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Home Tony Awards

2025 Tony Nominations: ‘Buena Vista Social Club,’ ‘Death Becomes Her,’ ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Lead With 10 Each

Clarence Moye by Clarence Moye
May 1, 2025
in Featured Story, Theater, Tony Awards
14
‘Death Becomes Her’ Leads 2025 Outer Critics Circle Nominations

(Photo: Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

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Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending all lead the 2025 Tony Award nominations with 10 nominations each. We’ll have commentary coming very soon, but here’s the full list of today’s nominations.

Best Musical
Buena Vista Social Club

Dead Outlaw
Death Becomes Her
Maybe Happy Ending
Operation Mincemeat

Best Play
English

The Hills of California
John Proctor Is the Villain
Oh, Mary!
Purpose

Best Revival of a Play
Eureka Day
Romeo and Juliet
Our Town
Yellow Face

Best Revival of a Musical
Floyd Collins
Gypsy
Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Sunset Blvd.

Best Performance by a 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
Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her
Audra McDonald, Gypsy
Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd.
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!
Jon Michael Hill, Purpose
Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face
Harry Lennix, Purpose
Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California
Mia Farrow, The Roommate
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose
Sadie Sink, John Proctor Is the Villian
Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, SMASH
Jeb Brown, Dead Outlaw
Danny Burstein, Gypsy
Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Taylor Trensch, Floyd Collins

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
Julia Knitel, Dead Outlaw
Gracie Lawrence, Just in Time
Justina Machado, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
Joy Woods, Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Glenn Davis, Purpose
Gabriel Ebert, John Proctor is the Villain
Francis Jue, Yellow Face
Bob Odenkirk, Glengarry Glen Ross
Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Tala Ashe, English
Jessica Hecht, Eureka Day
Marjan Neshat, English
Fina Strazza, John Proctor is the Villain
Kara Young, Purpose

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
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
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
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
Catherine Zuber, Just in Time

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Chivers, The Hills of California
Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
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.
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
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
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!
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
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

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
David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sunset Blvd.

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

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

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

Special Awards
The musicians who make up the band of Buena Vista Social Club – Marco Paguia (Music Director, Conductor/Piano); David Oquendo (Associate Music Director, Guitar); Renesito Avich (Tres); Gustavo Schartz (Bass); Javier Días, Román Diaz, Mauricio Herrera (Percussion); Jesus Ricardo (Trumpet); Eddie Venegas (Trombone); Hery Paz (Woodwinds); Leonardo Reyna (Piano);

The Illusions & Technical Effects of Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Jamie Harrison, Chris Fisher, Gary Beestone & Edward Pierce).

Lifetime Achievement
Harvey Fierstein

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Celia Keenan-Bolger

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Great Performances
Michael Price
New 42
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Tony Nominations by Production
Buena Vista Social Club – 10
Death Becomes Her – 10
Maybe Happy Ending – 10
Dead Outlaw – 7
John Proctor is the Villain – 7
Sunset Blvd. – 7
The Hills of California – 7
Floyd Collins – 6
Just in Time – 6
Purpose – 6
The Picture of Dorian Gray – 6
English – 5
Good Night, and Good Luck – 5
Gypsy – 5
Oh, Mary! – 5
Stranger Things: The First Shadow – 5
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical – 4
BOOP! The Musical – 3
Yellow Face – 3
Eureka Day – 2
Real Women Have Curves: The Musical – 2
SMASH – 2
A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical – 1
Glengarry Glen Ross – 1
Pirates! The Penzance Musical – 1
Romeo + Juliet – 1
Swept Away – 1
The Roommate – 1
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town – 1

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Tags: Buena Vista Social ClubDeath Becomes HerMaybe Happy EndingTony Awards
Clarence Moye

Clarence Moye

Clarence Moye is a proud co-founder of The Contending where he writes about film, television, and occasionally Taylor Swift. Yes, you're allowed to make fun of him for that. He does not care. Under his 10-year run at Awards Daily, Clarence covered the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, the Telluride Film Festival, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the Middleburg Film Festival, and much more. Clarence is a member of the Critics Choice Association.

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Comments 14

  1. Julie says:
    3 weeks ago

    What are the biggest surprises in these nominations? 🙂

    • FJA says:
      3 weeks ago

      Buena Vista doing as well as it did. No real outrageous surprises. Mostly, the nominating committee did a good job. It’s a crowded season. I’m sad Cult of Love got no love and Swept Away only got one mention. But I expected both since they usually like to nominate shows that are still running.

      • rufussondheim says:
        3 weeks ago

        I still haven't checked out the Swept Away Cast Album, even though I love the Avett Brothers and John Gallagher Jr.

    • rufussondheim says:
      3 weeks ago

      I think the biggest surprise is the lack of nominations for Othello!

      But, yeah, Buena Vista is a big surprise.

      I think Operation Mincemeat getting only 4 nominations is a surprise. Many had it pegged to be in contention for a Best Musical win. It still could, but the lack of support in the tech categories might be its downfall. Most glaring is the lack of a Best Director nomination. This omission might be because it's a London transplant 100% except for slight changes here and there. The hard work had been done.

      I mention this because last year Maria Friedman was expected to win Best Director for Merrily We Roll Along, but did not. Maybe because her version was also seen in London about a decade ago (Plus I think there was residual dislike from her disastrous "Company" revival.

      Maybe Happy Ending also did well considering it's not big and splashy like some of the others. Usually it's the big and splashiness that causes it to lead in the most nomination category.

      • FJA says:
        3 weeks ago

        Oh the OTHELLO shut out wasn't really a surprise since it got terrible reviews. I love how right after they got no nominations they issued a press release that the show recouped but FAILED TO MENTION that the reason is the ridiculously steep ticket prices. Someone needs to call them out on that shit.

        I think MINCEMEAT did as well as can be expected since the featured acting categories are really contentious (and they didn't even nominate so many worthy options–the Burstein nomination is a joke). It's not a tech heavy show and the direction was just good.

        I actually loved the COMPANY revival both here and in London. I thought it was terrific. I wouldn't call it disastrous since it got great reviews (except for Lenk).

        MAYBE is the most overrated show of the season IMO. It's okay. Nothing more. And the idea that Shen would get in when there were so many powerhouse performances…well, it didn't happen.

        • rufussondheim says:
          3 weeks ago

          the snippets I’ve seen of the Company revival made me dislike it, I thought even Johnathon Bailey was weak with “I’m Getting Marrie Today.”

          “Being Alive” is meant to be belted. Lenk’s voice is very weak. I saw the 2006 revival (same day I saw Gallagher in Spring Awakening!) and it turned me from neutral towards the show (I was too young, I’d never put it all together) and now Company is probably my fave after Sunday as a result. The recording of that version is spectacular.

          Voters like to give Hollywood stars Tony Nominations. That’s why I thought Othello would get at least one. Maybe thy give the big stars nominations because in other years there’s not much worthy competition.

          My money is on Maybe Happy Ending. Voters seem to go for the more personal and intimate stories of late. Kimberly Akimbo, Strange Loop, Band’s Visit. We shall see.

          • FJA says:
            3 weeks ago

            Oh don’t go by the snippets. It was amazing. And Lenk worked if you’re willing to accept a bold concept. The London production was best but I loved both.

            I’m hoping DEAD OUTLAW takes it. It deserves it much more than MHE. And it’s from the creators of THE BAND’S VISIT. It’s also infinitely more ambitious and original than MHE.

          • rufussondheim says:
            3 weeks ago

            I really know nothing about Dead Outlaw. I try not to listen to music of the new shows until the Tonys. I like to be a little surprised.

            Operation Mincemeat is the only show’s music I know well, and that’s because I got it when I first heard of its rapturous London reception.

            As for Lenk, I really didn’t like that Omar Shariff song.

          • Julie says:
            3 weeks ago

            I have never seen a play on Broadway. If you have, what's your favorite? If not, what is your favorite play production in general?

            My favorite local play productions are Chicago, Cabaret, Diary of Anne Frank, Glass Menagerie, and Twelfth Night. The last two I attended with my classes when I taught high school.

          • rufussondheim says:
            3 weeks ago

            Company revival is my favorite Broadway Show I’ve seen.

            As for theatrical production in general, I’d have to go with Assassins at the Arden Theater in Philadelphia back in 2007 (it played again in 2023)

            I really only knew the cast album (both versions) and not the book, or how it all fit together. Since it’s a conceptual show (there is absolutely no plot) it’s impossible to “experience” it from the cast album alone. I was blown away. It’s combination of intellectual and emotional highpoints and its non-traditional view of American History was revolutionary to me.

            Sadly, it’s such a difficult, conceptual show that it will never gain a wide audience. It deserves to be seen.

        • rufussondheim says:
          3 weeks ago

          On a side note, Great Performance (on American TV, PBS) is airing a recording of Yellow Face with tony nominee Daniel Day Kim on 5/16

          Plus, don’t forget two other recent Broadway shows. Next to Normal 9th, (it’s the West End production) and Girl From the North Country, 23rd, (not sure what production this is)

          And then Kiss Me Kate! on the 30th.

          • FJA says:
            3 weeks ago

            Thanks for the GP heads up. I really want to see NTN and GFTNC!!!

          • rufussondheim says:
            3 weeks ago

            For some reason, these don’t get promoted nearly enough.

      • Julie says:
        3 weeks ago

        I read that Gyllenhaal was the main reason to see Othello.

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