Nicole Scherzinger won the Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical Sunday, after making her Broadway debut portraying Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd.
“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 during her emotional acceptance speech.
Scherzinger, who rose to fame as the lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls, brought the role to Broadway after playing the aging, silent film star with delusions of grandeur in London’s West End. She won the 2024 Olivier Award for best actress in a musical for her performance across the pond, with both productions directed by Jamie Lloyd.
“Jamie Lloyd you saw in me what know one else did. You gave us all new ways to dream and you’ve changed my life together,” Scherzinger said in her speech.
The leading actress in a musical category was one of the most closely watched races in the industry, with Nicole Scherzinger’s captivating portrayal of Desmond, and her masterful vocals, which regularly lead to two standing ovations per show, in close contention with McDonald’s nuanced portrayal of Rose in Gypsy and powerhouse performance of “Rose’s Turn,” which also brought audience to their feet.
Jennifer Simard and Megan Hilty from Death Becomes Her and Jasmine Amy Rodgers from Boop! The Musical were also nominees in the category.
Tony voters were weighing Scherzinger’s strong Broadway debut against McDonald’s long Broadway career and six previous Tonys. Scherzinger also had a moment of controversy early in her run, when she liked and commented on a MAGA-style hat, which read “Make Jesus First Again,” while McDonald saw a recent surge of community support after facing negative comments from Patti LuPone.
Both had been campaigning and participating in numerous media and industry opportunities ahead of the Tony Awards ceremony, including the annual Miscast event, where actors take on parts they would not be cast in, and Scherzinger sang “I Am What I Am,” an anthem in the gay community, from La Cage Aux Folles. Throughout her run, Scherzinger has also been taking photos still in costume, and covered in blood, with backstage guests and celebrities.
The musical, which features a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and opened on Broadway in 1994, traditionally featured a grand staircase, and a lot of spectacle around the storyline of a screenwriter who finds himself entranced and entrapped in Desmond’s home. In this revival, the stage is bare, but Lloyd uses cameras that often project Norma’s face in a large screen over the stage and even follows Joe Gillis, the screenwriter, as he brings the audience backstage, then outside the theater to start the second act.
The role of Desmond, which was first popularized on screen, has also been played by Patti LuPone and Glenn Close, who both saw Scherzinger on stage and praised her performance.
In addition to playing Norma Desmond in the West End production of Sunset Blvd., Scherzinger appeared as Grizabella in the 2014 West End production of Cats.
Scherzinger stars in Sunset Blvd, through July 12, alongside Tom Francis, who was also Tony-nominated for his portrayal of Joe Gillis.