'Maybe Happy Ending' triumphs at Tony Awards with top musical wins

New York, US - "Maybe Happy Ending," a sweet and futuristic story that follows two obsolete helper robots as they navigate isolation, affection and what it means to be human, was the big musical winner at the Tony Awards on Sunday, June 8, capping a record-grossing post-pandemic Broadway theater season.

The show won three big awards including best musical. Darren Criss won his first Tony for best leading actor in a musical for his role as the innocent Oliver, and its director Michael Arden won the award for best director of a musical.

The modern reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic “Sunset Blvd.” also won big, taking awards for best revival of a musical and for Nicole Scherzinger, who stars as the faded movie star Norma Desmond, won best actress in a musical.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Purpose” won the best play award. Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the play follows a family whose carefully constructed legacy unravels when their youngest son returns home with an unexpected guest, exposing buried secrets and faith-based conflict.

Host Cynthia Erivo, the "Wicked" film star, opened the show at Radio City Music Hall with a walk to the stage from the dressing room that mimicked actor Tom Francis’ viral post-intermission live outdoor Manhattan stroll as he sings the title song in “Sunset Blvd.”

Buoyed by a post-pandemic rebound, the 2024-25 season grossed a record $1.89 billion in revenue and drew 14.7 million attendees, the Broadway League said.

Cole Escola won the Tony for best lead actor in a play for his creation "Oh, Mary!" The show, Escola's reimagining of Mary Todd Lincoln’s life and relationship with husband Abraham Lincoln, blends historical satire with absurd camp. The show also earned Sam Pinkleton the Tony for best director of a play.

TV's "Succession" star Sarah Snook, who made her Broadway debut this season, won the award for best leading actress in a play for her tour-de-force performance of more than two dozen roles in “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

'Hamilton' reunited

The original cast of “Hamilton,” including the show’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, reunited to perform an electric medley in honor of the musical’s 10th anniversary. The number also served as a reintroduction to Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, a role he will resume in the production later this year for a limited time.

Francis Jue won best actor in a featured role in a play for “Yellow Face.” He thanked the Asian American actors who came before him and addressed the next generation: “This community sees you and I hope that encourages you to be brave, and to dream and to dream big.”

Kara Young, who was nominated for a Tony in the role of featured actress in a play four years in a row, won for the second year in a row for her role in the 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Purpose.”

Natalie Venetia Belcon won the award for best featured actress in a musical for her role as Cuban singer Omara Portuondo in "Buena Vista Social Club." Other awards remained to be announced.

Jak Malone won the award for best featured actor in a musical for "Operation Mincemeat," a fast-paced World War Two spy farce based on a bizarre true British plot to trick the Nazis with a dead body.

Best revival of a play went to Jonathan Spector's “Eureka Day,” a sharp comedy about well-meaning parents at a progressive school whose unity cracks open over a vaccine debate.

Rising production costs a factor

Alongside the creative highs this year were economic realities plaguing producers and audiences alike.

Premium seats for some productions run upwards from $400, prompting concern that Broadway is increasingly out of reach for casual and younger theater lovers. Even with lotteries and rush ticket programs, demand-driven pricing has become the norm.

Jason Laks, president of The Broadway League, said in a statement that rising costs have affected every facet of production, making it harder and harder to bring live theater to the stage. The Broadway League presents the awards along with the American Theatre Wing.

This season showcased a wide range of voices and perspectives, with many shows being led by Asian American, Black, Middle Eastern and Hispanic actors and resulting in some historic nominations.

Four-time Tony-winning actor and writer Harvey Fierstein received a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in the theater. “I dedicate this award to the people in the dark," he said, "and I offer my most profound thanks to the people in my community.”

(Reporting by Kathryn Lurie; Additional reporting by Ben Kellerman; Editing by Howard Goller)