It was Glee-on-Glee violence at the 2025 Tony Awards. Darren Criss (Blaine Anderson) beat Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James) and four other fellas who weren’t on Glee for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Former Warbler Criss won for his role in Maybe Happy Ending, a romantic musical about two robots in love co-starring Helen Shen and a plant called HwaBoon. The musical tied with Buena Vista Social Club and Death Becomes Her for most nominations this year, ultimately winning six of its ten nods.

This was Darren Criss’s first Tony nomination, and the second letter in his potential future EGOT following his 2018 Emmy win for American Crime Story. He shouted out his fellow “leading lads” for their work this Broadway season. “They put us in a category together, but you boys are all in a category of your very own,” he added. Criss also thanked his wife, Mia, for “raising two tiny friends under 3 so that I could raise a singing robot at the Belasco Theatre eight times a week,” he said, taking a page out of the Ryan Gosling school of award acceptance. “Mia, you are the very pedestal that upholds the shiny, spinny bit of our lives.” Criss closed out his speech vowing to party with his favorite type of people: “THEATER PEOPLE!” Yes, the drinks will be flowing at Tramp Stamp Granny’s tonight.

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 Blaine beat Jesse St. James.