Sunsets, Shutouts, and Definitely Happy Endings: Breaking Down the 2025 Tony Awards

by Chris Peterson

Well, that was fun. The 2025 Tony Awards gave us triumphs that made us cheer, snubs that made us yell at our TVs, and a whole lot of moments we’ll be unpacking all week. In classic Broadway fashion, the show was bold, emotional, occasionally baffling, and never boring. From Dead Outlaw getting completely shut out (seriously?) to Nicole Scherzinger’s not-so-but-kind-of-surprising win over Audra McDonald, it was a night of joy, justice, and jaw-droppers.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Broadway’s biggest night.

Nicole Won, Audra Didn’t, and I Need to See the Votes

Let’s talk about the showdown we all saw coming.

Nicole Scherzinger winning Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Sunset Boulevard wasn’t exactly a twist, but it was a moment. Say what you want about her reality TV past or those eyebrow-raising ambiguous political posts, but she showed up. Her Norma Desmond was volcanic, vocals for days, diva energy off the charts, a haunting performance that deserved that Tony. She earned it, plain and simple.

But let’s be real: the shocker here is Audra McDonald did not win for playing Mama Rose. Read that again(she also hasn’t won in her last three nominations and I don’t know how that sits with me).

Audra McDonald, Broadway royalty and six-time Tony winner, walked into Gypsy with fire and delivered a Mama Rose that needed that seventh Tony. And now she joins Bernadette Peters and Ethel Merman (yep, the originator) in the odd, infuriating club of women who’ve not won a Tony for Rose.

Six actresses have taken on that role on Broadway. Three have gone home with trophies: Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, and (ahem) Patti LuPone. Three haven’t: Merman, Peters, and now McDonald. It’s literally split down the middle. A dead heat. And yet our hearts say one more win should’ve tilted that balance.

Nicole’s win was deserving. Audra’s loss? Devastating. And here’s the kicker: this was the moment I really wanted to see the voting numbers. How close was it? A nail-biter or a landslide? Broadway deserves to know. A stunner. A mystery. A moment we won’t forget, but we’d sure like a peek behind that curtain.

The Little Robot Musical That Could

Maybe Happy Ending absolutely swept the night, winning six Tonys—including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Scenic Design, Best Direction, and Best Leading Actor for Darren Criss. This quiet, robot‑love show from Korea didn’t just steal the spotlight, it owned it. A subtly spectacular triumph that shows Broadway’s hunger for stories that dare to feel different.

No Justice for Dead Outlaw

I’m still scratching my head over this one. Dead Outlaw—seven nominations, critical acclaim, some of the best music I’ve heard on a Broadway stage in years, and it walked away completely empty-handed. Nothing. Not even Best Score, which I was sure was in the bag. I get that Maybe Happy Ending had real momentum. That show came in hot, charming everyone in its path, and clearly captured the hearts of a lot of voters. But still. Dead Outlaw felt like the one category it had to win was Score. Yazbek and Moses delivered something gritty and poetic and fresh—how did that not register? I can maybe understand missing Best Musical. Maybe. But no love at all? Not one category? That’s not just a snub, that’s a full-on ghosting.

What Last Night Meant to the AANHPI Community

One of the most meaningful threads running through the Tonys this year—subtle to some, thunderous to others(like my Korean self)—was the spotlight shining brightly on AANHPI artists. And not just for showing up. For winning. For taking space. For making history.

Hue Park, a Korean writer and composer, won Best Musical for Maybe Happy Ending, a story deeply rooted in Korean emotion and humanity. That show swept six Tonys and proved that Broadway is finally opening its arms a little wider to global storytelling. Darren Criss, who’s Filipino American. He’s been carving out his own space in this industry for years, and this win felt like a joyful exhale. Francis Jue(one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet) won Best Featured Actor in a Play for Yellow Face, a long-overdue recognition for a trailblazer who’s been doing bold, brave, essential work onstage for decades. Nicole Scherzinger, who is of Filipino and Hawaiian descent.

And Marco Paguia, a Filipino American orchestrator, won Best Orchestrations for Buena Vista Social Club. That’s a win for musicianship, for heritage, for excellence behind the scenes.

This wasn’t tokenism. This was talent. This was overdue. This was AANHPI artists not just being welcomed—but being celebrated. Let’s hope it’s not a one-night narrative. Let’s hope this momentum keeps going.

Cynthia Erivo, Unexpected MVP

Let’s give it up for Cynthia Erivo. I’ll admit, I didn’t know exactly what to expect going in. She’s got the voice, she’s got the gravitas, but hosting the Tonys is a very different beast. And yet? She nailed it. And when she sang? Forget it. Goosebumps. Critics might nitpick a cue or two but honestly she brought exactly what the night needed. Heart. Presence. And those once-in-a-generation vocals.

Hosting the Tonys isn’t easy. But Cynthia made it look classy, grounded, and entirely hers. More of that energy please.

Can We Please Fix the Mics?

I say this with love and years of Tony viewership behind me... what is going on with the sound? Every year. Every single year. Critics were quick to note it. Entertainment Weekly mentioned “strange sound issues during the broadcast.” It’s a pattern now—a frustrating annual technical hiccup. Broadway has one shot to bring its magic into homes, and yet this keeps happening. It’s not just amateur hour—it’s Broadway’s biggest night, and the audio still lags behind.

No Shocks, Few Surges, and One Rude Omission

All in all, it was a pretty straightforward night. Aside from Dead Outlaw getting ghosted and the Audra heartbreak we’re all still recovering from, most of the wins went exactly where we thought they would. Every performance was... good. Like, technically solid. But if we’re being honest? Nothing knocked me off my couch. Nobody embarrassed themselves, but nothing felt electric either. Except Audra, obviously. Audra breathed, and I felt that in my soul.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow dominating the play design categories was about as surprising as a Demogorgon jump scare. Lighting, sound, scenic —you name it, they won it. It was a full tech sweep, and yeah, that show’s basically a live-action theme park maze, so I get it. Broadway voters love a significant ol’ theatrical flex.

Buena Vista Social Club quietly walked away with more trophies than I expected, but I’m not mad about it. That show’s got soul, and Marco Paguia’s orchestrations were absolutely lush.

But can we please discuss the absolute disrespect of barely showing Jennifer Simard? That Was Rude. So rude.

What’s Next on Broadway

So what’s coming next? Plenty. And honestly, it looks like a wild, thrilling, slightly chaotic year ahead—which is exactly how we like it.

We’ve got Waiting for Godot with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, which sounds like a fever dream I didn’t know I needed. Kristin Chenoweth returns in The Queen of Versailles, singing Stephen Schwartz with F. Murray Abraham, because sure, why not? Revivals of Chess, Ragtime and Mamma Mia! are on the way.

I’m looking forward to Wanted and very intrigued by Jason Robert Brown’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Brown and musicals set in Georgia do pretty well.

Oh—and Art is returning, with James Corden, Neil Patrick Harris, and Bobby Cannavale. That’s a lot of acting per square inch.

It’s a mix of old favorites, risky revivals, and a few celebrity flexes that could totally implode or somehow win Best Play. But one thing’s clear: the season ahead is stacked. And I’ll be watching it all, seatbelt on, mic hopefully working, ready to scream about it come next June. Curtain’s never really down, is it?