If last year was Broadway’s Season of the Hollywood Stars — with George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal and Kieran Culkin leading spring 2025 to steep box office heights (and ticket prices) — today’s Tony Award nominations just might suggest a backlash.
While some performers better known for TV or film roles made their Broadway debuts to the welcoming arms of Tony nominators — Rose Byrne, and Alden Ehrenreich come to mind — other stars of screens big and small went totally ignored.
Among them: Adrien Brody for The Fear of 13, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter (Waiting for Godot), Lea Michele (Chess), The Bear stars Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Dog Day Afternoon), Ayo Edebiri (Proof), Jean Smart (Call Me Izzy), Patrick Ball (The Pitt), Don Cheadle (Proof) and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone stars Cedric the Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson.
The nominees with notable screen presences who made today’s cut generally have equally strong stage careers, such as The Rocky Horror Show‘s Luke Evans, who has significant West End credits; Richard Thomas (The Balusters); Daniel Radcliffe (Every Brilliant Thing); Nathan Lane (Death of a Salesman); Christopher Abbott (Death of a Salesman); John Lithgow (Giant); and Mark Strong (Oedipus). Similarly, on the actress side, there’s crossover performers including Carrie Coon (Bug), Lesley Manville (Oedipus), Rachel Dratch (The Rocky Horror Show) and Ana Gasteyer (Schmigadoon!).
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So were Tony nominators fed up with carpetbagging West Coasters snatching up all those Broadway tickets and plaudits? Nah, probably not, though some of that sentiment might have crept in. More likely was a crowded field of fine performances this year that edged out even some of the better overlooked ones. Even though some critics found Edebiri’s performance in Proof a bit too internal, I thought it was perfect for her shy, withdrawn math prodigal character.
But was it better than Byrne in Fallen Angels? Coon in Bug? Susannah Flood in Liberation? Lesley Manville in Oedipus? Kelli O’Hara in Fallen Angels? Well, no, it wasn’t. I can’t imagine edging out any one of the nominees for Edebiri or anyone else. Same goes for her co-star Cheadle.
There were some nominations that seemed, well, off to me, or let’s say that went in a different direction than I would have. First and foremost: Laurie Metcalf’s shut out from lead actress/play for Little Bear Ridge Road (the actress scored a featured nom for Death of a Salesman). Perhaps nominators felt one shot was enough this year or that Metcalf’s two roles were a shade too similar in style and technique (a sad, dying aunt in one, a sad wife of a dying man in another), or maybe this was one way that some on Broadway could make their coolness to Scott Rudin (who produced Bear Ridge and Salesman) known. But if so, it didn’t work: Samuel D. Hunter’s Little Bear Ridge Road scored a Best Play nomination, and Arthur Miller’s Salesman landed nine nominations.
I’d say more genuine snubs, or at least failures to nominate that I take issue with, are for Kara Young, who steals Proof with a nuance-perfect performance (a nomination would have been her fifth consecutive; maybe nominators figured enough?), and Henson, excellent in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.
And finally, I’m pretty stunned that “Tempress” Chasity Moore is missing from the featured actress/musical slot. Her showstopping “Memory” from Cats: The Jellicle Ball managed to update that beloved and beautiful song without eliminating what’s made it so cherished all these decades: the soaring melody, the despair lightened finally by hope, the loneliness alleviated by community, all conveyed through Moore’s remarkable vocal chops. This one’s a head-scratcher.
Some pleasant surprises in today’s nominations, though:
- I was glad to see the music of the play Joe Turner’s Come and Gone get a best score nod. The bluesy interludes and gospel-African stomp-and-clap dance added significantly to the sense of heritage that August Wilson wrote into every word of his plays.
- Delightful to see both Byrne and O’Hara from Fallen Angels get recognized. They’re giving two of the best comic performances on Broadway right now — or I should say one of the best, because these two actresses are so in sync with each other they seem to operate as one big, hilarious and boozy entity.
- Although Ehrenreich was pretty much of a shoo-in for Becky Shaw, it was reassuring to see he didn’t get caught up in the anti-Hollywood sentiment (real or imagined). His performance as the nasty, emotionally wounded step-brother must be seen.
- I was afraid Layton Williams, who plays various roles in Titaníque (including a bewigged Tina Turner), might get lost among the more serious performances in town, and I’m thrilled that wasn’t the case.
- The wonderful June Squibb made well-deserved history today by becoming the oldest Tony nominee ever. At 96, Squibb, nominated in the featured actress/play category for her performance in Marjorie Prime, took the title from Lois Smith, who’d held the record for oldest performer nominee at 89 for 2020’s The Inheritance.
- I wasn’t a fan of either Beaches or The Fear of 13, but shutouts like today’s (Fear got two nominations, for lighting and sound) still sting. Beaches is a mess, but the performers, including a quartet of younger actresses, gave their all, and Fear is a well-meaning cry from the heart for the falsely accused. But there are no Tony categories for intentions.
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