Broadway has lots to brag about this season: a bumper crop of 42 Tony-eligible plays and musicals, lots of movie stars treading the boards, several productions that are drawing young audiences, and a healthy mix of quirky and original shows alongside big-brand spectacle.
On Thursday, the industry begins its annual celebration of the best of Broadway with the announcement of this year’s Tony Awards nominees. Over the next five weeks, Tony voters will finish seeing the latest shows, and will then cast their ballots for the productions and performances they admired most. On June 8, the awards ceremony will take place at Radio City Music Hall.
The Tony Awards are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing. Here’s what to know about the nominations:
When is the announcement?
The Tony Award nominations will be announced Thursday morning in New York by the actors Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce. A few marquee categories will be announced at 8:30 Eastern on “CBS Mornings,” and then the full slate will be revealed at 9 a.m. on the Tony Awards YouTube channel. (We’ll publish the list of nominees, along with news and commentary, at nytimes.com/theater.)
Which shows are eligible?
The 21 plays and 21 musicals that opened on Broadway between April 26, 2024, and April 27, 2025, are eligible. (This season also included a two-week concert run by Ben Platt; that show is not Tony-eligible.)
What show and which actors are the leading contenders?
Keep an eye on “Maybe Happy Ending,” “Dead Outlaw” and “Buena Vista Social Club” in the best musical category, and “Purpose,” “John Proctor Is the Villain” and “Oh, Mary!” in the new play category. (There will be at least five nominations in each of those categories.)
There are a number of strong contenders for best actress in a musical, but the front-runners seem to be Audra McDonald, already a six-time Tony winner, for “Gypsy,” and Nicole Scherzinger, a former member of the Pussycat Dolls, for “Sunset Boulevard.” The race for best actor in a musical is more open, but is likely to feature Darren Criss of “Maybe Happy Ending,” Andrew Durand of “Dead Outlaw,” Tom Francis of “Sunset Boulevard,” Jonathan Groff of “Just in Time” and Jeremy Jordan of “Floyd Collins.”
What about all those celebrities?
A few of them — Sarah Snook of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and Sadie Sink of “John Proctor Is the Villain,” for example — have a good shot at picking up a nomination. It’s much iffier for some of the others, including Denzel Washington (“Othello”), George Clooney (“Good Night, and Good Luck”), Robert Downey Jr. (“McNeal”), Mia Farrow (“The Roommate”), Jim Parsons (“Our Town”) and Nick Jonas (“The Last Five Years”).
Is there anything we know for certain?
Yup! Some noncompetitive awards have already been announced. The actor Harvey Fierstein, a four-time Tony winner (for performing in “Torch Song Trilogy” and “Hairspray” and for writing “Torch Song Trilogy” and the book for “La Cage Aux Folles”), will receive the annual prize for lifetime achievement. The actress Celia Keenan-Bolger, a Tony winner for “To Kill a Mockingbird,” will receive the annual Isabelle Stevenson Award, which recognizes volunteerism. And this year’s Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theater are being given to “Great Performances,” the PBS arts program; Michael Price, the former executive director of Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut; New 42, which runs rehearsal studios and a children’s theater on 42nd Street; and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Who determines the nominations?
There is a nominating committee made up of people who have considerable knowledge about theater, but who do not work on, or have a financial interest in, any of the season’s shows. The committee started with 65 members, but because of recusals, 54 participated in selecting the nominees.
How are the eligibility rules applied to nonbinary performers?
The Tony Awards acting categories, like those at the Oscars, are gendered. Nonbinary performers decide whether they are willing to be considered in a gendered category, and, if so, which one. (They can also opt out of the awards process.) Cole Escola — the nonbinary star of “Oh, Mary!” — has agreed to be considered in the category of best leading actor in a play, and is seen as a leading contender in that category.
What happens next?
There are about 840 Tony voters. They are supposed to see every nominated show, and have until June 6 to cast their ballots. On June 8, a preshow, when many of the design awards are given, will be streamed on Paramount+, while the main event, at which the best productions and performers are announced, will be broadcast on CBS, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern. This year’s host is Cynthia Erivo, a Tony winner for “The Color Purple” and a star of the “Wicked” films.
