Nicole Scherzinger emerged victorious in essentially the most carefully watched race of the 2025 Tony Awards on Sunday night time, profitable Finest Actress in a Musical for her powerhouse portrayal of Norma Desmond within the revival of “Sunset Boulevard.”
The previous Pussycat Dolls member beat out fellow contenders Megan Hilty, Audra McDonald, Jasmine Amy Rogers and Jennifer Simard for the honour. That is her Broadway debut.
“I’m so honored to be recognized alongside these exceptional warrior women in this category. I want to thank all of you all so much for making this little Hawaiian, Ukrainian Filipino girl’s dream come true,” Scherzinger stated in her acceptance speech, changing into visibly emotional. “I always felt like I didn’t belong, but you all have made me feel like I belong and I have come home at last.”
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This season’s Finest Actress in a Musical race was a nail-biter for theater followers, with Scherzinger and McDonald ― a six-time Tony winner who’s at present starring as Momma Rose within the acclaimed revival of “Gypsy” ― as its presumed front-runners.
Each actors’ performances notably depart from their predecessors. Scherzinger’s portrayal of Norma Desmond is sexier and extra sinister than these of Glenn Shut and Patti LuPone, who respectively starred within the authentic Broadway and London productions of “Sunset Boulevard” within the early Nineteen Nineties.
McDonald, in the meantime, is the primary Black actor to play Momma Rose on Broadway because the authentic manufacturing of “Gypsy” was staged in 1959. Vocally, her soprano deviates from the brassy belt lengthy related to the position.
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The Tonys race got here beneath extra intense scrutiny final month after The New Yorker printed a bombshell profile of LuPone wherein she took purpose at each McDonald and one other Black actor, Kecia Lewis.
Although LuPone’s harshest feedback have been leveled at Lewis, she alluded to what the New Yorker described as a “long-ago rift” with McDonald. LuPone ― who gained a Tony for taking part in Momma Rose within the 2008 Broadway manufacturing of “Gypsy” ― additionally seemingly shaded McDonald’s efficiency with a snide comment concerning the climate.
