On May 1, the Tony Awards released their nominations for the upcoming 2025 show. From big shows like Death Becomes Her to big names like Rachel Zegler and Sadie Sink, the hype on Broadway this year is off the charts.
This year, fans seem to be glad that the Tony Awards appear more evenly spread out and distributed, from the big spectacles to the low-key indie shows. Some are still frustrated about their favorite shows not being nominated, but the nominees have shown to be well-rounded this year.
Dallas Myers, Olympia High School theatre teacher, talked about how one of his favorite Broadway musicals currently running “didn’t get any kind of like mentions… Smash the Musical, based on the TV show of the same name… [has a] culty underground [community] really popular with theater people. They spent a lot of time in development of this musical… [there was] a ton of press and then nothing.”
Though the opinions between others vary greatly, there’s a stark difference between what fans want to win vs. what they predict will win. This is no different for watchers of the Tony Awards at Olympia High School.
Best New Musical
The contenders for Best New Musical this year include:
- Buena Vista Social Club
- Dead Outlaw
- Death Becomes Her
- Maybe Happy Ending
- Operation Mincemeat
The most talked about musical seems to be Death Becomes Her, expected to sweep most of the awards including Best Musical. But Myers thinks that Maybe Happy Ending is going to snag Best Musical. Myers noticed a pattern emerging from the past few Tony’s, especially from last year’s unexpected Tony win for Best Musical, Kimberly Akimbo. The voters for the Tony Awards, according to Myers, love shows with “heart.” He explained that “Maybe Happy Ending just has heart, heart is written all over it, and it’s cute.” He also argued that Buena Vista Social Club could pull through, labeling the show the “dark horse” of this year’s Tony awards.
Best New Play
The contenders for Best New Play this year include:
- English
- The Hills of California
- John Proctor is the Villain
- Oh, Mary!
- Purpose
While Best Play isn’t as popular of a category as Best Musical, it is as equally an important part of Broadway as musicals. From all the new nominees, Myers is confident that John Proctor is the Villain will bring home the Tony. The play stars Sadie Sink, who is also nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Play because of her role. In Myers’ words, “[John Proctor is the Villain is] about a classroom, an English class studying The Crucible, and the class has issues with John Proctor being the hero of the story because he acts like such a horrible person… [the show] looks great.”
There’s a multitude of other categories in the Tony awards, and true fans are invested in all of them. One thing’s for sure: this year’s Tony awards will not be one to forget.
