Purpose makes Tony Awards history for Kara Young, wins Best Play award

The Best New Play trophy at Sunday’s Tony Awards was claimed by Purpose, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ drawing-room drama exploring the internal fractures of an accomplished Black family snowed in together. The win capped a remarkable season for Jacobs-Jenkins, who also earned the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Purpose — a win that coincided with his role on the Met Gala host committee.

This victory marked Jacobs-Jenkins’ second consecutive Tony, following last year’s Best Revival win for Appropriate. He now becomes the first Black playwright to win Best New Play since August Wilson received the honour in 1987 for Fences. Onstage, Jacobs-Jenkins used his moment to urge Tony viewers to support regional theatre.

Jue’s triumph

Francis Jue won Best Actor in a Featured Role for his performance in a revival of Yellow Face. Wearing a tuxedo gifted by a fellow Asian actor, Jue dedicated his win to “generations of wonderful deserving Asian artists who came before me”. He added, “To those who don’t feel seen; I see you.”

Jak Malone was awarded Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the British import Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, in which he plays a woman. He hoped his win would serve as a strong statement in support of trans rights.

Sparkling start

First-time host Cynthia Erivo opened the ceremony in theatrical fashion, dashing from her dressing room after being prompted by the stage manager.

Erivo emerged in a red, spangled gown with white accents and performed the original ballad Sometimes All You Need Is a Song, written by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Early Musical Momentum

Before the main event, several musicals gathered early momentum. Maybe Happy Ending took home Best Book and Best Score, with lyrics by Hue Park and music by Will Aronson. It also won Best Scenic Design of a Musical and entered the evening as a frontrunner for Best New Musical.

Buena Vista Social Club impressed with awards for Best Choreography (Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado) and Best Orchestrations (Marco Paguia), as well as Best Sound Design. Meanwhile, The Picture of Dorian Gray secured Best Costumes in a Play for designer Marg Hornwell and Death Becomes Her won Best Costumes in a Musical for Paul Tazewell — who earlier this year became the first Black man to win an Oscar for costume design (Wicked).

Season shaped by plays

This season on Broadway was marked not by musicals, but by the prominence of plays powered by A-list talent. In addition to Snook, stars such as George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck), Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal (Othello) and Bob Odenkirk (Glengarry Glen Ross) drove critical buzz.

Pulitzer-winning plays English (2024) and Purpose (2025) were joined by Oh, Mary! — Cole Escola’s offbeat, irreverent take on Mary Todd Lincoln — as key conversation starters, though Oh, Mary! remained winless at the halfway mark.

Musical showdown

Three musicals contended for the top prize—Maybe Happy Ending, a romantic comedy about androids; Dead Outlaw, the story of a drifter whose embalmed body becomes a prized relic; and Death Becomes Her, a satire about vanity, immortality and female rivalry. Each entered the night with 10 nominations.

Other musicals featured in the ceremony included Just in Time (about Bobby Darin) and Real Women Have Curves, though BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical and SMASH were notably absent from the line-up. ‘Hamilton’ was also honoured, celebrating a decade on Broadway.

Snook’s 26 roles

Sarah Snook won Best Leading Actress for her one-woman powerhouse performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray, where she seamlessly plays all 26 characters. She credited her crew and collaborators for the achievement and rejected the ‘solo show’ label. “I don’t feel alone any night,” she said. The play also won Best Costumes in a Play.

Double win for Young

Kara Young became the first Black person to win Tony acting awards in consecutive years. Her win for Purpose followed last year’s success, and she’s also the only Black woman ever nominated four years in a row. In her speech, she called theatre a ‘sacred space that unites people and thanked her parents.