowded field. John Proctor Is the Villain, a feminist reimagining of The Crucible, and The Hills of California, a raw family drama, led with seven nominations each. The Picture of Dorian Gray, with Sarah Snook tackling all 26 roles, and Purpose, a Steppenwolf-born drama loosely tied to the Jesse Jackson Jr. family, each scored six. George Clooney, making his Broadway bow in Good Night, and Good Luck, nabbed a nomination, as did Mia Farrow for The Roommate and Sadie Sink for John Proctor Is the Villain.
Revivals didn’t go unnoticed. Our Town, starring Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes, and Romeo + Juliet, with Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, both earned Best Revival of a Play nods, though their leads missed out on acting honors. Gypsy and Glengarry Glen Ross also made the cut, but some big names—Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal for Othello, Kieran Culkin for Glengarry Glen Ross, and Rachel Zegler for Romeo + Juliet—were notably absent from the acting categories, sparking chatter among theater insiders.
Special awards were also locked in. The musicians of Buena Vista Social Club, including music director Marco Paguia and players like David Oquendo and Renesito Avich, will receive a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, alongside Great Performances, Michael Price, New 42, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Broadway icon Harvey Fierstein will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, cementing his legacy.
The ceremony, set for June 8 at Radio City Music Hall, will be hosted by Cynthia Erivo, the Wicked star and Tony winner, and broadcast live on CBS from 8 to 11 p.m. ET, with streaming on Paramount+. A few categories hit the airwaves early on CBS Mornings, with the full slate revealed on the Tony Awards’ YouTube page at 9 a.m. on May 1.
Here’s the complete list of 2025 Tony Award nominations:
Best Musical: Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical, Just in Time.
Best Play: English, John Proctor Is the Villain, The Hills of California, Purpose, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Best Revival of a Musical: Gypsy, Once Upon a Mattress, Sunset Blvd.
Best Revival of a Play: Glengarry Glen Ross, Our Town, Romeo + Juliet.
Best Leading Actor in a Musical: Darren Criss (Maybe Happy Ending), Andrew Durand (Dead Outlaw), Tom Francis (Sunset Blvd.), Jonathan Groff (Just in Time), James Monroe Iglehart (A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical).
Best Leading Actress in a Musical: Megan Hilty (Death Becomes Her), Audra McDonald (Gypsy), Jasmine Amy Rogers (Boop!), Nicole Scherzinger (Sunset Blvd.), Jennifer Simard (Death Becomes Her).
Best Leading Actor in a Play: George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck), Louis McCartney (Stranger Things: The First Shadow), Bob Odenkirk (Purpose), Daniel Dae Kim (Yellow Face), Cole Escola (Oh, Mary!).
**Best Leading Actress in a Sadie Sink (John Proctor Is the Villain), Mia Farrow (The Roommate), Sarah Snook (The Picture of Dorian Gray), LaTanya Richardson Jackson (The Roommate), Jessica Hecht (Eureka Day).
Best Direction of a Musical: David Cromer (Dead Outlaw), Maria Friedman (Sunset Blvd.), Saheem Ali (Buena Vista Social Club), John Rando (Death Becomes Her), Anne Kauffman (Maybe Happy Ending).
Best Direction of a Play: Jamie Lloyd (The Hills of California), Daniel Aukin (John Proctor Is the Villain), Sam Gold (The Picture of Dorian Gray), Lila Neugebauer (Purpose), Moritz von Stuelpnagel (English).
Best Book of a Musical: Adam Guettel and Tina Landau (Floyd Collins), Itamar Moses (Dead Outlaw), David Thompson and Sharon Washington (Buena Vista Social Club), Tina Fey (Death Becomes Her), Will Arbery (Maybe Happy Ending).
Best Original Score: Adam Guettel (Floyd Collins), David Yazbek (Dead Outlaw), Max Vernon (Death Becomes Her), Lee Chang-sub and Han Jae-un (Maybe Happy Ending), Jason Howland, Nathan Tysen, and Masi Asare (A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical).
Best Scenic Design of a Musical: David Zinn (Dead Outlaw), Tom Scutt (Sunset Blvd.), Paul Tazewell (Buena Vista Social Club), David Korins (Death Becomes Her), Takeshi Kata (Maybe Happy Ending).
Best Scenic Design of a Play: Es Devlin (The Hills of California), Santo Loquasto (Purpose), Riccardo Hernández (John Proctor Is the Villain), Lap Chi Chu (The Picture of Dorian Gray), 59 Productions (Stranger Things: The First Shadow).
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes (Boop!), Linda Cho (Sunset Blvd.), Paul Tazewell (Buena Vista Social Club), Jennifer Moeller (Death Becomes Her), David Israel Reynoso (Maybe Happy Ending).
Best Costume Design of a Play: Dede Ayite (John Proctor Is the Villain), Enver Chakartash (The Hills of California), Paloma Young (The Picture of Dorian Gray), Jane Greenwood (Purpose), Jennifer Moeller (Oh, Mary!).
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Heather Gilbert (Dead Outlaw), Natasha Katz (Sunset Blvd.), Bradley King (Buena Vista Social Club), Brian MacDevitt (Death Becomes Her), Justin Townsend (Maybe Happy Ending).
Best Lighting Design of a Play: Isabella Byrd (John Proctor Is the Villain), Natasha Chivers (The Hills of California), Bradley King (The Picture of Dorian Gray), Jen Schriever (Purpose), Natasha Katz (Stranger Things: The First Shadow).
Best Sound Design of a Musical: Kai Harada (Dead Outlaw), Gareth Owen (Sunset Blvd.), Cody Spencer (Buena Vista Social Club), Dan Moses Schreier (Death Becomes Her), Erik T. Lawson (Maybe Happy Ending).
Best Sound Design of a Play: Ryan Rumery (John Proctor Is the Villain), Palmer Hefferan (The Hills of California), Mikhail Fiksel (Purpose), Bray Poor and Will Pickens (The Picture of Dorian Gray), Paul Arditti (Stranger Things: The First Shadow).
Best Choreography: Jerry Mitchell (Boop!), Annie-B Parson (Dead Outlaw), Joshua Bergasse (Buena Vista Social Club), Christopher Wheeldon (Death Becomes Her), Lorin Latarro (Maybe Happy Ending).
Best Orchestrations: Adam Guettel and Jamie Lawrence (Floyd Collins), Jonathan Tunick (Dead Outlaw), Jason Howland (A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical), Max Vernon and Matt Stine (Death Becomes Her), Kim Scharnberg (Maybe Happy Ending).
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre: Great Performances, Michael Price, New 42, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Buena Vista Social Club musicians (Marco Paguia, David Oquendo, Renesito Avich, Gustavo Schartz, Javier Días, Román Diaz, Mauricio Herrera, Jesus Ricardo, Eddie Venegas, Hery Paz, Leonardo Reyna).
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement: Harvey Fierstein.
The nominations reflect a season of bold risks and big names, with the ceremony poised to crown the best of Broadway’s 2024-2025 run.