Broadway is never lacking in drama. But what set the 2025 Tony Awards apart from other awards shows this year was just how fun it was. From Jonathan Groff straddling Keanu Reeves, to a Tony-winning composer expressing some thirst on live television, to Cynthia Erivo and Jennifer Simard poking fun at their own memes, to one Norma Desmond (Glenn Close) introducing another Norma Desmond (Nicole Scherzinger), here were 10 memorable moments from this year's Tonys.
Which Nominated Shows Were Shut Out of the 2025 Tony Awards?
Darren Criss, Kara Young, More Made History
Tonight, Darren Criss became the first Asian American actor to win Lead Actor in a Musical. He wasn鈥檛 the only one who made history. Cole Escola was the first non-binary actor to win Lead Actor in a Play. Kara Young was the first Black actor to win two Tonys back-to-back. And, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins was the first Black playwright to win two Tonys back-to-back and the first Black playwright to win Best Play since August Wilson in 1987.
Francis Jue Wearing Alvin Ing鈥檚 Tuxedo
One of the most moving speeches of the night was from Francis Jue when he won Featured Actor in a Play. Though Jue is an industry veteran with close to four decades of experience, Yellow Face was his first Tony win. In his speech, he noted that 鈥淚鈥檓 only here because of the encouragement and inspiration of generations of wonderful Asian artists who came before me and never got the opportunities that I鈥檝e had.鈥� And he paid tribute to those Asian American artists of generations past in a very moving way: by wearing Alvin Ing鈥檚 tuxedo, which Ing wore to the opening night of Pacific Overtures in 1986. 鈥淗e wanted me to wear it when I accepted my Tony Award.鈥� And with his Tony win, Jue came beautifully full circle.
Hue Park鈥檚 Being Single As a Running Joke
Hue Park won two Tony Awards tonight (for Best Book and Best Score). And in both of his acceptance speeches, he wanted to make something very clear: He is single. First, he clarified that he and collaborator Will Aronson were not a couple, and that 鈥淚鈥檓 very single.鈥� His romantic status also got a mention by one of Maybe Happy Ending鈥檚 producers during the acceptance speech for Best Musical. Hopefully Park's two Tony statuettes for his musical love story will help him find his own romance!
Jonathan Groff Straddling Keanu Reeves
Hue Park wasn鈥檛 the only one who gave off thirsty vibes. Not only was 2025 Tony nominee Jonathan Groff introduced by host Cynthia Erivo as 鈥渁 man who makes everyone wet鈥� (due to his well-known spitting habit), during his Just in Time performance, Groff took to the audience and straddled Keanu Reeves. The John Wick actor was at the Tonys to promote his upcoming Broadway appearance in Waiting for Godot, but he reacted with happy surprise and made a 鈥渞ock out鈥� gesture on each hand.
Jennifer Simard and Cynthia Erivo Meme-ing Themselves
While the night came with no 鈥淒efying Gravity鈥� riffs, host Cynthia Erivo did make a couple of Wicked references. One prominent reference actually showed up twice: . In the opening number, Erivo made two references to her viral moment鈥攐ne via a hand gesture with Oprah Winfrey and the other as a lyric in the opening song penned by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. We knew we certainly held space tonight for the lyrics of 鈥淒efying Gravity鈥� and everything theatre related.
Similarly, when the camera panned on Jennifer Simard during the announcement for Lead Actress in a Musical (the category she was nominated in), the Death Becomes Her star held up a sign that says when her name wasn't called. It was a reference to her line from Death Becomes Her, which has since gone viral on social media. It was all in good fun, as seen by costar Megan Hilty laughing in response.
Cynthia Erivo Teasing a Color Purple Reunion
We knew she was probably kidding, but we had to admit we got excited when Erivo went into the audience and asked Danielle Brooks if she wanted to do a reunion with the cast of The Color Purple. Brooks seemed game, which then led Erivo to ask Oprah Winfrey if she was up for facilitating, before giving Oprah a snack bag. She didn鈥檛 say no, and it has been a decade since the revival!
Multiple References to Hollywood on Broadway
Much has been made of how this Broadway season has been filled with an unusually high number of A-list actors. And that was also mentioned at the Tonys. In Erivo's opening number, one of the lyrics was: "All of Hollywood did a play." Another good joke came courtesy of Cecily Strong, who said: "To those in Hollywood: Broadway is the place George Clooney has been off playing in. Like a second Lake Como.鈥� The camera then panned to Clooney smiling indulgently. We love you, Mr. Clooney! Come back soon.
Cynthia Erivo Sings Off the Talkers
We all know the trope. You only get so long to thank your parents, co-stars, and management team before the conductor brings in the muzak. It's a nice if still frustrating way to be told, "Enough already!" But when your host for the evening is the fabulously talented (and Tony-winning) Cynthia Erivo, things are immeasurably better when you get sung off the stage. Each time a Tony winner talked a little bit too long鈥攚hich included Featured Actress in a Play winner Kara Young and Manhattan Theatre Club Artistic Director Lynne Meadow, accepting the Best Revival of a Play Tony for Eureka Day鈥擡rivo started quietly singing the Frank Sinatra classic "My Way." How can you be upset?
From One Tony-Winning Norma Desmond to Another
To introduce the performance from Best Revival of a Musical winner Sunset Blvd., the Tony Awards got a very special Tony winner to make a comeback return. Yes, it was none other than stage and screen icon Glenn Close, who won a Tony Award originating the role of Norma Desmond on Broadway in 1995, who introduced this year's Tony-winning Norma, Nicole Scherzinger, to sing "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The appearance took on some extra heft at this exact moment because of some other Broadway drama in the air. Patti LuPone, who created the role of Norma in London's West End and successfully sued Andrew Lloyd Webber when she was denied the chance to play the role on Broadway as promised, recently came under fire following incendiary comments made in an interview in The New Yorker about 2024 Tony winner Kecia Lewis and 2025 Tony nominee (and six-time Tony winner) Audra McDonald. Public outrage about the brouhaha was so strong that more than 500 members of the Broadway community signed an open letter demanding that the Broadway League respond by disinviting LuPone from major public events, like the Tony Awards. LuPone is no stranger from courting controversy, so it's perhaps no surprise that there were multiple layers of LuPone drama to this particular moment in Tony Awards history.
A Hamilton Original Cast Reunion... Almost
When we found out the list of Hamilton cast members that would reunite for a special performance at this year's Tony Awards, we noticed a glaring omission: Anthony Ramos, the original John Laurens and Phillip Hamilton in the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, and also notably Usnavi in the film version of Miranda's In the Heights. Reportedly, Ramos was unable to perform due to some scheduling conflicts. But is that true? At several points in the June 8 broadcast, cameras turned to the audience and revealed that not only was Ramos in the room where it happened, he was sitting with his former Hamilton co-stars, notably right next to Tony winner (and Tony Awards: Act One co-host) Ren茅e Elise Goldsberry (it's possible Ramos was unable to attend Tony rehearsals). Reunion performance or not, Ramos' work in Hamilton is preserved forever in the live stage film of the Best Musical winner, streaming on Disney+.
Watch the Tony Award performances here. Click here to watch the 2025 Tony Award acceptance speeches.
