Secrets of the 2025 Tony Nominees: Speech Prep, Unexpected Gifts and Cynthia Erivo Dreams

The confessional continues with more behind-the-scenes intel from our annual series, Secrets of the Tony Nominees. Curious who’ll be keeping a speech in their back pocket and who’ll be riffing off the cuff? We’ve got answers all about the big night. Dead Outlaw star Andrew Durand admits he’s written about 25 percent of a speech, while Sunset Boulevard’s Tom Francis knows one thing for sure: He really needs to thank director Jamie Lloyd. When asked what gift they’d give all their fellow nominees, John Proctor Is the Villain standout Fina Strazza offered her custom-made trail mix, which sounds like it should come with its own trophy. And when it comes to doing something fun with Tony host Cynthia Erivo, the gravity-defying star of the Wicked movies, A Wonderful World’s James Monroe Iglehart said he’s down for anything, no broomstick required. And if words fail Floyd Collins’ Taylor Trensch, he says he might just channel Alice Ripley and her 2009 acceptance speech. There’s no business like show business, and no night quite as delightfully dramatic as the Tonys.