Once Upon a Time, They Considered Giving Up. Now They're 2025 Tony Nominees (Exclusive)

Yahoo

09-06-2025

Five years ago on March 12, 2020, the show did not go on. As COVID-19 spread like wildfire throughout the United States, Broadway was ultimately forced to go dark. It was a devastating blow to New York City's vibrant and beloved theater community, putting thousands of performers and creative artists out of work for 18 months — the industry's longest shutdown in history.
Thespians, however, pushed forward, and the creation of new art never ceased. 'There were so many works that were cooking,' Gypsy's Tony-nominated featured actressJoy Woods exclusively tells Parade, 'and now they're finally out of the oven.'
In fact, 'this is like a post-pandemic Golden Era,' LaTanya Richardson Jackson says as she proudly dons her Tony Awards nominee pin at the annual meet and greet with this year's star-studded honorees. 'I am grateful to be a part of a season that is extraordinary.'
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Extraordinary it is, with a little something for everyone. Cuban culture comes alive in the critically acclaimed musical Buena Vista Social Club. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play Purpose, starring Jackson (wife of Samuel L. Jackson), explores Black culture and politics under the direction of Phylicia Rashad. Comedian Cole Escola's unapologetically queer take on Mary Todd Lincoln in their 80-minute Oh, Mary! has audiences begging for more. And fans of the Netflix hit Stranger Things are rushing to the Marquis Theatre to fully immerse themselves in the Upside Down courtesy of Stranger Things: The First Shadow's already Tony Award-winning illusions and technical effects.
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Plus, this year's lineup of plays and musicals is jam-packed with star power, from George Clooney's Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck to Pussycat Dolls alum Nicole Scherzinger's triumphant turn as Norma Desmond in the much-talked-about revival of Sunset Boulevard.
But the road to Broadway — even for the brightest of stars — is not always easy. 'I remember several years ago when no one would give me a chance and take me seriously in the space that I'm at now, and I put on a [cabaret] show at Django at the Roxy [Hotel],' Scherzinger tells Parade of the 2019 solo act she staged herself to perform musical theater classics. 'You have to keep your mind and your heart open, because you never know when that unexpected dream opportunity is going to come. I didn't know that playing Norma Desmond was going to be my unexpected dream role and change my life. I kept an open mind and heart, and I trusted, and I was brave.'
PERSEVERING THROUGH IT ALL
It takes courage to work in live theater. Rejection is part of the gig, and even when an artist is lucky enough to land a job, they must bare their soul for all to see — and be prepared if the reviews are not in their favor.
Long before Conrad Ricamora starred on the ABC series How to Get Away with Murder and was Tony-nominated for playing Abraham Lincoln in Oh, Mary!, he was just another up-and-coming actor taking a stab at Shakespeare. 'I was doing Romeo and Juliet in Philadelphia, and I was in my early 20s,' he explains. 'I was playing Romeo. I got this scathing review in the Philadelphia Inquirer. And it was the first time I'd ever been reviewed, and I made the mistake of looking at the review, and I then was in a depression for, like, two months. And I [thought], 'Well, if everyone hates you, do you still want to do this?' … And I told myself, 'Yeah.' The answer was yes.'
Jonathan Groff, famous for hit projects like Glee, Frozenand Hamilton, had a similar experience when he was just starting out. As an aspiring actor who moved to the Big Apple from Lancaster, Pa., with big dreams and a big heart, Groff wanted nothing more than to be on Broadway. At that point, he was also still learning more about himself and his sexuality.
'The first month that I moved to New York, I was waiting tables at the [now closed] Chelsea Grill of Hell's Kitchen on 9th between 46th and 47th,' Broadway's Just in Time star recalls. 'Lots of rejection. Lots of like really failed dance calls — going to dance calls and getting cut and feeling like, 'What am I doing here?' And I remember going back to my apartment and taking down the Bible that my Mennonite grandmother had given me upon moving to New York and being like, 'This isn't making me feel better.' Putting the Bible back up on the shelf and running to Central Park and standing in front of the Bethesda Fountain and looking up at that angel and being like, 'I got this.'
'I was feeling the magic of New York City, the magic of Central Park, the magic of the Angels in America HBO special that had just come out. And feeling like I was also about to step into my gay self for the first time. That was the moment — looking at that statue — that I was like, 'Everything's going to be OK. This is a magical place. I want to be here.' And now here we are.'
The theater does, in fact, have a funny way of letting you know you're right where you ought to be. At least that was the case for Jasmine Amy Rogers, Tony-nominated in her Broadway debut as the iconic cartoon character Betty Boop. Before the theater community suddenly lost beloved actor Gavin Creel last year at age 48 following a brief but aggressive battle with cancer, he encouraged Rogers to keep following her dreams.
'It was August of 2023, and I was just auditioning for everything that I could, and I wasn't getting anything,' she remembers. 'And I actually had an audition for Gavin Creel's [musical] Walk on Through, and I didn't get it, but he sent me the most beautiful email, and it lit a fire underneath me. A couple weeks later, I went and booked this. So honestly, I feel like in a way, I have him to thank.'
Though Rogers didn't know Creel as well as some of her peers (he and Groff dated around 2009, and Groff credits Creel for helping him embrace his sexuality), 'In those brief auditions, he was so kind and giving,' she says. 'And he went out of his way to make sure he introduced himself and hugged me at the end, and he just cared so much. It means the world. And I hope that I can be that person to somebody one day.'
But even when an artist feels like they've made it on Broadway, the hustle never ends. 'There was one time I was working for a Tasker app,' explains , who is nominated for his first Tony Award for his performance as real-life robber Elmer McCurdy in the musical Dead Outlaw. 'I was building a cabinet for someone in their house, and they were like, 'Did I see you in War Horse on Broadway?' And I was like, 'Yes… Where would you like this cabinet?' So yeah, highs and lows — that's what it's all about. But I'm grateful to be an actor. I used to resent that, but now I love it because I appreciate the highs so much. And the lows are just the time to sort of gather yourself and look forward to what's next.'
See more photos of the Tony Award-nominated performers below:
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A SPACE FOR EVERYONE
As the world continues to evolve, so do the stories theater artists put forth. Broadway's diverse landscape 'feels correct,' Branden Jacobs Jenkins, who wrote the Pulitzer-winning play Purpose, says of this season's offering. 'It feels accurate. It's the world I moved through. It's our professional world. And I see these people everywhere. They're incredible.'
In a time when representation matters more than ever, Broadway's current class of Tony nominees come from all different races and cultural backgrounds, a fact they're especially proud of. 'This has been a historic season for Asian-Americans in particular,' says Francis Jue, a featured actor nominee for the play Yellow Face, which explores the issue of yellowface casting (or using a non-Asian actor for a race-specific role).
Jue points out, 'It's the very first time in 78 years of Tony history that an Asian-American actor, Daniel Dae Kim, has been nominated as lead actor in a Broadway play. It's the first time in 78 years of Tony history that two Asian-American actors, Conrad Ricamora and myself, are nominated in the same category for a play on Broadway.'
Gypsy's Woods, who plays Louise opposite Audra McDonald's Momma Rose, never thought she had a chance to play the woman who would become Gypsy Rose Lee, a real-life burlesque entertainer in the 1920s and 30s who was white.
'When we're taught [the musical] in school, you are shown clips, and you don't see anybody in those clips that looks like you,' Woods explains. 'So, no, I didn't think [I'd play this role]. And when I saw the day that they announced that they were doing Audra [in] Gypsy, I remember leaving a matinee of The Notebook [in which she previously starred] and seeing the sign and saying, 'Oh my God, I can't wait to see that. That's going to be so good. Whoever plays Louise, they're going to kill it.' I did not think it was going to be me.'
The stories themselves are varied as well. Big, splashy musicals like the comedy Death Becomes Her play alongside works with more serious subject matter such as John Proctor Is the Villain, the play starring Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink that is set during a time when survivors of sexual assault felt empowered to come forward.
'We start right in the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2018, which is seven years ago now,' explains the show's Tony-nominated featured actress Fina Strazza. 'But the play feels more relevant than ever. I think there's a lot going on in our world with some pretty powerful men that probably shouldn't be so powerful. So it's nice to sit in the theater for an hour or two and experience that — and hopefully be motivated to make change in small communities.'
Overall, as the calendar inches closer to the June 8 Tony Awards ceremony at Radio City Music Hall with Wicked star Cynthia Erivo as its host, the vibe is nothing but celebratory.
Darren Criss, Tony-nominated for his performance as a robot named Oliver in the endearing new musical Maybe Happy Ending, reveals to Parade that he has a group chat with his former Glee pals, which includes Groff — whom he is up against for best lead actor in a musical.
'We got a whole group thread going, man,' Criss says. 'It's the nice thing about working on Broadway. We're all on the same campus. We're all within several blocks of each other. We all know each other. We all know each other's work. We've all, you know, been in rooms together before. We're not all separated. There's a real fraternity there, and that's not just some canned line. It's true. We're all working [in the] same village. It's such a fun, amazing thing. We all grew up loving this so much. The fact that we get to do it is already such a huge 'W,' so getting to be in a category together for a fancy party is just a fun little bonus.'
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With additional reporting by Garid Garcia.
See photos of the Tony Award-nominated creative team members below:
View the 41 images of this gallery on the original article