George Clooney was named in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for his Broadway debut in ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’

George Clooney has received his first ever nomination at the Tony Awards.

The nominees for the 78th annual Tonys were announced on Thursday (01.05.25) by previous award winners Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce and Clooney was named in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for his Broadway debut in ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’.

The 63-year-old actor is up against Cole Escola (‘Oh, Mary!’), Jon Michael Hill (‘Purpose’), Daniel Dae Kim (‘Yellow Face’), Harry Lennix (‘Purpose’) and Louis McCartney (‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’).

‘Succession’ star Sarah Snook also got her first Tony Award nomination in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her acting in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’.

Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce announced the nominations ( 
Image:
Getty Images for Tony Awards Pro)

The other nominees in the category are Laura Donnelly (‘The Hills of California’), Mia Farrow (‘The Roommate’), LaTanya Richardson Jackson (‘Purpose’) and Sadie Sink (‘John Proctor is the Villain’)

‘Death Becomes Her’ – the musical based on Robert Zemeckis’ 1992 film of the same name – ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ and ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ all received the most nominations getting 10 nods a piece.

The three shows will compete against ‘Dead Outlaw’ and ‘Operation Mincemeat’ for the Best Musical prize.

‘John Proctor Is the Villain’ – a modern, feminist retelling of ‘The Crucible’ – and ‘The Hills of California’ were the plays with the most nominations, each being named in seven categories.

Wesley Wray with the Broadway company of Buena Vista Social Club ( 
Image:
AP)
Singer-and-actress Audra McDonald has become the most nominated performer in the history of the Tony Awards after receiving her 11th nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in ‘Gypsy’.

Audra, 54, is up against Megan Hilty (‘Death Becomes Her’), Jasmine Amy Rogers (‘Boop! The Musical’), Jennifer Simard (‘Death Becomes Her’) and former Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger (‘Sunset Boulevard’).

The 78th annual Tony Awards will take place on June 8 at Radio City Music Hall in new York City and will be hosted by ‘Wicked’ actress Cynthia Erivo, who previously won a Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Tony for her starring role as Celie in the musical revival of ‘The Color Purple’.

The Tony Awards will stream on Paramount+ and air live on CBS.

The 78th annual Tony Awards full list of nominees:

Best Musical:

Buena Vista Social Club
Dead Outlaw
Death Becomes Her
Maybe Happy Ending
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical

Best Play:

English
The Hills of California
John Proctor is the Villain
Oh, Mary!
Purpose

Best Revival of a Musical:

Floyd Collins
Gypsy
Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Sunset Boulevard

Best Revival of a Play:

Eureka Day
Romeo + Juliet
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town
Yellow Face

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical:

Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her
Audra McDonald, Gypsy
Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard
Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical:

Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw
Tom Francis, Sunset Sunset Boulevard
Jonathan Groff, Just in Time
James Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical
Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play:

Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California
Mia Farrow, The Roommate
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose
Sadie Sink, John Proctor is the Villain
Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play:

George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!
Jon Michael Hill, Purpose
Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face
Harry Lennix, Purpose
Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical:

Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash
Jeb Brown, Dead Outlaw
Danny Burstein, Gypsy
Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical
Taylor Trensch, Floyd Collins

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical:

Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
Julia Knitel, Dead Outlaw
Gracie Lawrence, Just in Time
Justina Machado, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
Joy Woods, Gypsy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play:

Glenn Davis, Purpose
Gabriel Ebert, John Proctor is the Villain
Francis Jue, Yellow Face
Bob Odenkirk, Glengarry Glen Ross
Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play:

Tala Ashe, English
Jessica Hecht, Eureka Day
Marjan Neshat, English
Fina Strazza, John Proctor is the Villain
Kara Young, Purpose

Best Book of a Musical:

Buena Vista Social Club, Marco Ramirez
Dead Outlaw, Itamar Moses
Death Becomes Her, Marco Pennette
Maybe Happy Ending, Will Aronson and Hue Park
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre:

Dead Outlaw, Music and Lyrics: David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna
Death Becomes Her, Music and Lyrics: Julia Mattison and Noel Carey
Maybe Happy Ending, Music: Will Aronson; Lyrics: Will Aronson and Hue Park
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, Music and Lyrics: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts
Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, Music and Lyrics: Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez

Best Scenic Design of a Play:

Marsha Ginsberg, English
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Marg Horwell and David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Scott Pask, Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Scenic Design of a Musical:

Rachel Hauck, Swept Away
Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending
Arnulfo Maldonado, Buena Vista Social Club
Derek McLane, Death Becomes Her
Derek McLane, Just in Time

Best Costume Design of a Play:

Brenda Abbandandolo, Good Night, and Good Luck
Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Rob Howell, The Hills of California
Holly Pierson, Oh, Mary!
Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Best Costume Design of a Musical:

Dede Ayite, Buena Vista Social Club
Gregg Barnes, Boop! The Musical
Clint Ramos, Maybe Happy Ending
Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her
Catherine Zuber, Just in Time

Best Lighting Design of a Play:

Natasha Chivers, The Hills of California
Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Heather Gilbert and David Bengali, Good Night, and Good Luck
Natasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski, John Proctor is the Villain
Nick Schlieper, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Lighting Design of a Musical:

Jack Knowles, Sunset Boulevard
Tyler Micoleau, Buena Vista Social Club
Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, Floyd Collins
Ben Stanton, Maybe Happy Ending
Justin Townsend, Death Becomes Her

Best Sound Design of a Play:

Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Palmer Hefferan, John Proctor is the Villain
Daniel Kluger, Good Night, and Good Luck
Nick Powell, The Hills of California
Clemence Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Sound Design of a Musical:

Jonathan Deans, Buena Vista Social Club
Adam Fisher, Sunset Boulevard
Peter Hylenski, Just in Time
Peter Hylenski, Maybe Happy Ending
Dan Moses Schreier, Floyd Collins

Best Direction of a Play:

Knud Adams, English
Sam Mendes, The Hills of California
Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!
Danya Taymor, John Proctor is the Villain
Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Direction of a Musical:

Saheem Ali, Buena Vista Social Club
Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
David Cromer, Dead Outlaw
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Jamie Lloyd, Sunset BoulevardBest Choreography:

Joshua Bergasse, Smash
Camille A. Brown, Gypsy
Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her
Jerry Mitchell, Boop! The Musical
Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club

Best Orchestrations:

Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time
Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending
Bruce Coughlin, Floyd Collins
Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club
David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sunset Boulevard