Corpses play roles in several of this year’s Tony nominees, but that doesn’t mean voters are taking things lying down.
The 2025 winners are still up in the air in many cases and could depend on false moves by any number of people to upset the outcome.
Actors missing performances? That could be a factor, particularly since news of those “calling out” has become an internet thing. What 2025 has is plenty of equally deserving candidates — if one should falter.
So who wins? Who could be a spoiler? In advance of Sunday’s broadcast on CBS, here are our predictions:
Cole Escola plays Mary Todd Lincoln in the comedy, "Oh, Mary!" Escola was nominated for Best Actor and Best Play for his work.
BEST PLAY: “Oh, Mary!” Cole Escola’s look at the Lincoln White House is so smartly written you can’t ignore it. If there’s a spoiler, it’s Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Purpose,” which bested “Oh, Mary!” for the Pulitzer Prize.
BEST ACTOR/PLAY: Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!” Jon Michael Hill, “Purpose,” is a worthy spoiler if only because he narrates the play’s story and isn’t afraid to tell the truth. But this is Escola's to lose.
BEST ACTRESS/PLAY: Sarah Snook, “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Largely a one-person show, this has the “Succession” star moving mountains as a host of characters. Spoiler: Laura Donnelly, “The Hills of California.”
BEST FEATURED ACTOR/PLAY: Conrad Ricamora, the befuddled Abraham Lincoln in “Oh, Mary!” Spoiler: Gabriel Ebert, “John Proctor is the Villain.”
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS/PLAY: Kara Young, “Purpose,” who won this prize last year for “Purlie Victorious.” Spoiler: Jessica Hecht, “Eureka Day.”
BEST DIRECTOR/PLAY: Sam Pinkleton, “Oh, Mary!”; Spoiler: “The Hills of California.”
BEST REVIVAL/PLAY: “Yellow Face”; Spoiler: “Eureka Day.”
BEST MUSICAL: “Maybe Happy Ending” has all the right elements and seems like the likely winner. The only potential spoiler? “Death Becomes Her,” a lavishly produced musical that draws on the Meryl Streep/Goldie Hawn film for its power.
BEST ACTOR/MUSICAL: Darren Criss, “Maybe Happy Ending.” Jonathan Groff, however, has been getting some love for his performance as Bobby Darin in “Just In Time.”
BEST ACTRESS/MUSICAL: This is the big showdown. Will it be Audra McDonald, winning her seventh Tony for playing “Gypsy’s” mom? Or will it be Nicole Scherzinger, getting her first for wildly inventive “Sunset Blvd.”? We’re going with Scherzinger. She’s a force.
BEST FEATURED ACTOR/MUSICAL: Jak Malone, “Operation Mincemeat.” One song, “Dear Bill,” wins it for him. Any of the other nominees could be labeled a shocker.
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS/MUSICAL: Natalie Venetia Belcon, “Buena Vista Social Club.” If Joy Woods (“Gypsy”) is the spoiler that means McDonald is winning in the Best Actress category.
BEST DIRECTOR: Jamie Lloyd, “Sunset Blvd.” Way too inventive. Only a sweep by “Maybe Happy Ending” would give it to Michael Arden.
BEST REVIVAL: “Sunset Blvd.” “Gypsy” is possible, but that show is always revived.
In creative categories, look for “Maybe Happy Ending” to do well and “Death Becomes Her” to pick up some love. “Sunset Blvd.’s” lighting is fascinating; “Stranger Things” looms as the one to win best sets and more.
"The Tony Awards" airs Sunday night on CBS.
