How did Kentucky natives George Clooney, Nicole Scherzinger fare at the 2025 Tony Awards?

Two high-profile actors who attended high school in Kentucky were among the nominees at Sunday's 78th Tony Awards held at the Radio City Music Hall in New York and hosted by "Wicked" star Cynthia Erivo.

George Clooney, a 1979 graduate of Independent High School in Augusta, Kentucky, and former Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger, an alum of duPont Manual's Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, were each at the awards ceremony as first-time Tony nominees.

Scherzinger is currently starring in the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Blvd." The former winner of "Dancing with the Stars" arrived at the awards show in the running for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role as ill-fated former silent screen star Norma Desmond.

Two-time Academy Award winner Clooney was nominated in the Best Lead Actor in a Play category for his Broadway debut in "Good Night, and Good Luck." The Broadway play, based on Clooney's 2005 film of the same name, is now the highest grossing play in Broadway history. The show also became the first play to surpass $4 million in ticket sales in one week (for the period ending on May 4).

In addition,the musical "Floyd Collins," based on the true story of small-town farmer and cave explorer Floyd Collins who became trapped in a southern Kentucky cave in 1925, was nominated for six Tony Awards, including in the Best Revival of a Musical. Scherzinger's "Sunset Blvd"was also nominated in this category.

In the categories in which Clooney, Scherzinger and "Floyd Collins" were nominated, here are the winners (in bold):

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

• George Clooney — "Good Night and Good Luck"
• Cole Escola — "Oh, Mary!"
• Jon Michael Hill — "Purpose"
• Daniel Dae Kim — "Yellow Face"
• Harry Lennix — "Purpose"
• Louis McCartney — "Stranger Things–The First Shadow"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

• Megan Hilty — "Death Becomes Her"
• Audra McDonald — "Gypsy"
• Jasmine Amy Rogers — "BOOP! The Musical"
• Nicole Scherzinger — "Sunset Blvd."
• Jennifer Simard — "Death Becomes Her"

Best Revival of a Musical

• "Floyd Collins"
• "Gypsy"
• "Pirates! The Penzance Musical"
• "Sunset Blvd."

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

• Darren Criss, "Maybe Happy Ending"
• Andrew Durand, "Dead Outlaw"
• Tom Francis, "Sunset Blvd."
• Jonathan Groff, "Just in Time"
• James Monroe Iglehart, "A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical"
• Jeremy Jordan, "Floyd Collins"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

• Brooks Ashmanskas, "SMASH"
• Jeb Brown, "Dead Outlaw"
• Danny Burstein, "Gypsy"
• Jak Malone, "Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical"
• Taylor Trensch, "Floyd Collins"

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

• Jack Knowles, "Sunset Blvd."
• Tyler Micoleau, "Buena Vista Social Club"
• Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, "Floyd Collins"
• Ben Stanton, "Maybe Happy Ending"
• Justin Townsend, "Death Becomes Her"

Best Sound Design of a Musical

• Jonathan Deans, "Buena Vista Social Club"
• Adam Fisher, "Sunset Blvd."
• Peter Hylenski, "Just in Time"
• Peter Hylenski, "Maybe Happy Ending"
• Dan Moses Schreier, "Floyd Collins"

Best Orchestrations

• Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, "Just in Time"
• Will Aronson, "Maybe Happy Ending"
• Bruce Coughlin, "Floyd Collins"
• Marco Paguia, "Buena Vista Social Club"
• David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, "Sunset Blvd."

Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at [email protected].