Broadway's Returns Are up and the Tonys Are Proof It's as Diverse as Ever

Newsweek

5 days ago

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"In this day and age, where the arts seem to be a little bit under attack right now, I, more than I already did, understand the importance of the arts," says Audra McDonald, who recently picked up her 11th Tony Award nomination for her take on Mama Rose in Gypsy. "The importance of telling stories and audiences coming together and experiencing our own humanity."
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the arts hard, but particularly New York City's iconic Broadway. Theaters were dark for 18 months, the longest shutdown in history, with a loss of billions of dollars. The climb back from that has been slow. But the energetic vibe of the 2024-2025 season has box office data to reinforce the sense of optimism.
What's also notable about Broadway bouncing back is the range of shows that are box office hits. While politicians and institutions target diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the recipe for success on Broadway and at the Tonys in 2025 seems to be all-out diversification.
Audra McDonald and Joy Woods in "Gypsy."
Audra McDonald and Joy Woods in "Gypsy."
Julieta Cervantes
"People are just hungry to be surprised," Conrad Ricamora, Tony-nominated for Oh, Mary! says. "I'm just happy that we're finally telling the truth about our first Filipino gay president, which was Abraham Lincoln." [laughs]
Oh, Mary!, Cole Escola's send up of Mary Todd Lincoln and her path to cabaret stardom, is just one example of a Tony-nominated show proving it can be diverse and financially successful. There's Maybe Happy Ending, the South Korean musical starring Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen as two futuristic robots in love; Purpose, the Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a prominent Black political family in Chicago; Yellow Face, the semi-autobiographical play by David Henry Hwang starring Daniel Dae Kim; the campy musical take on the film Death Becomes Her; and, of course, the revival of Gypsy, what many consider the best musical of all time, now with an all-Black cast, helmed by the most awarded performer in Tony history, six-time winner McDonald.
Buena Vista Social Club performs on stage.
Buena Vista Social Club performs on stage.
Matthew Murphy
'Fever Pitch'
Broadway's 2024-2025 season hit $1.8 billion in box office revenues, surpassing its previous record from the same week in May during the 2018-2019 season—for the first time since the pandemic.
"The grosses have not overall exceeded 2018-2019, which had been our high-water mark," Jason Laks, president of the Broadway League, tells Newsweek. "Season to date...we are ahead of where we were in 2018-2019, which is wonderful.
John Pirruccello and Kieran Culkin in "Glengarry Glen Ross."
John Pirruccello and Kieran Culkin in "Glengarry Glen Ross."
Emilio Madrid
"It is worth noting that 20 percent or so of our box office is reflected by those three star-driven plays. So those numbers are really buoyed by Good Night, and Good Luck; Glengarry Glen Ross and Othello."
These revenue numbers were hard fought for an industry battered by the pandemic, and the impact of this success can be felt by the talent.
"It's so exciting, especially bouncing back from the COVID of it all," Jonathan Groff, Tony-nominated for his performance in Just in Time, says. "I know that the theater community and the city is still coming back from that. So, the fact that this wave of this year is reaching that fever pitch is really, really exciting."
Broadway's "Death Becomes Her."
Broadway's "Death Becomes Her."
Franz Szony
"It feels like Broadway's really back," Megan Hilty, Tony-nominated for her performance in Death Becomes Her, says. "The audiences are really back."
But Laks is quick to caution being overly optimistic.
"I don't think we are all the way back. I don't think we can say that. We're out of the proverbial woods, as it were, I think we are returning as New York City is returning."
The cast of "BOOP!"
The cast of "BOOP!"
Matthew Murphy
That said, Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, notes that shows like Oh, Mary!—which is unconventional and doesn't have household-known Hollywood talent—has proven to be a hit.
"Oh, Mary! is not a star-driven thing, and it is a hard ticket to get. And that was built, I think, completely by word of mouth, starting off-Broadway, coming to Broadway and then got extended, extended, extended. So I think we are seeing a success story."
"It's a really interesting celebration of how so many rivers can lead here," says Jacobs-Jenkins, Tony-nominated author of Purpose, which first opened in Chicago. "Not everything starts on Broadway. But Broadway gets to benefit from the kind of hearts and minds of so many pockets of this broader field."
Christine Cornish, Jonathan Groff and Julia Grondin of "Just In Time."
Christine Cornish, Jonathan Groff and Julia Grondin of "Just In Time."
Matthew Murphy/Evan Zimmerman
Diversity Equals Bank
"If you look back in the history of the Tony Awards, anytime there was diverse content, for the most part, it recognized it," Hitchens says. "Jason [Laks] and I talked about this a lot; when you do the right thing over a long period of time, and you make people feel welcome, then we get bigger and broader.
"People talk about diversity and inclusion, and they say it's not a program, it's a principle; it's been a principle of this entity for a long time."
Left to right: Jon Michael Hill (Naz), Kara Young (Aziza), and Harry Lennix (Solomon) in "Purpose."
Left to right: Jon Michael Hill (Naz), Kara Young (Aziza), and Harry Lennix (Solomon) in "Purpose."
Marc J. Franklin
From Kim becoming the first Asian American to be nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Yellow Face to Oh, Mary!'s gender-fluid portrayal of history, this year's Tony nominees represent a year that will not only be remembered for its box office successes, but also the principle of diversity Hitchens is referring to.
"I didn't know that there was a space for a show like this [Oh, Mary!] on Broadway," Ricamora says. "But I think the thing it's teaching me is that people are hungry for authenticity."
For Kim, the celebration of diversity leads to a greater understanding of the moment we're living in politically.
Daniel Dae Kim, left, in "Yellow Face."
Daniel Dae Kim, left, in "Yellow Face."
Joan Marcus
"These are stories that we're hearing in the news right now. We're hearing of stories of American citizens being deported, and these are things that Asian Americans have faced since we've been in this country."
He's also very aware of what his historic nomination means.
What some of the stars up for a Tony Award have to say about their nomination.
What some of the stars up for a Tony Award have to say about their nomination.
Theo Wargo, Bruce Glikas/WireImage via Getty Images
"It's part of the story of being Asian American. Traditionally, we have been overlooked, and we have been made to feel invisible at times.... I look forward to the day when it's not just a nomination, that there's an Asian American who actually wins this category."
Real Women Have Curves' Justina Machado can relate.
"People that are used to seeing themselves do not understand how important and powerful it is," Machado says. "You just don't get it. And then when somebody does, it affects them."
Tony Macht, Cole Escola, Conrad Ricamora and Bianca Leigh in "Oh, Mary!".
Tony Macht, Cole Escola, Conrad Ricamora and Bianca Leigh in "Oh, Mary!".
Emilio Madrid
But that change isn't just felt on stage, it's also having an impact in the audience, says Celia Keenan-Bolger, Tony-award winning actress and recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for her advocacy work.
"Wherever you live, you could come to New York City and you could see something that's for you, and you could sit next to somebody from a different state who might not have the same set of beliefs as you, and you could share an experience together. And these days, that is something."
And for many, like Will Aronson, co-writer of Maybe Happy Ending with Hue Park, the very essence of live theater is rooted in diversity.
Danny Burstein with McDonald in "Gypsy."
Danny Burstein with McDonald in "Gypsy."
Julieta Cervantes
"One of the things that I think drew us to writing for musical theater in general was that it seemed like this really big tent, for lack of a better word, where you could have Sweeney Todd, Hairspray—you can have these vastly different things that are all great and all really different. This year is like a perfect example of that."
'Thrilled' To Be a Part of It
"I am not the queen. There is no queen of the Tony," says the most Tony nominated and the most awarded performer in Broadway history, McDonald, when praised for her domination. That sense of humbleness is felt among this year's nominees.
"All of this talent, all these different shows all happening at the same time in one city. It's so special to be in this city at this time," says Groff, who won the Tony last year for Merrily We Roll Along. He's a longtime fan of the awards. "I watched the Tonys as a kid. Recorded them on VHS."
Jonathan Groff at the opening night after-party for Bobby Darin musical "Just in Time" on Broadway on April 23, 2025, in New York City.
Jonathan Groff at the opening night after-party for Bobby Darin musical "Just in Time" on Broadway on April 23, 2025, in New York City.
Bruce Glikas/WireImage
And it's the power and impact of a nomination that matters the most to first-time nominee Kim.
"It gives me goosebumps, literally, because I think that's the power of what we do as storytellers. We get to speak truth to power in a way that is not in a classroom, is not in a way that tells you about the experience of America, it actually shows you, and I think that's a really effective way of spotlighting and increasing our understanding of the world around us."
Similarly, Death Becomes Her's Hilty says she's just hoping to give audiences a break from whatever is going on outside the walls of the theater.
Daniel Dae Kim attends the "Yellow Face" screening at Whitby Hotel on April 14, 2025, in New York City.
Daniel Dae Kim attends the "Yellow Face" screening at Whitby Hotel on April 14, 2025, in New York City.
Theo Wargo/Getty
"We don't require anything of the audience, other than to check your troubles at the door and come laugh with us and at us for a couple of hours."
Time will tell whether Broadway will be able sustain these successes in both the box office tallies and who gets to tell their stories on the big stage.
"We are going to enter some difficult times," Hitchens says. "But at the end of the day, what I believe in is that this should not be partisan, because everything that theater touches, it makes better. It makes the economy better. It makes education better. Nobody's been able to come up with something that it doesn't make better.
Megan Hilty receives her caricature in honor of her performance in "Death Becomes Her" on Broadway, at Sardi's on April 24, 2025, in New York City.
Megan Hilty receives her caricature in honor of her performance in "Death Becomes Her" on Broadway, at Sardi's on April 24, 2025, in New York City.
Bruce Glikas/Getty
"Sadly, we learned what it was like to have a day without art and theater, which is that [COVID] affected all of our local businesses, the economies.... I think this is a moment for us to own that we entertain the hell out of people."
And for the relucent queen of the Tonys, McDonald, she's most focused on the present state of theater and how the Tony Awards reflect that.
"It's an incredible, incredible group of nominees, in all the categories, and not just the nominees. Everybody who is doing work on Broadway and off-Broadway and in any theater anywhere is a special soul, and so I'm just thrilled to be a part of that community."