LOS ANGELES, USA – Not one but five talents of Filipino heritage earned nominations in the 78th Tony Awards — Nicole Scherzinger, Darren Criss, Conrad Ricamora, Clint Ramos, and Marco Paguia — as announced on May 1, Thursday, in  New York. It’s the first time in the history of the Tonys that as many as five Filipino-Americans bagged nods in a single year.

Nicole, Darren, Marco, and Conrad were cited for the first time by the Tony Awards, the most prestigious honors in American theater. Clint, a Cebuano who cinched his seventh citation, made history in 2016 as the first Filipino and Asian, and the first person of color, to win the Tony Best Costume Design of a play for Eclipsed.

The Tony Awards, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, will be given on June 8 at the iconic Radio City Music Hall in New York and will be telecast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ in the US.

Nicole Scherzinger

“This has been a remarkable season on Broadway with many truly amazing women shining on stage,” said Nicole in a statement about being nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. 

“I wake up every morning and can’t believe I get to be a part of this community. I feel so blessed,” she said.

“Little Nicole always dreamed about doing this and to be recognized with a Tony nomination is a privilege and is deeply thrilling. I’m so grateful.”

The actress, who has been drawing standing ovations every night, even during the show, added, “A huge thank you to the Wing and the League for this honor but especially my champions Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jamie Lloyd. I’m thrilled for everyone at the St. James (Theatre), including my friend and costar Tom Francis, our designers Jack Knowles and Adam Fisher, and orchestrator David Cullen.”

The Honolulu native, whose father is Filipino, won the 2024 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the same role in the London revival of Sunset Blvd.

Glenn Close, who played Norma Desmond and won a Tony in the first Broadway production of Sunset Boulevard (the current staging shortened Boulevard to Blvd.), and reprised the role in a 2017 revival, recently watched and met Nicole.

The three-time Golden Globe winner posted  on Instagram: about Sunset Blvd., which amassed seven Tony nods.

“The entire production blew me away. I LOVED meeting Nicole, Tom Francis, and many members of the ensemble backstage afterwards,” she wrote. “Nicole and I really bonded over our love for Norma Desmond, arguably THE greatest role ever written for a woman.”

“You can’t approach Norma with a faint heart. She tests your mettle, demands that you dig deep,” Glenn added. “Nicole’s performance is an act of raw artistry and astounding bravery. Bravo, Nicole, Tom, and all those who gifted me with an extraordinary theater experience. Dearest love and profound thanks to you all.”

Conrad Ricamora

Conrad memorably played Ninoy Aquino in the 2023 Broadway debut of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love before portraying Abraham Lincoln in Oh, Mary! The hit dark comedy was penned by Cole Escola who also stars as Mary Todd Lincoln and collected a Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play nomination.

“Never thought I’d be playing Abraham Lincoln. Never thought our little Off Broadway show would become this massive,” said Conrad of his Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play, the first Filipino nominee in this category.

“Never thought I’d be nominated for a Tony. I guess never say never. So grateful for all the recognition this show has received from the Tony Awards.”

The Hollywood Reporter, in its review of Oh, Mary!, which picked up five nods, wrote: “Ricamora is a hoot as Abraham, bellowing with rage, shuddering with disgust or praying to God to help tame his sexual urges, bargaining that he’ll give all that up after just one more time.”

“His ruthlessness when he turns on his former lover is priceless: ‘I’m the president of the United States. Who the hell are you? A pretty face and a fat ass.’”

Clint Ramos

Clint Ramos, an alumnus of the University of the Philippines and Philippine Science High School, continues to make waves in Broadway with his seventh Tony nomination.

His newest nod is for the musical, Maybe Happy Ending, which topbills his fellow Fil-Am, Darren Criss. His previous Costume Design citations were for the musicals KPOP (2023) and Once On This Island (2018, which starred Lea Salonga) and for the plays Slave Play (2020), The Rose Tattoo (2020), and Torch Song (2019).

Clint’s nomination for the play Eclipsed in 2016, gave him his first Tony award. On his recent nod, the holder of a Master of Fine Arts in Design degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts told Rappler: “I continue to be very grateful to be honored for my work but it is a special honor to be recognized for Maybe Happy Ending.”

“I think I am most proud of the way we’ve told this beautiful love story as a team. I’ve been with the project for a couple of years now, at least since Michael Arden started directing it, so the project is very close to my heart.”

“It is extremely significant,” Clint stressed when asked how noteworthy this particular nomination is since it’s for a show with a huge Asian participation, including Darren. 

“Maybe Happy Ending is an Asian story, set in Korea about Koreans but it is extremely universal.”

“The show tells a story of love and relationships that are very uniquely Asian, making it very significant to have so many artists of Asian descent actually be working in the show on and off stage,” he added.

As for the bumper crop of nominated Filipino talents in this year’s Tonys, Clint said to Rappler, “I am always very proud of what we as a people are able to achieve but also never take it for granted. We always strive for excellence so it isn’t a surprise. Beyond Darren, Nicole, Conrad, Marco, and me, there is a strong sense of Filipino representation in this current Broadway season.”

“Lea Salonga is in Old Friends, Eva Noblezada is in Cabaret, with many more Filipino artists scattered across the theater district. There are a lot of us on Broadway. That makes me extremely happy and proud.”

The other Filipinos currently appearing on Broadway include two more in lead roles, Tatianna Cordoba (Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, which garnered two nods) and Kay Sibal in Six the Musical, plus Raechelle Manalo, Nico DeJesus, and Niki Saludez in supporting roles in Alicia Keys’ musical, Hell’s Kitchen.

“It’s extremely fulfilling,” said Clint about the citations announced by Tony winners Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce, especially since America is celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May. “It feels like the stars aligned but moreover, it is a reminder to not give up the fight for meaningful representation everywhere.”

He shared with Rappler his next projects. “I am producing Into the Woods (with Lea) in the Philippines, opening in August at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, which we are very excited about.”

“I also continue my work as the creative producing director for Encores! at the New York City Center and the artist in residence at the Lincoln Center. Beyond that, there are many more exciting projects on the horizon.”

Darren Criss

Darren Criss was backstage at Today, NBC’s popular morning TV show, preparing for his guest appearance with the cast, when he watched and learned about his Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical citation for Maybe Happy Ending.

Darren, together with his fellow producers, are also nominated for Best Musical for Maybe Happy Ending, which led with the most nominations (10), tied with Buena Vista Social Club and Death Becomes Her.

On Today, he and his co-star, Helen J Shen, performed The Rainy Day We Met, their song as obsolete helper robots in the musical set in near-future Korea.

Darren, whose mother, Cerina (nee Bru), was born in Cebu and therefore shares Cebuano heritage with Clint, made history in 2019 as the first Filipino-American to win a Golden Globe Award. Darren earned the distinction when he cinched the Best Actor in a Limited TV Series for The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

The 2025 Tony nominees were chosen by an independent committee of theater professionals, including Fil-Ams, actor Jose Llana and playwright, director, and producer Ralph Peña.

“I’d like to be very clear: before this morning I was already fully charged. Since day one, Maybe Happy Ending has been an ongoing, exponential miracle. And for the last several months, my battery has been in a constant state of overwhelming joy and gratitude,” Darren posted on Instagram. 

“So in many ways, the air today in Seoul is no different. This morning’s announcements aren’t the reason why I show up to work or love what I do or love who I work with. They ARE, however, a fitting celebration of that same community, artistry and glorious collaboration — whose fruits of labor have been such an incredible gift to me,” he added.

“And so I gladly accept today’s news with pride and the excitement that it may allow our little light to shine as brightly beyond the Belasco Theatre as possible. And now, on with the show…”

Marco Paguia

Marco Paguia earned his Tony citation for Best Orchestration for Buena Vista Social Club, which cinched 10 nods. He is onstage as music director of the musical set in Havana, Cuba, following four musicians from the 1950s to the 1990s.

For his work in the same musical, Marco has already received several awards, including the Drama Desk Award.

– Rappler.com