‘Purpose’ wins best play as Kara Young and Sarah Snook make Tony Awards history
New York: At the 2025 Tony Awards held in New York City, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Purpose won the coveted Best New Play trophy.
The drawing-room drama about a Black family confronting internal conflicts during a snowed-in gathering also earned Jacobs-Jenkins the Pulitzer Prize earlier this year. With this win, he becomes the first Black playwright since August Wilson in 1987 to win Best New Play.
Kara Young, a standout performer in Purpose, secured the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She became the first Black person to win two Tony Awards consecutively, after her 2024 win for Purlie Victorious. Young dedicated her award to her family, cast, and director Phylicia Rashad, calling theatre “a sacred space.”
Sarah Snook, best known for Succession, won Best Leading Actress in a Play for portraying 26 roles in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Meanwhile, Cole Escola earned Best Actor in a Play for their portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln in the irreverent Oh Mary!, which also won Best Director for Sam Pinkleton.
Francis Jue won Best Featured Actor in a Play for Yellow Face, honouring Asian theatre artists in his speech. Jak Malone won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his gender-bending role in Operation Mincemeat, making a strong statement in support of trans rights.
The musical Maybe Happy Ending picked up Best Score, Best Book, and Scenic Design, while Buena Vista Social Club won awards for choreography and orchestration. Death Becomes Her earned the Tony for Best Costume Design in a Musical, and Paul Tazewell made history as the first Black man to win both a Tony and an Oscar for costume design.
First-time host Cynthia Erivo set the tone with an original musical number and joined Sara Bareilles for a heartfelt in memoriam segment. The show also saw a surprise 10th-anniversary performance by the original Hamilton cast.
Veteran actor Harvey Fierstein was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Tony, reminding the audience of the enduring bond between performers and theatregoers.
The night marked a significant comeback for Broadway post-pandemic, with a record $1.9 billion in box office revenue during the 2024–2025 season.