It's Tony night, and the stars are arriving at Radio City Music Hall! Oh, Mary! writer and star Cole Escola has arrived in full regalia, sporting a gorgeous icy-blue gown and an elegant broach deserving of Mary Todd herself. And if the look seems a little familiar to the eagle-eyed theatre fans, that's not by accident!
Escola shared with 半岛体育 on the red carpet that their gown tonight was inspired by the look Bernadette Peters wore when she won her second career Tony Award in 1999, for her starring performance in Annie Get Your Gun. Peters had just performed with the revival when she accepted the award, so she was still wearing the William Ivey Long-designed costume from the show. The homage is a return to form for Escola, who started their YouTube career the Tony-winning Broadway diva. Escola's take on the look was a custom design from Wiederhoeft.
And then there's that broach. We wondered if the woman's face emblazoned on it might be that of Escola themselves, starring as Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary!. But no, they shared with us that the face is actually that of Laura Keene. Keene was a theatrical pioneer, both starring in and producing Our American Cousin at Washington, D.C.'s Ford's Theatre. That comedy was, of course, fatefully the night's bill when Lincoln was assassinated in the audience, a moment history irreverently recreated in Oh, Mary!.
Oh, Mary! is currently running at the Lyceum Theatre.
Nominations for the Tonys' competitive categories were revealed May 1, with Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending sharing the distinction of being the most nominated shows of the season, each earning 10 nods. See the full list of nominees here.
Winners will be named at The 78th Annual Tony Awards, set to broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall June 8, beginning at 8 PM ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. Wicked film star and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo will host the evening. A pre-show Act One concert, to be hosted by Ren茅e Elise Goldsberry and 2025 Tony nominee Darren Criss, will stream on PlutoTV beginning at 6:40 PM ET.
The Tony Awards are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, and White Cherry Entertainment. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are executive producers and showrunners for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss will serve as director.
The American Theatre Wing鈥檚 Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At the Broadway League, Kristin Caskey is chair, and Jason Laks is president. At the American Theatre Wing, Emilio Sosa is chair, and Heather Hitchens is president and CEO.
Visit 半岛体育.com/Tonys.
