2025 Tony Nominations: ‘Buena Vista Social Club,’ ‘Death Becomes Her’ and ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Lead With 10 Nods Each

In one of the most crowded, celebrity-propelled Broadway seasons in recent memory, three musicals — two based upon popular movies — emerged supreme amongst Tony nominators in 2025, banking an impressive 10 nods each.

The tuners “Buena Vista Social Club,” based on Wim Wenders’ 1999 documentary and the even more popular album, the outlandish comedy “Death Becomes Her,” based on Robert Zemeckis’ 1992 cult classic, and the sweet robot romance “Maybe Happy Ending,” starring Darren Criss, all scored big.

Sadly, it was not a fortuitous morning for above-the-line names, as “Othello” stars Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, “Redwood” actress Idina Menzel, and “Once Upon a Mattress” lead Sutton Foster all were left out. Still, celeb drop-ins occurred in happy surprises, such as George Clooney getting a nod for his first-ever Broadway appearance in his own “Good Night, and Good Luck,” Bob Odenkirk over the flashier Kieran Culkin in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and Mia Farrow for her first Broadway outing in many years, “The Roommate.”

Among plays, the top nomination-getters were the Sadie Sink-starring “John Proctor Is the Villain” and the long-closed but superbly-reviewed “The Hills of California,” directed by Sam Mendes. Both productions received 7 nods.

Here is a full list of the 2025 Tony nominees:

Best Musical
“Buena Vista Social Club”
“Dead Outlaw”
“Death Becomes Her”
“Maybe Happy Ending”
“Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”

Best Play
“English”
“The Hills of California”
“John Proctor is the Villain”
“Oh, Mary!”
“Purpose”

Best Revival of a Musical
“Floyd Collins”
“Gypsy”
“Pirates! The Penzance Musical”
“Sunset Blvd.”

Best Revival of a Play
“Eureka Day”
“Romeo + Juliet”
“Thornton Wilder’s Our Town”
“Yellow Face”

Best Book of a Musical
“Buena Vista Social Club”
“Dead Outlaw”
“Death Becomes Her”
“Maybe Happy Ending”
“Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
“Dead Outlaw”
Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna
“Death Becomes Her”
Music & Lyrics: Julia Mattison and Noel Carey
“Maybe Happy Ending”
Music: Will Aronson
Lyrics: Will Aronson and Hue Park
“Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”
Music & Lyrics: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts
“Real Women Have Curves: The Musical”
Music & Lyrics: Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
George Clooney, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!”
Jon Michael Hill, “Purpose”
Daniel Dae Kim, “Yellow Face”
Harry Lennix, “Purpose”
Louis McCartney, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Laura Donnelly, “The Hills of California”
Mia Farrow, “The Roommate”
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, “Purpose”
Sadie Sink, “John Proctor is the Villain”
Sarah Snook, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Darren Criss, “Maybe Happy Ending”
Andrew Durand, “Dead Outlaw”
Tom Francis, “Sunset Blvd.”
Jonathan Groff, “Just in Time”
James Monroe Iglehart, “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical”
Jeremy Jordan, “Floyd Collins”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Megan Hilty, “Death Becomes Her”
Audra McDonald, “Gypsy”
Jasmine Amy Rogers, “BOOP! The Musical”
Nicole Scherzinger, “Sunset Blvd.”
Jennifer Simard, “Death Becomes Her”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Glenn Davis, “Purpose”
Gabriel Ebert, “John Proctor is the Villain”
Francis Jue, “Yellow Face”
Bob Odenkirk, “Glengarry Glen Ross”
Conrad Ricamora, “Oh, Mary!”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Tala Ashe, “English”
Jessica Hecht, “Eureka Day”
Marjan Neshat, “English”
Fina Strazza, “John Proctor is the Villain”
Kara Young, “Purpose”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, “Smash”
Jeb Brown, “Dead Outlaw”
Danny Burstein, “Gypsy”
Jak Malone, “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”
Taylor Trensch, “Floyd Collins”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Natalie Venetia Belcon, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Julia Knitel, “Dead Outlaw”
Gracie Lawrence, “Just in Time”
Justina Machado, “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical”
Joy Woods, “Gypsy”

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Marsha Ginsberg, “English”
Rob Howell, “The Hills of California”
Marg Horwell and David Bergman, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Miriam Buether and 59, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
Scott Pask, “Good Night, and Good Luck”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Rachel Hauck, “Swept Away”
Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, “Maybe Happy Ending”
Arnulfo Maldonado, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Derek McLane, “Death Becomes Her”
Derek McLane, “Just in Time”

Best Costume Design of a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
Marg Horwell, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Rob Howell, “The Hills of California”
Holly Pierson, “Oh, Mary!”
Brigitte Reiffenstuel, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Dede Ayite, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Gregg Barnes, “BOOP! The Musical”
Clint Ramos, “Maybe Happy Ending”
Paul Tazewell, “Death Becomes Her”
Catherine Zuber, “Just in Time”

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Chivers, “The Hills of California”
Jon Clark, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
Heather Gilbert and David Bengali, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
Natasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski, “John Proctor is the Villain”
Nick Schlieper, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Jack Knowles, “Sunset Blvd.”
Tyler Micoleau, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, “Floyd Collins”
Ben Stanton, “Maybe Happy Ending”
Justin Townsend, “Death Becomes Her”

Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
Palmer Hefferan, “John Proctor is the Villain”
Daniel Kluger, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
Nick Powell, “The Hills of California”
Clemence Williams, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Adam Fisher, “Sunset Blvd.”
Peter Hylenski, “Just in Time”
Peter Hylenski, “Maybe Happy Ending”
Dan Moses Schreier, “Floyd Collins”

Best Direction of a Play
Knud Adams, “English”
Sam Mendes, “The Hills of California”
Sam Pinkleton, “Oh, Mary!”
Danya Taymor, “John Proctor is the Villain”
Kip Williams, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

Best Direction of a Musical
Saheem Ali, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Michael Arden, “Maybe Happy Ending”
David Cromer, “Dead Outlaw”
Christopher Gattelli, “Death Becomes Her”
Jamie Lloyd, “Sunset Blvd.”

Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, “Smash”
Camille A. Brown, “Gypsy”
Christopher Gattelli, “Death Becomes Her”
Jerry Mitchell, “BOOP! The Musical”
Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, “Buena Vista Social Club”

Best Orchestrations
Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, “Just in Time”
Will Aronson, “Maybe Happy Ending”
Bruce Coughlin, “Floyd Collins”
Marco Paguia, “Buena Vista Social Club”
David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, “Sunset Blvd.”

Best Book of a Musical
“Buena Vista Social Club.” Marco Ramirez
“Dead Outlaw,” Itamar Moses
“Death Becomes Her,” Marco Pennette
“Maybe Happy Ending,” Will Aronson and Hue Park
“Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical,” David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts

Tony Nominations by Production

“Buena Vista Social Club “- 10
“Death Becomes Her” – 10
“Maybe Happy Ending” – 10
“Dead Outlaw” – 7
“John Proctor is the Villain” – 7
“Sunset Blvd.” – 7
“The Hills of California” – 7
“Floyd Collins” – 6
“Just in Time” – 6
“Purpose” – 6
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” – 6
“English” – 5
“Good Night, and Good Luck” – 5
“Gypsy” – 5
“Oh, Mary!” – 5
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” – 5
“Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical” – 4
“BOOP! The Musical” – 3
“Yellow Face” – 3
“Eureka Day” – 2
“Real Women Have Curves: The Musical” – 2
“Smash” – 2
“A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical” – 1
“Glengarry Glen Ross” – 1
“Pirates! The Penzance Musical” – 1
“Romeo + Juliet” – 1
“Swept Away” – 1
“The Roommate” – 1
“Thornton Wilder’s Our Town” – 1

Cynthia Erivo hosts the 78th Tony Awards June 8 on CBS and Paramount+.

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