Broadway's New Tony Icons: How Cole Escola, Sadie Sink and Fina Strazza Define the Theater Awards Race
For the first time as a native New Yorker, I pulled off the ultimate Broadway doubleheader — a 5 p.m. performance of the uproariously surreal 'Oh, Mary!' followed by the 7 p.m. punch of 'John Proctor Is the Villain.' Beyond making me homesick for $1.50 pizza slices, Kaiser rolls and the glistening grime that only New York City can serve, the experience confirmed one thing: Broadway is back. And it's never been more competitive.
As the 2025 Tony Awards approach, two genre-bending plays — 'Oh, Mary!' and 'John Proctor Is the Villain' — are setting the stage for one of the most high-stakes and history-making best play races in recent memory.
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With sold-out shows and rave reviews, 'Oh, Mary!' has cemented itself as one of the most inventive productions of the year. A surreal and hilariously unhinged imagining of Mary Todd Lincoln's pre-assassination descent, the play was written by and stars Cole Escola. Escola, who uses they/them pronouns, is nominated for lead actor in a play — and if they win, they'll become the first openly nonbinary performer in Tony history to earn the award for a role they authored themselves.
It would be a rare feat. Few performers have won a Tony for a play they wrote. Among them is Harvey Fierstein, who took home actor and best play for 'Torch Song Trilogy.' Escola would also become just the third openly nonbinary Tony winner, following 2023's trailblazing wins by J. Harrison Ghee ('Some Like It Hot') and Alex Newell ('Shucked').
Should Escola make history, it would signal Broadway's embrace of self-created, envelope-pushing performance art.
Just a few blocks away, 'John Proctor Is the Villain' is igniting its own cultural moment. Featuring 'Stranger Things' breakout Sadie Sink in a blistering lead role, the play reimagines 'The Crucible' through the lens of a modern-day high school classroom reckoning with trauma, power and inherited narratives.
Sink's raw, magnetic performance has drawn serious Tony buzz, placing her in the thick of a heated race against frontrunner Sarah Snook, whose work in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' has captivated critics.
Also making waves is 19-year-old Fina Strazza, nominated for featured actress in a play for her nuanced performance as Beth Powell, a devout and emotionally fragile student. If Strazza wins, she would become one of the youngest Tony winners ever — joining Frankie Michaels ('Mame,' age 11) and Daisy Eagan ('The Secret Garden,' also 11).
Strazza's path to the podium won't be easy. She's up against powerhouse Kara Young, who continues to make her own Tony history. Young is the first Black actress to earn three consecutive noms, having been recognized for 'Clyde's' (2022), 'Cost of Living' (2023), and her 2024 win for 'Purlie Victorious,' and now expanded to four. A repeat victory this year would put her among a small group of performers — including Laurie Metcalf, Judith Light and Gwen Verdon — to win back-to-back Tonys.
The Best Play race this year showcases Broadway at its boldest: new voices, provocative themes and fearless performances. But it hasn't been without surprises.
With history-making nominees like Escola, breakout stars like Sink and Strazza, this year's Tonys are more than a place to give out trophies — they're a snapshot of Broadway's new era: inclusive, unpredictable, and unapologetically bold.
The Tony Awards will take place on June 8.
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