Adam Guettel and Tina Landau’s Floyd Collins—based on the true story of the Kentucky cave explorer—receives its long-awaited Broadway premiere in a new Lincoln Center Theater production, directed by Landau herself. While exploring a cave in a Kentucky mountainside, Floyd Collins, played by the incomparable Jeremy Jordan, becomes stuck between a rock and a hard place… literally. His rescue proves treacherous and soon captures national attention, drawing throngs of onlookers and reporters to the remote countryside. In the cavernous Vivian Beaumont Theater, Jordan’s physicality and emotional volatility create a palpable sense of claustrophobia… in the best possible way. Other notable performances include Taylor Trensch as the skittish reporter Skeets Miller, and Broadway newcomer Lizzy McAlpine, whose voice feels tailor-made for Guettel’s folk-infused score. Known for The Light in the Piazza, Guettel here crafts a soundscape that blends Americana, folk, and yodeling into something as unexpected as it is refreshing. Floyd Collins runs through June 22 on Broadway.
As Broadway artists and enthusiasts await the 2025 Tonys, there’s already so much to celebrate. This year’s class of nominees includes some historic firsts and notable exceptions to the rule, worth a shoutout. Read on!
Kara Young: Four Years, Four Noms
Breakout Broadway star Kara Young continues her impressive roll of nods with a fourth consecutive Tony nomination for Featured Actress in a Play—this time for playing Aziza Jasper in Purpose. She is now the first and sole Black artist nominated in this category for four consecutive years. Her previous nods were for her Broadway debut in Clyde’s (2022), followed by Cost of Living (2023), and Purlie Victorious (2024), for which she took home the award.
Photo by Marc J. Franklin
Pulitzer Power in the Best Play Category
In a major crossover between two of America’s greatest theatrical honors, three of the five Best Play-nominated pieces this season are already Pulitzer Prize finalists or winners. Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is already the recipient of the 2025 Pulitzer for drama, with Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! cited as a finalist, and English won last year’s Pulitzer before making its Broadway debut this season. This year’s class of Best Play Tony nominees represents a staggering overlap—and evidence of the power of this season’s storytelling onstage.
Photo by Julieta Cervantes
Audra McDonald Makes Tony History
Broadway icon Audra McDonald has officially broken the record, becoming the most Tony-nominated actor in history. She already holds the record for Tony-winningest performer in Broadway history, with six to her name. Another milestone in an already impressive career. Her latest nomination—her 11th—is for her performance as Rose in the revival of Gypsy, breaking Chita Rivera and Julie Harris’s previous record of 10.
Photo by Daniel Rader
All Play Revivals Closed
In a highly unlikely turn of events, each of the four Best Revival of a Play nominees—Eureka Day, Our Town, Romeo + Juliet, and Yellow Face—had already closed by the time nominations were announced. That’s a strange plot and departure from norms, given that voters prefer productions still running during awards season. It’s normal for plays to open as limited engagements, but this often puts a wrench in Tony recognition later in the season; recency bias is (usually) real.
In the last 20 years, the Broadway catalog has grown to often include the jukebox musical, which uses previously written music to score a Broadway show. Sometimes, the music is used to tell a completely different and unrelated story, like that of Mamma Mia, & Juliet, or Rock of Ages, but more often, they are used to tell the life and career story of that very artist. With two new entries to the list this season, including Jonathan Groff’s suave singing as Bobby Darin in Just in Time and James Monroe Iglehart’s smooth satchmo Louis Armstrong in A Wonderful World, we are looking back at the history of these portrayals of music icons.
Michael Jackson – MJ the Musical (2022–Present)
Moonwalks and megahits define this electric look at Jackson during his 1992 “Dangerous” tour rehearsals. Myles Frost won the 2022 Tony Award for his portrayal of the King of Pop.
Neil Diamond – A Beautiful Noise (2022–2024) Diamond’s life and lyrics shine in this bio-musical that spans decades of sequins and songcraft.
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Jersey Boys (2005–2017, 2021 Off-Broadway) The falsetto, the flair, the mob ties — a Tony-winning tribute to New Jersey’s finest that gave this musical theatre subgenre its kickstart.
The Temptations – Ain’t Too Proud (2019–2022) From street corners to superstardom, the Temps’ story grooves through betrayal, brotherhood, and “My Girl.”
Carole King – Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (2014–2019) The shy songwriter turned solo superstar gets her due, piano and all.
Billie Holiday – Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (2014) Audra McDonald made history channeling Lady Day in a harrowing, jazz-soaked final concert.
Cher – The Cher Show (2018–2019) Three Chers, one legend — from Sonny & Cher stardom to solo icon status.
Gloria Estefan – On Your Feet! (2015–2017) Conga lines and Cuban rhythms power this celebration of the Estefans’ rise from Miami to the world stage.
Donna Summer – Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (2018) Disco’s reigning queen reigned again through three performers, each reflecting a different era.
Tina Turner – Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (2019–2024)
Raw vocals and resilience define this high-octane journey through Tina’s turbulent life and legendary hits.
A wild western true story gets the folk rock treatment from composer David Yazbek, bookwriter Itamar Moses, and director David Cromer in Dead Outlaw at the Longacre Theatre. Andrew Durand, as the titular deceased fugitive, gives an outrageously dynamic performance, made all the more impressive considering how much of the show he spends completely idle. Julia Knitel is another cast standout, showcasing range and rhythm in her multiple roles with varying interactions with the corpse, before and after his untimely end. The material asks the audience to lean in and ponder its larger themes of mortality, living the life we’ve got, and the legacy that we leave behind after it. Overall, the onstage band and their interplay with the storytelling around them give this show a unique and quirky quality that surprises and delights those searching for weirdness in their Broadway diet.
Kimberly Belflower’s new play gives a 21st-century take on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible through the lens of a Georgia high school classroom’s study of the classic. Directed with riveting pacing and youthful energy by Danya Taymor, the play packs punches that are at once jarring and sobering, elevated by the twitching set and lighting design from AMP and Natasha Katz, respectively. The strong ensemble cast includes standouts Sadie Sink and Fina Strazza, surrounded by a bevy of character actors breathing freshness into the unfortunately ever-timely themes of women’s rights and agency. By the play’s emotionally enthralling climax, the audience has been on quite a thought-provoking and endlessly expressive journey of rage, tenderness, and revelation.
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