Cynthia Erivo served as host.[4] Following the ceremony, NPR praised her comedy,[5] the Associated Press described her as an "amiable host",[6] and Deadline called her "absolutely flawless".[7]Vulture praised her opening number, noting she had "a really smart strategy...: joking to a minimum (not her strong suit), vocals on max (there’s no one better)".[8]
The ceremony opened with a brief sketch of Erivo walking from her dressing room to the stage, while various people advise her on what she should do for the opening number, before Oprah Winfrey advises her to be herself. Upon reaching the stage, Erivo sang "Sometimes All You Need Is a Song", an original piece written by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul which referenced various nominees.[6][7][9] She was joined by the Broadway Inspirational Voices choir partway through the number.[6]
Erivo and Sara Bareilles performed a duet of "Tomorrow" for the In Memoriam section of the ceremony.[5][6] The original cast of Hamilton also performed a medley of eight songs from the show in honor of the musical's 10th anniversary, choosing to wear all-black rather than their original costumes.[5][6] The closing number was an adapted version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," with lyrics changed to reference events of the night.[8][9]
Eligibility
The Tony Awards eligibility dates for the 2024–2025 Broadway season were April 29, 2024, through April 27, 2025. Productions were also required to meet all other eligibility criteria as set forth by the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League. There are 41 legitimate Broadway-eligible theaters in which a production must be performed in to attain eligibility for award consideration. Nominations for the 2025 Tony Awards were announced on May 1, 2025.[10][11][12]
The nominees for the 78th Tony Awards were announced on May 1, 2025, at 8:30am EDT by Wendell Pierce and Sarah Paulson. The winners were announced on June 8, 2025. The ceremony was hosted by Cynthia Erivo.[13] The awards were largely spread out across various shows, with no one show "sweeping" the awards.[5]Vulture criticized the choice to exclude some awards from the main ceremony, including Best Book, Best Score and Harvey Fierstein's acceptance of the Lifetime Achievement Award.[8]
In an upset to some critics, the revival of Gypsy, headed by Audra McDonald, who is the most awarded performer in Tony history, did not win a single award.[23] Additionally, Death Becomes Her, which tied for most nominated with ten nominations, won only a single award for costuming.[23]
The ceremony drew an average of 4.85 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-viewed Tonys ceremony since the 73rd Tony Awards in 2019. Figures from Paramount+, which was up 208%, brought total viewership up to 5.1 million.[28][29] This follows the news that the 2024-25 season was the highest grossing season ever for Broadway.[30]
Critical reception
The New York Times wrote that the ceremonies' highlights were the Hamilton 10-year anniversary performance, Cynthia Erivo's hosting abilities, and the performances of Nicole Scherzinger and Jonathan Groff.[31] Erivo received widespread acclaim for her hosting abilities with Deadline Hollywood declaring, "[She] did an absolutely flawless job as host...This is what an awards show should look like".[32]Entertainment Weekly cited her as one of the show's highlights saying, "From the opening seconds, Erivo defied expectations" adding, "Throughout the ceremony, she played to her strengths and it made for a superb outing as a host."[33]
In Memoriam
Host Cynthia Erivo along with Sara Bareilles performed the song Tomorrow from the musical Annie during the In Memoriam segment, As the names and images of theater personalities who died in the past year were shown in the following order. [34]
^Marco Paguia (music director, conductor/piano); David Oquendo (associate music director, guitar); Renesito Avich (tres); Gustavo Schartz (bass); Javier Días, Román Diaz, Mauricio Herrera (percussion); Jesus Ricardo (trumpet); Eddie Venegas (trombone); Hery Paz (woodwinds); and Leonardo Reyna (piano)"
^Jamie Harrison, Chris Fisher, Gary Beestone, and Edward Pierce"
