78th Annual Tony Award POC Winners

Nicole Scherzinger - Kevin Mazur

The 78th annual Tony Awards were held this week on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. The event, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, celebrated the very best from Broadway over its 2024-2025 season. Amongst the biggest winners of the night was the South Korean musical Maybe Happy Ending, which received six wins overall, including the Award for Best Musical.

Best Musical: Maybe Happy Ending

After having been one of three shows tied for most-nominated productions of the season, with ten nominations prior, Maybe Happy Ending was, from the start, among the favorites to win big at this year’s awards. The musical, which was written by South Korean writer and lyricist Hue Park alongside co-writer Will Aronson, won praise from critics for its science fiction plot set in Seoul at some point in the future, when two lifelike helperbots forge an unexpected connection with each other. Applauded for its themes around technology, isolation, and love, the musical drew particular praise for its two leads, Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, as well as for its use of the stage. The show grossed $591,000 in its opening week and has continued to be a sell out since.

Best Revival of a Musical: Sunset Boulevard

Winning the nomination for Best Revival is Jamie Lloyd’s new production of Sunset Blvd., the iconic musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber based on the 1950 film directed by Billy Wilder, about faded film star Norma Desmond. The revival, which had transferred from the London West End to Broadway in 2024, starred Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Francis in the lead roles. It received widespread praise for its bold departure from previous productions, with a much more minimalist style as well as frequent use of live video. The production had received seven nominations ahead of the ceremony, making it the most nominated revival of the season.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending

Darren Criss, the half-Filipino actor best known for his role in Glee, gained particular praise in reviews of Maybe Happy Ending for his starring role as the optimistic helperbot Oliver. Having also been a producer on the play, Criss gained praise for his childlike performance and his interactions with co-star Helen J. Shen. 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard

Nicole Scherzinger takes away a win for her starring role in Sunset Blvd., appearing as reclusive actress Norma Desmond. Having previously been played by the likes of Gloria Swanson, Scherzinger won praise for her success in the role, which she took on for both the West End and Broadway productions. Best known for her time as a singer in The Pussycat Dolls, Scherzinger paid tribute to director Jamie Lloyd for casting her in the role before singing As If We Never Said Goodbye for the ceremony.

Best Book of a Musical: Maybe Happy Ending, Will Aronson and Hue Park

As well as winning for Best Musical overall, book co-writers Aronson and Park also took away the win for Best Book. The duo, who met at New York University before making their Broadway debut with Maybe Happy Ending, wrote the musical in both English and Korean, premiering first in South Korea before making its transition to Broadway. Park had been inspired to write a story about robots who are lonely and abandoned after coming out of a relationship, as well as contemplating our interactions with technology. His award marks the first major win at the Tonys for South Korea.

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: Maybe Happy Ending, Music: Will Aronson; Lyrics: Will Aronson and Hue Park

The musical received further accolades for its score. This had been divided between the duo, with the music itself by Aronson whilst Park wrote the lyrics and additional dialogue. This score received praise alongside the writing for its mid-century pop and jazz sound. Park expressed gratitude to all the artists working on the play for helping to realize this production. “Writing a musical means spending a very long time alone as a writer, building a world on paper,” Park stated. “What sustains you through that long production process isn’t the idea of some award you might receive later. It’s the impulse to write this story and music, and the desire to see it realized on stage.”

Best Choreography: Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club

Another big winner was Buena Vista Social Club, which won three wins overall for its story about the Cuban musicians who put together the album of the same name. Particular praise has gone to the pairing of Delgado and Peck for their work on the musical's choreography. It marked the third win for Peck and the first for Delgado, this being her Broadway debut. "As a Cuban-American daughter of immigrants, I would like to thank my entire family for your sacrifice and unconditional encouragement to follow my dreams and pursue an artistic path," stated Delgado at the ceremony.

Best Play: Purpose

Winning the award for Best Play was the production of Purpose, the Pulitzer Prize winning play from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins about the Jaspers, a prominent but dysfunctional family within the civil rights movement that has been embroiled in scandal and risks fracturing after coming together for a celebration. The play won praise for how it tackled themes around identity and expectation. Having previously won a Tony for Best Revival with Appropriate last year, Jacobs-Jenkins is the first Black playwright to win Best Play since 1987.

Best Revival of a Play: Eureka Day

Starring previous Tony winner Amber Gray, this production won praise for its revival of Jonathan Spector's Broadway debut, which first opened in 2018. The play, which centers around a debate on vaccination after an outbreak at a local school, has been applauded as a brilliant satire on consensus and ‘mask-off’ moments within supposedly liberal spaces. It also earned praise from reviewers for its production design, especially for how it incorporated digital set pieces within the stage.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Francis Jue, Yellow Face

Francis Jue received a win for his role as HYH, a character who is discriminated against by the government in David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face. The play taps into the controversy around so-called ‘yellow-face’, addressing the complexities of issues around race in casting choices. Jue had first played the role in 2007 for its Off-Broadway run, reprising it once more upon its move to Broadway. “Having had the opportunity to tell an Asian American story on Broadway, was reward enough,” Jue stated. “For those who don’t feel seen, for those being targeted in authoritarian times, I see you, and I hope that encourages you to be brave and dream big."

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Kara Young, Purpose 

The second win for Purpose went to Kara Young, who drew particular praise from critics for her role as Aziza, an outsider to the Jasper household. Having previously won a Tony for her role in the revival of Purlie Victorious, Young has been applauded for the sense of comedy she brings to what could have been a simple audience surrogate role.

For those who missed the ceremony, the Tony Awards are available to stream on Paramount+ in the United States. The show is available on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers