On April 28, the Tony Awards administration committee met to discuss the eligibility status of 12 Broadway productions that opened during the 2024-2025 season. This marks the fourth and final time the committee has convened to determine eligibility for the 78th annual Tony Awards.
The productions discussed were “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Boop! The Musical,” “The Last Five Years,” “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends,” “Smash,” “John Proctor Is the Villain,” “Floyd Collins,” “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” “Pirates! The Penzance Musical,” “Just in Time,” “Real Women Have Curves” and “Dead Outlaw.”
The committee meets several times each season to confirm if a Broadway production has completed its requirements to be eligible for Tony Awards, as outlined in the Tonys’ rules and regulations. The committee also determines in which of the 26 competitive Tony categories each element of a production will be eligible. This season, productions had to open by April 27 to be considered.
Determinations are announced if they are different from what is printed on the title page of a show’s opening-night program. Unless indicated, performers whose names are billed above the show’s title are eligible in leading actor/actress categories; performers listed below the show’s title will be considered in featured actor/actress categories.
The committee made the following determinations:
Heather Gilbert (lighting design) and David Bengali (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Play category for their work on “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Jasmine Amy Rogers will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for her performance in “Boop! The Musical.”
David Rockwell (scenic design) and Finn Ross (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on “Boop! The Musical.”
“The Last Five Years” will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category. Jason Robert Brown (book writer/composer/lyricist) will be considered jointly eligible along with the producers in the category.
Jason Robert Brown will be considered eligible in the Best Orchestrations category for his work on “The Last Five Years.”
Bernadette Peters will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical category for her performance in “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends.”
Lea Salonga will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical category for her performance in “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends.”
Matt Kinley (scenic design) and George Reeve (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends.”
Robyn Hurder will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for her performance in “Smash.”
Beowulf Boritt (scenic design) and S. Katy Tucker (video and projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on “Smash.”
“John Proctor Is the Villain” will be considered eligible in the Best Play category.
Natasha Katz (lighting design) and Hannah Wasileski (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Play category for their work on “John Proctor Is the Villain.”
“Floyd Collins” will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category. Tina Landau (book/additional lyrics) and Adam Guettel (music/lyrics) will be considered jointly eligible along with the producers in the category.
Jeremy Jordan will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance in “Floyd Collins.”
Scott Zielinski (lighting design) and Ruey Horng Sun (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Musical category for their work on “Floyd Collins.”
Louis McCartney will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for his performance in “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
Miriam Buether (set design) and 59 (video and visual effects design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Play category for their work on “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
Stephen Daldry (director) and Justin Martin (co-director) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Direction of a Play category for their work on “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
Lynne Page (movement director and choreographer) and Coral Messam (additional choreography) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Choreography category for their work on “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
Rupert Holmes (adaptation) will be considered eligible in the Best Book of a Musical category for his work on “Pirates! The Penzance Musical.”
Jinkx Monsoon will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical category for her performance in “Pirates! The Penzance Musical.”
Tatianna Córdoba will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for her performance in “Real Women Have Curves.”
Arnulfo Maldonado (set design) and Hana S. Kim (video design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on “Real Women Have Curves.”
Andrew Durand will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance in “Dead Outlaw.”
All other eligibility will be consistent with the opening-night credits.
Projection and video designers are noted above as there is no Tony category specifically for the discipline; the committee can approve placing those designers in scenic or lighting categories.
Because “Floyd Collins" and “The Last Five Years” are deemed eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category, their respective composers, lyricists and librettists are also eligible in the category. Both musicals were considered revivals, despite never having appeared on Broadway before (but there have been Off-Broadway and regional mountings). Since only the scores of new musicals are considered in the Best Original Score Written for the Theatre category, instances like this allow for the composers and lyricists to share the Best Revival nomination.
Moreover in regards to revivals, Rupert Holmes is eligible for Best Book of a Musical for “Pirates! The Penzance Musical” and not jointly in the Best Revival of Musical category as his adaptation of the classic musical’s book is new. There is precedent for this situation; David Henry Hwang received a Best Book of Musical nomination for his new adaptation for the 2002 revival of “Flower Drum Song,” while Douglas Carter Beane received a nod for his 2013 revised book for “Cinderella.”
Also noteworthy regarding scores, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s music and lyrics for “Smash” is not eligible in the Best Original Score Written for the Theatre category, a representative for the Tony Awards confirmed to Broadway News. To be Tony-eligible, a production’s score needs to have been written, as the category indicates, specifically for the theater; nearly all the songs featured in “Smash” were originally written for the televisions series upon which the stage show is based.
The administration committee previously announced eligibility rulings in November 2024, January and April 2025.
As previously announced, the 2025 Tony Awards will take place on June 8 at Radio City Music Hall. Cynthia Erivo will host the ceremony. Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce will announce the nominations on May 1.
The Tony Awards are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.
