“Live Theater Is Back”: On the Ground at the 2025 Tony Awards

SUNDAY 6:44 PM JUNE 8, 2025 MIDTOWN

Looking back on my very first Tony Awards this morning, one moment in particular stands out, the kind of interaction that pretty much couldn’t happen anywhere else: Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, having mistaken me for a bathroom attendant, elegantly snatching a paper towel out of my hands as I moved to dry them. And while it would have been an honor to dote on the seven-time Tony Award winner, who would later accept the award for Best Musical Revival for Sunset Boulevard, I’d actually come to the hallowed Radio City Music Hall as a guest of Dewars and Baccarat, which occupied the left balcony of the auditorium with its very own “speakeasy,” replete with a bevy of scotch cocktails served in crystal glassware befitting of theater’s biggest night. There, many of the night’s presenters and nominees paid us a visit, from Tom Francis and Megan Hilty to host Cynthia Erivo and Bob Odenkirk. “This is my first Tony Awards,” said the star of Glengarry Glen Ross while brandishing a glass of what the liquor brand coined the Golden Hue. “And after this drink, I’m not sure if I’ll remember it.”

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JAKE NEVINS: Do you remember your first Tony Awards?

BOB ODENKIRK: This is my first Tony Awards.

NEVINS: Is it really?

ODENKIRK: And after this drink, I’m not sure if I’ll remember it.

NEVINS: Well, that’s the way to do an awards show, I think.

ODENKIRK: But Jake, I am excited.

NEVINS: Good. And you’re a nominee. I saw you in Glengarry Glen Ross a couple of weeks ago, the night after I watched the film adaptation for the first time.

ODENKIRK: We were quite different, don’t you think?

NEVINS: Very different. 

ODENKIRK: Same words. Except for—

NEVINS: The Alec Baldwin monologue, right?

ODENKIRK: Yes, the monologue and the phone call, the Shelley phone call. That’s not in the play.

NEVINS: Well, it worked for me. What’s it been like to return to the stage?

ODENKIRK: It was the greatest. Here I am nominated, which is insane, but it’s very nerve-wracking. I think people think that if you’ve been in the business as long as me and you’ve done as much as me, that you don’t get nervous. But it’s not true.

NEVINS: You’re nervous?

ODENKIRK: Yeah, big time. I lost my voice, which is from stress. I told myself, “It’s no big deal,” because I’ve done live performance. I’ve never not done it. Sometimes if I’m filming, I won’t do it for a few weeks at a time, but I’ll still do improv shows or all kinds of things, charity shows and things. But this was quite different. And thank god for the presence of Kieran Culkin and Bill Burr and Patrick Marber and Donald Webber Jr. These are the people I work closely with. Michael McKean as well, they all encouraged me, and I just learned by example being around them. But the biggest challenge was adjusting to the size of the room. The Palace Theater is huge. There’s a whole different version of this play if we were in a small space with the same actors. Same actors, totally different vibe. And I’d like to see that, but I don’t know if you’ll ever get to see that.

NEVINS: I hope we do.

ODENKIRK: I would love that.

NEVINS: And my last question before I let you go. While being in one yourself, did you get a chance to see any great plays or musicals?

ODENKIRK: I saw Operation Mincemeat, which is really funny. And I saw Oh, Mary! months ago.

NEVINS: What’d you think?

ODENKIRK: Oh, one of the funniest shows ever. Certainly the funniest show since The Book of Mormon.

NEVINS: Hello, Tituss Burgess. How does it feel to be at the Tonys?

TITUSS BURGESS: I mean, at this point it’s an old hat. [Laughs] I’m just kidding. Every year there’s something awesome to celebrate, and the fact that we are still surviving and thriving in this economy is important. I have a lot of friends up for Tony Awards and I hope they all win it.

NEVINS: What defined Broadway for you this season?

BURGESS: There are a lot of shows, and we are definitely back and it is definitely robust, but I also think there should be new Broadway houses and the city should subsidize how much it costs to put on a Broadway show. Because after COVID, with all the insurance that comes with casts that are as large as some of these shows, it costs millions and millions and millions of dollars. And I worry that we’re going to run out. I worry that our resources are going to run out if our local city and state government don’t start funding it.

NEVINS: We’ve got to fund the arts.

BURGESS: Oh, yes. We’ve got to fund the arts.

NEVINS: What was your favorite part of your stint in Oh, Mary!, one of the year’s most nominated productions?

BURGESS: That the role required no specific entry point. Whether I was having a great day or a shitty day, it didn’t matter. I could bring them both onto the stage.

NEVINS: Hello, Megan Hilty. Welcome to the Tony Awards. How are you feeling?

MEGAN HILTY: I’m tired.

NEVINS: Take me through what your day has been like so far.

HILTY: Well, I was here early this morning for rehearsal because we’re performing.

NEVINS: Yes. First and foremost, congratulations on Death Becomes Her, one of my favorite shows of the year.

HILTY: Oh, thank you. It’s been a lot, but I love every minute of it. Building a musical takes a lot, but we are in the greatest hands with our creative team and our producers and all of the actors and our crew. It’s a true joy to come to work every day.

NEVINS: And it’s an intensely physical show.

HILTY: It is, yeah.

NEVINS: I read about your comprehensive stretching and recovery routine in the The New York Times a few weeks ago.

HILTY: Oh, yeah. I learned the hard way that if I don’t do that kind of work preemptively, then I end up hurting myself really easily. So now it’s just part of the day.

NEVINS: Welcome to the Tony’s.

ANTHONY RAMOS: Yeah, I’m happy to be here.

NEVINS: Tell me about your first Tony’s and what you remember of it.

RAMOS: My first Tony’s. Man, I guess that was 2016. I mean, it was a surreal experience, man. That’s almost 10 years ago now. And just being on stage with the whole squad and us coming back together, it really feels like a blessing. But yeah, that time was surreal for me. And on the flip side, we were all tired and we were shooting the Hamilton movie around the same time we did the Tony’s. There was a lot of adrenaline and excitement and anticipation around that. It was a hectic time.

NEVINS: I’d imagine so. The thing about the Tonys is, all these people have a show tomorrow!

RAMOS: These people have a show tomorrow, and a lot of them performed today. They did it that night and came here.

NEVINS: You guys never stop.

RAMOS: Yeah.

NEVINS: Tell me what you saw on Broadway this season that you’re particularly excited about.

RAMOS: Stranger Things is one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my whole life.

NEVINS: Yeah?

RAMOS: Completely. And I think Buena Vista Social Club is, if they don’t win all the awards tonight, then I don’t know what. Turn the theater world upside down. But I did see my boy Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending, and he was incredible. The cast was amazing. It was a beautiful, beautiful show. I’m trying to think of what else I’ve seen… I saw Aladdin for the first time. I know it’s not nominated or anything like that, but…

NEVINS: Did it take you on a magic carpet ride?

RAMOS: Oh, yeah. Aladdin was great. Those were the ones I’ve seen so far that I can think of right now off the top of my head.

NEVINS: Cool. You look great. Tell me about your outfit.

RAMOS: Oh, thanks. This is just a mix of shit. I don’t even know who made this.

NEVINS: Hi, queen. What was your favorite part of the Tony’s tonight?

JENNIFER SIMARD: Hamilton. It’s still the coolest show in town. They came out and they’re dressed in all black, making it fresh for everyone. It inspires me now like it did then.

NEVINS: It was very exciting.

SIMARD: And one of the original cast members is a cast member of my show, Neil Haskell. He was a swing in the original cast of Hamilton. He recently got off, I want to say a four-year tour playing King George on the road. And he has been with Death Becomes Her since the out of town tryout in Chicago. He’s not only one of the most valuable players of our show, he actually doubles as Helen in the fight in Whitney. He’s just a great guy to have in the building.

NEVINS: Do you remember what you were doing when Hamilton premiered at The Public 10 years ago?

SIMARD: Well, it’s funny. I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing it there, but since we’re at the Carlyle Hotel, I’ll drop a name. Nia Vardalos is a friend of mine and she invited me to Hamilton in October of 2015. I knew at that point that Disaster! was going to be coming in, and that was my first Tony nomination as the nun. We went to the same high school at the same time with Hamilton’s Renée Elise Goldsberry, who won the Tony that year, and I was fortunate enough to be nominated with her. The moment I saw her sing “Satisfied,” I said, “You know what? I’m going to lose. If I’m lucky enough to be nominated, there’s your winner and deservedly so.”

NEVINS: It was amazing seeing her back on stage tonight. And your co-star, Miss Megan Hilty.

SIMARD: I’m so proud of Megan. That’s really hard because they only give you a certain time allotment and it’s a fast-paced number. She had to completely shift the lyrics, having just done the show last night. That’s a tall ask and she delivered like the pro she is. It’s pretty intense. Honestly, my favorite moments performance-wise had to be watching my fellow Leading Actress nominees do their thing and being there in spirit with Jasmine Amy Rogers, just the community of it all. When one of us wins, we all win. Live theater is back. Five years ago, we didn’t think it would be. So tonight felt like a party.