Pulitzer drama ‘Purpose' takes top play at Broadway's 2025 Tonys
NEW YORK: The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama 'Purpose' won the 2025 best play award at the annual Tony Awards during a gala ceremony on Sunday night, capping a record-grossing post-pandemic Broadway theater season.
Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play follows a family whose carefully constructed legacy unravels when their youngest son returns home with an unexpected guest, exposing buried secrets and faith-based conflict.
Buoyed by a post-pandemic rebound, the 2024-25 season grossed a record $1.89 billion in revenue and drew 14.7 million attendees, the Broadway League said.
Host Cynthia Erivo, the 'Wicked' film star, opened the show at Radio City Music Hall with a walk to the stage from the dressing room that mimicked actor Tom Francis' viral post-intermission live outdoor Manhattan stroll as he sings the title song in 'Sunset Blvd.'
TV's 'Succession' star Sarah Snook, who made her Broadway debut this season, won best leading actress in a play for her tour-de-force performance of more than two dozen roles in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray.'
Francis Jue won best actor in a featured role in a play for 'Yellow Face.' He thanked the Asian American actors who came before him and addressed the next generation: 'This community sees you and I hope that encourages you to be brave, and to dream and to dream big.'
The original cast of 'Hamilton,' including the show's creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, reunited to perform an electric medley in honor of the musical's 10th anniversary.
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The number also served as a re-introduction to Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, a role he will resume in the production later this year for a limited time. Kara Young, who was nominated for a Tony in the role of featured actress in a play four years in a row, won for the second year in a row for her role in the 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama 'Purpose.'
Natalie Venetia Belcon won the award for best featured actress in a musical for her role as Cuban singer Omara Portuondo in 'Buena Vista Social Club.'
Other awards remained to be announced.
Alongside the creative highs this year were economic realities plaguing producers and audiences alike.
Premium seats for some productions run upwards from $400, prompting concern that Broadway is increasingly out of reach for casual and younger theater lovers. Even with lotteries and rush ticket programs, demand-driven pricing has become the norm.
Rising production costs a factor
Jason Laks, president of The Broadway League, said in a statement that rising costs have affected every facet of production, making it harder and harder to bring live theater to the stage.
The Broadway League presents the awards along with the American Theatre Wing.
This season showcased a wide range of voices and perspectives, with many shows being led by Asian American, Black, Middle Eastern and Hispanic actors and resulting in some historic nominations.
Four-time Tony-winning actor and writer Harvey Fierstein received a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in the Theater.
'I dedicate this award to the people in the dark,' he said, 'and I offer my most profound thanks to the people in my community.'
Tony winner Celia Keenan-Bolger received the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for her dedication to advocacy work through the arts, including helping to found the Gavin Creel Fellowship, which Keenan-Bolger said will benefit young actors who don't come from money when they arrive in New York City, as Creel requested. Creel died at age 48 from a rare form of cancer in September.
Darren Criss, a Tony nominee this year for 'Maybe Happy Ending,' and Renée Elise Goldsberry, who won a 2016 Tony for her performance in 'Hamilton,' announced technical awards in a pre-show ceremony which included best original score for 'Maybe Happy Ending'; best costume design for 'Death Becomes Her'; best scenic design for a musical for 'Maybe Happy Ending' and best lighting for 'Sunset Blvd.'
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