Hollywood Week: Tony Nominations, Audra McDonald, Snubs, Surprises, Ruth Buzzi

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Saturday, 03 May 2025 10:54

Written by Janet Walker

The 2025 Tony nominations, which honors excellence in Theater performances, were announced this week by actors Sarah Paulsen and Wendell Pierce, and featured surprises, disappointments and history making nods as the countdown begins for the awards ceremony.

Tony Nominations

The 78th Tony nominations were announced this week, and featured both surprises, disappointments and history making nods, as Hollywood favorites, Jake Gyllenhaal and Denzel Washington, in the uber successful "Othello," were both excluded, and Audra McDonald became the most nominated woman in theater history.

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Audra McDonald, who before her nomination for Best Performance by a leading Actress in a Musical for her role as Gypsy, the six-time Tony Award winner was tied with stage veterans, Chita Riviera and Julie Harris each with 10 nominations. She now becomes the most nomination female in the history of the Tony Awards.

After the announcement she said, "I'm so grateful, and that's overwhelming to think about. I'm so lucky. The one thing I always wanted to do growing up, one thing that gave me joy and kind of gave me purpose and made me feel most like myself was to perform theater. And so to be at this point and to have that kind of recognition is just overwhelming. I'm grateful, and it doesn't seem real, because I don't know how to process that," McDonald told The Hollywood Reporter."

Rounding out the category Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her, Jasmine Amy Rogers, BOOP! The Musical, Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd. and Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her.

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Another surprise came as Kieran Culkin, who had been on an Awards season winning streak for his performance in A Real Pain, was passed over for his portrayal of sleazy salesman Richard Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross. His co-star and Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul alum, Bob Odenkirk, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play. Others in the category Glenn Davis, Purpose, Gabriel Ebert, John Proctor is the Villain, Francis Jue, Yellow Face, Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary!.

Emmy winner and Succession alum, Sara Snook, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play her multi-dimensional portrayal in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Others nominated are Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California, Mia Farrow, The Roommate, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose and Sadie Sink, John Proctor is the Villain.

Academy Award winner George Clooney was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his role in Good Night, and Good Luck. Also nominated are Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!, Jon Michael Hill, Purpose, Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face, Harry Lennix, Purpose, Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

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Nominations in 26 competitive categories were selected by an independent committee of 54 theatre professionals appointed by the Tony Awards Administration Committee. The 2025 Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. (The list of nominations follows.)

The 78th Annual Tony Awards will return to the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York City next month. Hosted by Tony, Emmy, and GRAMMY Award-winner and three-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo.

The Tony Awards will be presenting special awards to: The musicians who make up the band of Buena Vista Social Club - Marco Paguia (Music Director, Conductor/Piano); David Oquendo (Associate Music Director, Guitar); Renesito Avich (Tres); Gustavo Schartz (Bass); Javier Días, Román Diaz, Mauricio Herrera (Percussion); Jesus Ricardo (Trumpet); Eddie Venegas (Trombone); Hery Paz (Woodwinds); Leonardo Reyna (Piano).

The Illusions & Technical Effects of Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Jamie Harrison, Chris Fisher, Gary Beestone & Edward Pierce). 

As well as Great Performances, Michael Price, New 42, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award will be presented to Celia Keenan-Bolger. Harvey Fierstein will receive the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

The Tony Awards are produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, and White Cherry Entertainment. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss are executive producers and showrunners for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss will serve as director.

A complete list of the nominees can be found here.

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Ruth Buzzi, Laugh-In Purse Lady, Dies

Ruth Buzzi, a staple on the sketch comedy show, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, died this week in her home of Fort Worth, Texas. She was 88.

"Ruth Buzzi brought a singular energy and charm to sketch comedy that made her a standout on Laugh-In and the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts," National Comedy Center executive director Journey Gunderson said in a statement. "Her characters, especially the unforgettable Gladys Ormphby, captured the delightful absurdity of the era. We remember her with admiration and appreciation for the joy and laughter she brought to generations of fans," reported The Hollywood Reporter.

For those who are fans of early television in the 1960s and 1970s, Buzzi is remembered for her comedic talents on the long running Laugh-In, (1967-1973), and of all the roles she played, her character as the spinster granny, dressed very drably, wielding a black patent leather handbag with force, was both funny, and for some, the beginning of understanding what women deal with in a man's world. While the sketches were meant to be hysterical, audiences saw someone fighting for respect, no matter what their appearance.

As was most television during this era, sexual exploitation was also a part of the new freedoms that the changing times ushered into mainstream. Laugh-In, while not her only acting gig, was at the forefront of these characterizations.

Buzzi was lauded by Laugh-In alumni, Goldie Hawn, who portrayed the complete opposite character on the show, who said, via social media platform Instagram, "My Ruthie, you're gone, and it hurts so deeply. I'll always treasure our daily calls, how we could talk endlessly, even after long days. You were my girlfriend, my heart through life's ups and downs. You made me laugh like no one else could. You were beyond talented, Ruthie. A one of a kind soul who brought so much laughter and light to the world. Those deep, joyful laughs we shared, especially while making Laugh In, will stay with me forever.  I love you. Wishing you peace and beautiful travels in the arms of the angels. "❤️

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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.