Ben Zauzmer

I am proud to announce that I've written a book — and it's available now! "Oscarmetrics" uses math to answer fascinating questions about the Oscars. Just in time for the holidays and awards season, this book is perfect for movie fans and data fans alike! amazon.com/dp/1629334405

Sam Pinkleton (Oh, Mary!) wins a close Play Direction race over Danya Taymor, a Tony winner from last year. New tally: 17/20!

Sam Pinkleton (Oh, Mary!) wins Best Direction of a Play! He's the first person in Tony Awards history to have a win for directing a play and a nomination for choreography, which he received for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

RIP Brian Wilson, the leader of the Beach Boys, and forever the songwriter of all of our Endless Summers. The Beach Boys had 37 Top-40 hits, the most by any American band. youtube.com/watch?v=ruKCw7…

Thanks so much for joining me for the 78th Tony Awards! See you next year!

Final tally: Of the 26 categories, the nominee with highest probability in my model for @THR won 22 times!

Maybe Happy Ending wins the final award of the night, Best Musical!

Maybe Happy Ending is the third show to win Best Musical, Director, Book, Score, Lead Actor, and Scenic Design. The first two were Sweeney Todd (1979) and The Producers (2001).

Maybe Happy Ending, which debuted in Seoul in 2016, is the first show to premiere in Asia to win the Tony for Best Musical.

Nicole Scherzinger (Sunset Boulevard) wins Best Actress in a Musical! It’s the second win for Norma Desmond; only Anna Leonowens (The King and I) and Rose (Gypsy) have more, with three apiece.

Darren Criss (Maybe Happy Ending) wins Leading Actor in a Musical! 24 categories down, 21 favorites have won, just 2 to go.

Darren Criss (Maybe Happy Ending) is the first Tony winner for Best Actor in a Musical who also has an Emmy since Tony Shalhoub won for The Band’s Visit (2018).

Sunset Blvd wins Best Revival of a Musical! Of the 23 categories announced thus far, 20 have gone according to my data-based model for @THR.

Sunset Blvd is the 6th show to win Musical Revival and Lighting Design: 1. Chicago (1997) 2. Into the Woods (2002) 3. Assassins (2004) 4. South Pacific (2008) 5. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014)

Sunset Boulevard wins Best Musical Revival! It’s only the second winner in the past eight years whose original incarnation won Best Musical, after Company (2022).

Stranger Things: The First Shadow is the 7th play to win Lighting, Scenic, and Sound Design: -Red (2010) -War Horse (2011) -Peter and the Starcatcher (2012) -Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2018) -A Christmas Carol (2020) -Life of Pi (2023)

Cole Escola (Oh, Mary!) wins the final play category of the night, Lead Actor in a Play. 19/22, with just four musical categories to go!

Cole Escola (Oh, Mary!) is the first person to win Best Actor in a Play for a play that they themselves wrote since Harvey Fierstein won for Torch Song Trilogy (1983).

Buena Vista Social Club is the first musical in Tonys history to win Featured Actress, Choreography, Orchestrations, and Sound Design.

Michael Arden (Maybe Happy Ending) wins Best Direction of a Musical, barely passing Jamie Lloyd (Sunset Boulevard). 18-of-21 for the model!

Michael Arden (Maybe Happy Ending) wins Best Direction of a Musical! It’s his second win in three years, after Parade (2023). Only Harold Prince (8 wins), Gower Champion (3), and Tommy Tune (3) have more.