The 2025 Tonys: 'Give It Everything Or Die Trying'

When producer Jeffrey Richards and director Michael Arden separately came to him with a robot musical called Maybe Happy Ending, Darren Criss knew it had to be something special. And he became enamored of it, seizing the chance to eventually step into a fully ready production and be part of the magic. In the one-act, lovely Korean musical — where fireflies represent life’s fleeting beauty — Criss and Helen J. Shen play Oliver and Claire, two helperbots in Korea who develop a poignant personal connection. Actor/singer Criss became widely known as openly gay alumnus Blaine Anderson on Glee and won Emmy and Golden Globe awards for playing Gianni Versace’s killer, Andrew Cunanan, on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.. Now he’s nabbed his first Tony nomination for his robot portrayal and he’s over the moon about the dazzlingly designed show’s across-the-boards success.

“It’s the most accessible show I’ve ever been in,” gushes the affable Criss. “I’ve never been in a show that people come back for this many times. People want to bring people they love. It’s a show for people who know everything about theater. It’s a show for people who know nothing about theater. No matter who you are, this show should speak to you — and if not, maybe you’re a robot,” he says, laughing.

One of his favorite elements of MHE is the breakout performance of costar Shen, who, like him, is a graduate of the University of Michigan. “It’s a privilege to be present — to get a seat in the house — for a stunning debut for the books,” he says.

Criss will also be present on Sunday night, when he and Renée Elise Goldsberry host The Tony Awards: Act One, a live pre-show on Pluto TV from 6:40 to 8:00 PM. And then come the Tonys! And if that’s not enough on his plate, he and his wife — producer/entrepreneur Mia — happen to have two adorable children, aged one and three.

As an actor, Criss wants to keep surprising the masses. “I enjoy confusing people,” he admits. “I hear stuff like, ‘Oh, you’re an actor?’ and ‘I didn’t realize you did music!’”

“It’s been such a whirlwind,” says Helen J. Shen, who’s making her Broadway debut in the 10-times-Tony-nominated Maybe Happy Ending, after making her mark off-Broadway (Teeth) and elsewhere. “Broadway has always been a dream of mine, but it’s not something I could have manifested and predicted,” she enthuses. “The fact that it happened this quickly and on this scale is beyond my wildest dreams. Every day, I’m having another ‘pinch-me’ moment.”

New Jersey–born, via parents from Shanghai, Shen is a 25-year-old talent who went from playing classical piano in European competitions to starring in musical theater in America. She’s superb as the tender robot, and soars on “How To Be Not Alone,” where she starts entertaining the complex but worthwhile process of letting another being into your personal sphere. “I love that song,” she relates. “The writer pointed out that it’s not a romantic love song, so it’s not the time to be saccharine.”

Re: her fellow bot, Darren Criss: “He’s such a student. He’s always learning and trying to better himself. I love his youthful energy and willingness to be new at something. It’s his first cast album and first time originating a role. At times, he’s a mentor, and other times we share the newness.”

As Shen’s own newness starts to shed, what’s in her future? “What happens when your dream comes true so soon?” she wonders out loud. “Now what?” It will be rewarding to observe.

“I was uncomfortable,” Joy Woods admits, about her insecurity when she started playing the awkward Louise, who eventually becomes Gypsy Rose Lee, in the hit revival of Gypsy. “I hadn’t nailed the character and I didn’t have the confidence to know I was doing it justice. And I was with vets [Tony winners Audra McDonald as her domineering Mama Rose and Danny Burstein as fascinated manager Herbie] onstage.”

Perhaps adding to the performance pressure is that this is a landmark production spotlighting Black characters — and as Woods explains it, Josephine Baker’s aesthetics have been introduced into the proceedings (“She was the most prominent burlesque woman of color”). What the refreshingly humble Woods — a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC — came to realize is that Louise simply wants to be seen and heard. She wants Mama to notice her.

And Woods (a Catherine Parr replacement in Six and Middle Allie in The Notebook) has arrived. “I’m getting my footing,” she contends. No kidding! She nails the stripping, the dramatics, and also the lighter moments — such as the song “Together,” with her, McDonald, and Burstein playfully camping it up. “We have so much fun,” she exults. “They’re delightful.”

As for getting Tony-nominated for Best Performance By an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical on her third Broadway outing? “It’s pretty surreal,” coos Woods. “I certainly didn’t expect it, especially with this extraordinary season.” Her future goals? “To learn. And grow up. Empathy is involved in what we do. Being a good actor is being a good person.”

Operation Mincemeat is a hilarious British musical with a cast of five in multiple roles, telling the fascinating true story of how a repurposed corpse managed to stave off the Nazis and help us win WWII. Tony nominee Jak Malone is a standout as MI5 employee Hester Leggatt, and other characters. He says that the cast’s adrenalized, manic energy “comes from having no choice. You have to give 100% or go home. Give it everything you have or die trying.”

In Malone’s case, he ends up delivering “Dear Bill,” a potent ballad that stops the show (and which I won’t give away; everyone possible needs to experience this four-Tony-nominated romp in person). “I feel like I’m sitting on a secret,” he admits about the dramatic change of tone his song ultimately effects. “I’m thinking, ‘Enjoy this, everyone, because in a minute, I’m going to shatter your hearts with this tale of grief!’”

Malone’s own story is far more lighthearted. He grew up in Merseyside, England, loving Broadway cast albums and desperately wanting to perform on our stages. “Broadway was this beacon of joy to me,” he relates. “I thought, ‘I’d love to go there and find joy’ — and that’s what’s happened!”

Best known for playing fashion blogger Haley Dunphy on Modern Family, Manhattan-born Sarah Hyland stepped into Broadway’s hit musical The Great Gatsby as shallow socialite Daisy Buchanan in February, and is loving it. As she puts it: “The story is still so relatable — so much has changed since the 1920s, but a lot has not, like the classism and misogyny. And for [creators] Kait Kerrigan, Jason Howland, and Nathan Tysen to turn it into this glitzy and glamorous musical and bring it to light and life, along with all the deceit, the betrayal, and the heartbreak, is so beautiful.” As for Daisy, Hyland acknowledges that a lot of people hate her, but she happens to be stuck in an abusive relationship and she’s also trapped in the 1920s. “She’s a survivor and she’s vulnerable,” says Hyland, “and I think her vulnerability makes her strong.” But of course, adds the actress, the only winner in this narrative is always going to be Daisy’s brutish husband Tom Buchanan, and him alone.

On a lighter note: Did Hyland learn ensemble acting from her time on Modern Family? “Yes! I’ve always felt I’m just an ensemble actor, and I think it’s a good thing. It means you’re not there for yourself. You’re there for everyone else.” But the best education of all, she says, laughing, “was singing show tunes in the corner with Jesse Tyler Ferguson!”

Andrew Durand lies still in a coffin for Act Two of Dead Outlaw, but don’t worry, he has plenty to do in the first half.

Georgia-born Durand plays Elmer McCurdy, the real-life title character who went from small-time crook to gawked-at corpse in carnival shows. And now, he’s nominated for Best Performance By an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, and feels very much alive.

Durand will never be standard leading-man material, which is probably the best thing about him. He’s always shone in offbeat musicals like Head Over Heels, Shucked, and his current show, while steering clear of more commercial stuff, whether by choice or by instinct. He remembers auditioning as a replacement Christian in Moulin Rouge! The Musical and not being able to connect with the material. “I couldn’t find a specific point of view,” he admits, which wasn’t all that surprising. That tourist-driven “can-can” was better left to someone more mainstream to “do do.”

But playing McCurdy happens to provide the quirkiness he craves, and, even better, it’s not presented in a completely black-and-white manner. Durand likes the way glimmers of the character’s humanity are shown, where the future corpse might actually follow the path to success and decency. That he ultimately doesn’t is what provides the drama.

Durand’s own path started when he acted with the local Playhouse at age 10 and loved the experience — “Adults acting goofy onstage, and also letting me do stuff like paint sets and sell popcorn.” Well, the treats are a bit pricier now since Durand has started to carve out his own legend. Says he: “I’ve loved this community since I was 10. To have that reception reflected back at me feels really good. I walk through rooms of other Tony nominees and realize, ‘Oh, yes, I do belong here.’ I guess I’ve slowly and subtly worked my way up.”

One of the delights of Real Women Have Curves — about a factory of female immigrants in 1980s L.A. straining to make a 200-dress deadline — is the irresistible Justina Machado, the Chicago-born actress from Six Feet Under and many other TV/streaming credits. As Carmen Garcia, Machado has to not only stitch like a demon, she has to learn to sew up a problem involving her daughter (Ana, played by Tatianna Córdoba) needing the space to grow. “Carmen wants her to do great things,” says the ebullient Machado, “but the great things she wants her to do.”

“Sounds like my mother,” I laughed, and she replied, “Mine too.”

“I’m Puerto Rican from Chicago,” Tony-nominated Machado exulted with fire. “People forget that Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. It’s so disgusting what’s happening to immigrants in this country. Yes, the show is timely, but the situation has been a part of this community for a long time.”

Naturally, the show touches on that subject, along with some lighter themes. One highlight, the metaphorical song “Adios, Andrés,” has Machado wackily thinking she’s pregnant when in fact she’s experiencing menopause. (“Andrés, who comes every month, ain’t coming no more,” she is bluntly told by a co-worker.) Another showstopper is the title song, where all the factory women shed their outer garments and sing out with pride. Machado says they had an intimacy counselor work out the song with them in rehearsal, “so we felt safe.”

Interestingly, the actress played the daughter, Ana, in a nonmusical version of the same show, back in 1992. “But I don’t even remember Ana,” she exclaims. “That was 32 years ago!” That’s okay. Her Carmen is helping us through.

Jennifer Simard has not only received acclaim for the year’s most purely enjoyable musical, Death Becomes Her — based on the 1992 film farce about warring ex-best-friends battling for longevity — but she’s trending on TikTok because of it. Her character’s mid-show statement — “That was rude. That was pretty fucking rude” (pronounced after she’s been shot by her rival) — has become popular on social media, and the wildest people have been adopting it. In fact, while many of us have spent our lives lip-syncing to Madonna, Madge herself posted a video of herself lip-syncing to Simard!

A deadpan scream as vengeful author Helen Sharp, New Hampshire–born Simard has bagged her third Tony nomination in the process. (Previous ones were for Disaster! and Company.) Accessing her ample comic gifts, Simard makes the character quirky and complicated — two words she approves of because they describe herself (“though I think I was quirkier in my youth”). In fact, more than just an actress, she’s studying psychology, readily quotes Walt Whitman (“I am large. I contain multitudes”), and has decided that “Age is a state of mind. You always have an opportunity to live your best life.” The nomination is obviously part of that, though Simard cracks, “If you ever want to see the most competitive category, look for Jennifer Simard’s name!” Aww. That’s pretty fucking rude of them, lol.

Was there any concern that — until plotlines resolve — DBH could be perceived as a musical about women hating each other? “[Costar] Megan Hilty and I talked about that,” says Simard, whose all-time icons are Madeline Kahn and Bernadette Peters. “But the show is a love story between two women. True hate is about indifference. They’re not indifferent to each other. They make each other alive.” Along with the help of a little potion, perhaps.

We now know why Mary Todd Lincoln had such issues. It turns out hubby Abe Lincoln was diddling with guys the whole time, at least according to Cole Escola’s smash camp comedy, Oh, Mary! Tony-nominated Conrad Ricamora — who was Oliver Hampton in How To Get Away With Murder — is hilarious as the philandering president, with Escola a scream as the wacky wife, who has her own secret — she’s fantasizing about becoming a cabaret star.

Ricamora grew up in California, where his school didn’t have acting courses — just Speech and Debate. But in college he went to a drama class, “and I was hooked,” especially when a randomly assigned monologue from Lanford Wilson’s Lemon Sky tapped into his yearnings for his mom (who’d divorced dad when Conrad was a kid).

Ricamora says there’s plenty of evidence that, indeed, Honest Abe was gay or bi. Whenever Mary was away, Abe shared his bed with a soldier — and not for warmth, either. Ricamora credits director Sam Pinkleton for daring to cast him (part Filipino) in the role, whereas so many offers tend to be of the stereotypical King and I or Flower Drum Song persuasion.

He's also grateful for Escola — “the most alive and present person I’ve ever acted with. They’re never calculating their next choice or existing in their bubble.”

Is it weird going up against his old Soft Power costar Francis Jue (Yellow Face) for the Tony? “I don’t have that mindset. I played competitive tennis growing up — that was different. But dramatizing Tony battles is for gay vloggers: ‘Let me tell you why she’s the best!’” He laughs, adding, “Though of course I’ll watch that!”

If he wins on Sunday, will he make a fiery gay activist speech? “Oh, no,” Ricamora deadpans. “I’m not gay or Asian anymore! Back in the closet!

In Jamie Lloyd’s dramatic reimagination of Sunset Boulevard, aging diva Norma Desmond (Nicole Scherzinger) is pretty much batshit, whereas a younger woman — wannabe Hollywood hotshot Betty Schaefer — is more logically calculating, hoping to get her screenplays noticed, thanks to her association with pal Joe Gillis (Tom Francis). British actress Grace Hodgett Young makes her Broadway debut as Betty, and says she initially wasn’t aware of Lloyd’s avant-garde approach to the material, which ended up involving giant screens, smoke machines, and cell phones. “I had no idea what I was in for,” she says, smiling. “At the audition, he kept saying, ‘Make it smaller.’ Then I realized it was because we were going to be on camera.”

The result galvanized U.K. audiences, but Hodgett Young says American crowds have been even more vocal about it. “The audiences are much louder,” she says. “In the West End, they’re very British and polite.” Here, Scherzinger gets a standing ovation in the middle of every single performance. “She’s really the hardest working person I’ve ever worked with,” gushes Hodgett Young. “She is always seeking to learn.”

An explosive talent, Gracie Lawrence sings like Christina Aguilera crossed with Streisand, but with her own quirky style — and she features that talent in a soul pop band named Lawrence that also includes her brother, Clyde, and various friends since childhood. But she’s currently Tony-nominated for playing 1950s chart-topping belter Connie Francis in Just in Time, the Broadway musical where Jonathan Groff is Bobby Darin, the snazzy but doomed crooner Francis fell for, thanks to the slings and arrows of “Stupid Cupid.”

“I try to capture the expressiveness of her voice,” says Lawrence. “I don’t want to do an impression because that might take away from honoring her, but I noticed a way she emotes. She holds a note, then lets it fall.” It’s the teardrop effect. And Francis was crying for a reason; she’s long been frank about having been devastated when her dad wouldn’t let her marry Darin, the absolute love of her life.

“In that time,” says New York–born Lawrence, “she had to present as graceful, pure and sweet, while the reality she was living had a lot of struggle and darkness.” On the bright side, Francis’s old song “Pretty Little Baby” surprisingly shot to No.1 on the TikTok chart just recently. Perhaps buoyed by the Broadway show, the woman is hotter than ever.

Lawrence (whose father, Marc Lawrence, co-wrote Miss Congeniality) said she got the part because director/creator Alex Timbers is a fan of her band and flat out asked her to play it. She admires costar Groff because, “He does eight shows a week. He’s onstage the entire show. He’s always given a million percent to the show and to the people around him personally.” As she said this, I could have sworn I heard a teardrop in her voice.

A phenomenon in the making, the magnetically talented Kara Young has nabbed her fourth Tony nomination in a row, for playing Aziza, a friend of the son of a dysfunctional family in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Purpose. (She won last year for her wide-eyed Lutiebelle in Purlie Victorious.) The Harlem-born free spirit — a proxy for the audience — watches the dysfunctional goings on with a half smile and eyes popped open.

Young praises director Phylicia Rashad for planting ideas in her head that grew into helpful dollops of the character’s development. “I’m constantly looking for notes and direction,” she explains, “in continually trying to excavate or keep adding new ingredients to the gumbo of someone’s life.” She says the play’s themes involve reverence, legacy, and clocking the human spirit inside all of these people. One of the lines that haunts her the most is the matriarch character, Claudine (LaTanya Richardson Jackson), saying, “There was a time in this country, not too long ago, when the God-given right to family was considered a luxury for those who looked like us.” That the Jaspers still have a family, however crumbling, is a bona fide achievement.

But Young would like to amp up the dysfunction, apparently. She says she’d love to play the zany and macabre Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd — “I think about her pre-Sweeney and the transitioning to having a new man in the house” — though she admits that Aziza is already a dream role. “We’re different, but we’re both from Harlem and have connections. I wish I could be more like her.” Her spirit animal? “New York City! Whenever I spent time with cousins in New Jersey, it was too quiet!”

BOOP! The Musical has cartoon flapper Betty Boop coming to life and winding up in present-day NYC, where she meets sleazy politician Raymond Demarest (Erich Bergen). That opportunistic character wants Betty as his running mate for mayor, but she scuttles that plan when she finds out that he’s terribly corrupt, boop-boop-a-doop. “Everyone walks out happy,” Bergen says, beaming, about the audience for the frothy show. “They all leave feeling goofy.”

Bergen hails from the Chelsea nabe in NYC, and says he can remember passing by the leather bar Rawhide when he was only three. As a kid, he was impressed by his parents’ trendiness (“They met in EST,” a 1970s self-help seminar), his Ma’s fancy art collection, and the sight of Keith Haring doodling in a subway. Bergen attended Stagedoor Manor theater camp, ultimately toured with Jersey Boys (as Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio), then landed in the 2014 Clint Eastwood–directed movie version. He found Eastwood respectful and knowledgeable, “but I had a smart person who saw an early cut and said, ‘You need to get a job, because once this comes out, you won’t be as hot as you are now.’” Bergen landed on Madam Secretary as President Téa Leoni’s personal secretary, Blake Moran, and his character’s coming out is still affecting young queers who catch it on Netflix.

Bergen doesn’t care if he writes, produces, or acts, as long as he’s involved. “I hate camp,” he declares. “I hate the term ‘guilty pleasure.’ I think if you love something, it matters to you.”

Photography: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

Styling (Erich, Darren, Grace H., Sarah, Natalie, Joy): Heidi Cannon
Styling (Helen, Andrew, Jak, Jennifer): Alexa Levine
Styling (Kara, Conrad, Justina): Joyce Esquenazi Mitrani
Styling (Gracie): Jules Wettreich
Hair (Gracie): Netty Jordan
Tailoring (Gracie): Janelle Sando
Hair: Dan Williams, Kennedy Trisler
Makeup: Mollie Gloss

Styling assistants: Amanda Van Poznak, Christopher Contaldi, Mo Johnson
Makeup assistants: Zane Chen, Tasia Mitropoulos
Production assistants: Rafael Flores, Dillon Camp

Special projects director: Mickey Boardman
Story: Michael Musto
Publisher: Brian Calle

All jewelry by Alexis Bittar