Cole Escola made history at the 2025 Tony Awards on Sunday night, becoming the first nonbinary performer to win Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for the 38-year-old's role in Oh, Mary! at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The actor and playwright triumphed over a competitive field that included George Clooney for Good Night and Good Luck, Jon Michael Hill and Harry Lennix for Purpose, Daniel Dae Kim for Yellow Face, and Louis McCartney for Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
Oh Mary! was Escola's Broadway debut, with the performer having previously won the Drama Desk Award for the same role during its off-Broadway run.
During Escola's acceptance speech, the actor thanked the other nominees in the category, saying, "I want to thank the other nominees, George, Jon, Harry, Daniel, and Louis.
Tony Awards 2025: Cole Escola poses with the Best Actor gong
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"It's an honour to be in your company, and more than that, it's been a sincere pleasure spending time with you over these warm salads at all these lunches."
Escola then turned the spotlight closer to home. "First of all, hi mom. I love you. I'll call you when I can," they said.
Oh, Mary! is a dark comedy about a miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
The 80-minute one-act play portrays the first lady as an alcoholic with suppressed desires who yearns to leave the White House to become a cabaret star.
Escola told NPR last month: "This play is about a woman with a dream that no one around her understands. A dream that the whole world is telling her is stupid and doesn't make any sense. And I feel that way."
While this marks the first time a nonbinary performer has won in any play acting category at the Tonys, it's not the first recognition for nonbinary artists at the awards.
In 2023, J Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell made history by winning Best Actor in a Musical and Best Featured Actor in a Musical, respectively, on the same evening, for their performances in Some Like It Hot and Shucked.
The Tonys continue to maintain gendered acting categories, unlike some other awards bodies, such as the Drama Desk Awards and Independent Spirit Awards, which have created combined lead and supporting categories where all performers compete together.
Tony Awards 2025: Cole Escola accepted the award during Sunday's ceremony
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Other major winners on Broadway's biggest night included Sarah Snook, who won Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for The Picture of Dorian Gray in her Broadway debut.
"It is billed as a one-person show, and I don't feel alone any night that I do this show," Snook said in her acceptance speech.
Nicole Scherzinger triumphed in the highly anticipated Best Actress in a Musical category for Sunset Boulevard, beating Audra McDonald's Gypsy performance.
"Growing up, 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," Scherzinger said through tears.
Tony Awards 2025: Nicole Scherzinger also bagged a Tony
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Overall, Maybe Happy Ending was the night's biggest winner with six award wins, followed by Buena Vista Social Club's four.
Sunset Boulevard and Stranger Things: The First Shadow each bagged three gongs while Purpose, Oh Mary!, and The Picture of Dorian Gray each grabbed two.