During last night’s Tony Awards, the incomparable Cynthia Erivo said, “Broadway is back.” And it is. The 2024-2025 Broadway season has become the highest-grossing in recorded history, raking in nearly $2 billion in revenue.

Which is great news for theatre geeks, lovers, and thespians. Last night’s Tony Awards were a definite celebration of the best Broadway has to offer. Even though I am an avid theatre lover and nerd, last night was the first time I saw the Tonys in years, and it did not disappoint. Here are some thoughts on the good, the slightly confusing, and the very confusing.

The Good

Erivo as host really took the show. Some people need a lot of spectacle, but Erivo’s opening number really benefited from just her raw vocals. Her performance really showed us that “all you need is a song.”

Erivo graced the audience with multiple performances throughout the night, including a heartbreaking in memoriam with Sara Bareilles.

Although there were a lot of celebrities in attendance last night, as Erivo said in her song, half of Hollywood did a play. It was a theatre kid sort of night.

Cole Escola was the highlight for me. Escola spoke about the play they wrote and starred in, “Oh Mary.” Oh Mary is a historically inaccurate and hilarious take on the life of former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln.

Escola took home the Tony for Best Actor, and director Sam Pinkleton won a Tony for directing the play. As an avid lover of comedy, especially campy comedy, this is the play I am most looking forward to reading and watching this year. Escola is in a lane all their own and really embodies the spirit of theatre and performance.

Both Pinkleton and Escola thrived last night and shared their joy with audiences. Pinkleton said, “we can bring joy to people at the end of a crappy day,” and that’s exactly what we need more of in our lives.

Another play that has really piqued my interest came from my old stomping grounds and alma mater (shout out to the School at Steppenwolf), the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins won Best Play and took home the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role for Kara Young.

Purpose is an epic family drama that looks at an influential Black American family and the cracks and secrets just under the surface. As a person who used to live in Chicago and who basically grew up reading and watching plays at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, this is a play that I am deeply curious about. I am also so proud of my wolfpack and the incredible work they are bringing into the world. Celebrating these plays just reminded me of how much I love and miss the theatre. Purpose playwright Jacobs-Jenkins encouraged audiences to look up theatres in their area, and it was probably the best plus of the night. No matter your age, if you love the theatre and want to make plays, find a local theatre company.

Musicals

For me, there were two new musicals that really caught my attention. The first being the very viral “Death Becomes Her.”

Death Becomes Her is both my mom’s and my favorite movie. And the musical sounds and looks just as fun and funny. The music sounds wonderful. Although I have not seen the musical (yet), it has greatly benefited from viral marketing using sound bites like “that was rude,” and “tell me, Ernest, how much have you seen of me? Cinematically.”

Outside of Wicked, Death Becomes Her on TikTok has become the new theatre gateway drug.

And like Wicked, the musical had amazing costumes by Paul Tazewell, the costumer for Wicked. Tazewell now has a Tony to sit next to his Oscar for his designs on Death Becomes Her.

The next musical that caught my attention, which happened to win Best Musical, is Maybe Happy Ending.

Maybe Happy Ending is a curious musical from South Korea about a romance between two humanoid robots living in an apartment building on the outskirts of Seoul.

Maybe Happy Ending debuted in South Korea almost a decade ago. South Korean lyricist Hue Park and American composer Will Aronson took home the Tony for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical.

Darren Criss from Glee fame took home the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical, and it really was a win for Gleeks and theatre kids all around.

If you can’t make it to New York and you can’t wait for the national tour, check out the full album (it’s available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music).

The Confusing

While many online were happy for Criss’ win, the winner for Best Actress in a Musical brought on some confusion for some viewers.

Many viewers were spellbound and rooting for Broadway veteran and six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald to win for her performance as Mama Rose in Broadway’s revival of Gypsy.

But the Tony went to Nicole Scherzinger in her Broadway debut playing Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd.

“I still don’t understand the Tony ‘Best Actress’ result,” X (formerly Twitter) user @themareagomez said of the win.

To be fair, Sunset Blvd received rave reviews from many critics and some of my favorite theatre critic YouTubers.

But Scherzinger’s political leanings and insinuations during the November election caused controversy.

Personally, I have not seen Sunset Blvd or the new revival of Gypsy (although I am very familiar with the musical).

But based on the two performances, I felt Audra should have won the award. Scherzinger sang with great emotion, but with no context, the “park and bark” at the Tonys left viewers who may have never seen Sunset Blvd confused.

Overall, it was a fantastic night!

Congratulations to all the winners. I’d say the greatest winner of all was Erivo, who should definitely host the Tonys again!