At the 2025 Tony Awards held on Sunday night, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Purpose took home the prestigious Best New Play trophy, capping off a landmark year for the acclaimed playwright. The drawing-room drama about a successful Black family confronting buried truths during a snowed-in gathering has already won the Pulitzer Prize, and its triumph at the Tonys marks a rare double honour.Jacobs-Jenkins made history as the first Black playwright to win Best New Play at the Tonys since August Wilson’s Fences in 1987. Just a year ago, Jacobs-Jenkins won the Tony for Best Revival of a Play for Appropriate. In his acceptance speech, he urged audiences and the industry to support regional theatre, noting that Purpose was developed in Chicago.Another milestone moment came for Kara Young, who became the first Black performer to win two Tony Awards in consecutive years. She earned the Featured Actress in a Play award for her role in Purpose, making it her fourth consecutive Tony nomination. Young gave thanks to her parents, Jacobs-Jenkins, her fellow cast members, and director Phylicia Rashad.Australian actress Sarah Snook won Leading Actress in a Play for her demanding performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray, where she plays all 26 characters. “I don’t feel alone any night that I do this show,” she said, crediting her team on and off stage.In the Best Actor in a Play category, downtown cabaret star Cole Escola beat out Hollywood names including George Clooney and Daniel Dae Kim for their outrageous portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary!. The play’s director, Sam Pinkleton, also won Best Direction and thanked Escola for inspiring him to “do what you love, not what you think people want to see.”Francis Jue won Best Featured Actor in a Play for Yellow Face, wearing a tuxedo gifted by another Asian actor in solidarity. In an emotional speech, he said, “I’m only here because of the encouragement and inspiration of generations of wonderful, deserving Asian artists who came before me,” adding, “To those who don’t feel seen—I see you.”In the musical categories, British actor Jak Malone won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his gender-bending role in Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical. Malone, who plays a woman in each performance, used his platform to advocate for trans rights.Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day, a sharply written satire about liberal parents clashing over a school’s vaccine policy, won Best Revival of a Play. Originally staged off-Broadway in 2019, the play found new resonance in today’s post-pandemic world.The night also included a show-stopping moment from the original cast of Hamilton, who reunited for a special medley to celebrate the musical’s 10th anniversary. Dressed in all black, Lin-Manuel Miranda and his castmates performed fan favourites like “My Shot,” “The Schuyler Sisters,” and “The Room Where It Happens,” marking a decade of cultural impact on Broadway.Best playEnglishThe Hills of CaliforniaJohn Proctor is the VillainOh, Mary!Purpose – WINNERBest performance by an actress in a leading role in a musicalMegan Hilty, Death Becomes HerAudra McDonald, GypsyJasmine Amy Rogers, BOOP! The MusicalNicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard – WINNER!Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes HerBest performance by an actor in a leading role in a musicalDarren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending – WINNER!Andrew Durand, Dead OutlawTom Francis, Sunset BoulevardJonathan Groff, Just in TimeJames Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong MusicalJeremy Jordan, Floyd CollinsBest revival of a musicalFloyd CollinsGypsyPirates! The Penzance MusicalSunset Boulevard – WINNER!Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a playGeorge Clooney, Good Night, and Good LuckCole Escola, Oh, Mary! – WINNER!Jon Michael Hill, PurposeDaniel Dae Kim, Yellow FaceHarry Lennix, PurposeLouis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First ShadowBest direction of a musicalSaheem Ali, Buena Vista Social ClubMichael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending – WINNER!David Cromer, Dead OutlawChristopher Gattelli, Death Becomes HerJamie Lloyd, Sunset BoulevardBest direction of a playKnud Adams, EnglishSam Mendes, The Hills of CaliforniaSam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary! – WINNER!Danya Taymor, John Proctor is the VillainKip Williams, The Picture of Dorian GrayBest revival of a playEureka Day – WINNER!Romeo + JulietOur TownYellow FaceBest performance by an actress in a featured role in a musicalNatalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club – WINNER!Julia Knitel, Dead OutlawGracie Lawrence, Just in TimeJustina Machado, Real Women Have Curves: The MusicalJoy Woods, GypsyBest performance by an actress in a featured role in a playTala Ashe, EnglishJessica Hecht, Eureka DayMarjan Neshat, EnglishFina Strazza, John Proctor is the VillainKara Young, Purpose – WINNER!Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musicalBrooks Ashmanskas, SmashJeb Brown, Dead OutlawDanny Burstein, GypsyJak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical – WINNER!Taylor Trensch, Floyd CollinsBest performance by an actor in a featured role in a playGlenn Davis, PurposeGabriel Ebert, John Proctor is the VillainFrancis Jue, Yellow Face – WINNER!Bob Odenkirk, Glengarry Glen RossConrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a playLaura Donnelly, The Hills of CaliforniaMia Farrow, The RoommateLaTanya Richardson Jackson, PurposeSadie Sink, John Proctor is the VillainSarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray – WINNER!Best book of a musicalMarco Ramirez, Buena Vista Social ClubItamar Moses, Dead OutlawMarco Pennette, Death Becomes HerWill Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending – WINNER!David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat: A New MusicalBest original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theatreDavid Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead OutlawJulia Mattison and Noel Carey, Death Becomes HerWill Aronson (music and lyrics) and Hue Park (lyrics), Maybe Happy Ending – WINNER!David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat: A New MusicalJoy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, Real Women Have Curves: The MusicalBest sound design of a playPaul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow – WINNER!Palmer Hefferan, John Proctor is the VillainDaniel Kluger, Good Night, and Good LuckNick Powell, The Hills of CaliforniaClemence Williams, The Picture of Dorian GrayBest sound design of a musicalJonathan Deans, Buena Vista Social Club – WINNER!Adam Fisher, Sunset BoulevardPeter Hylenski, Just in TimePeter Hylenski, Maybe Happy EndingDan Moses Schreier, Floyd CollinsBest orchestrationsAndrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in TimeWill Aronson, Maybe Happy EndingBruce Coughlin, Floyd CollinsMarco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club – WINNER!Best choreographyJoshua Bergasse, SmashCamille A. Brown, GypsyChristopher Gattelli, Death Becomes HerJerry Mitchell, BOOP! The MusicalPatricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club – WINNER!Best lighting design of a musicalJack Knowles, Sunset Boulevard – WINNER!Tyler Micoleau, Buena Vista Social ClubScott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, Floyd CollinsBen Stanton, Maybe Happy EndingJustin Townsend, Death Becomes HerBest lighting design of a playNatasha Chivers, The Hills of CaliforniaJon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow – WINNER!Heather Gilbert and David Bengali, Good Night, and Good LuckNatasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski, John Proctor is the VillainNick Schlieper, The Picture of Dorian GrayBest scenic design of a playMarsha Ginsberg, EnglishRob Howell, The Hills of CaliforniaMarg Horwell and David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian GrayMiriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow – WINNER!Scott Pask, Good Night, and Good LuckBest scenic design of a musicalRachel Hauck, Swept AwayDane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending – WINNER!Arnulfo Maldonado, Buena Vista Social ClubDerek McLane, Death Becomes HerDerek McLane, Just in TimeBest costume design of a playBrenda Abbandandolo, Good Night, and Good LuckMarg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray – WINNER!Rob Howell, The Hills of CaliforniaHolly Pierson, Oh, Mary!Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Stranger Things: The First ShadowBest costume design of a musicalDede Ayite, Buena Vista Social ClubGregg Barnes, BOOP! The MusicalClint Ramos, Maybe Happy EndingPaul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her – WINNER!Catherine Zuber, Just in Time