Cole Escola, 38, Steps Out in a Silver Dress at the 2025 Tonys, Sparking Buzz

The actor didn't just steal the show, they rewrote Broadway history in a silver gown.

Cole Escola, 38, stepped out for the 2025 Tony Awards held at Radio City Music Hall on June 8, 2035, sparking buzz online with their outfit.

The playwright and comedian was dressed in a princessy custom Wienderhoft, completing their look with a silver choker. The outfit was inspired by the one Bernadette Peters wore at the 1999 Tony Awards.

Online, fans gushed about Escola's dress and appearance. One Reddit user wrote, "Very princessy. I love the choker," while another commented, "Absolute perfection. I would not change a thing, not a curl, not the nails, it's all perfect." A third added, "Their chest hair is the moooooost perfect accessory with this dress[,] it's truly amazing."

The admiration went beyond the Reddit space as fans on Instagram gushed, "Cole looks so good!! Wiederhoeft does it again!😍," while another commented, "They look fabulous. I do wish they'd shaved their chest though. Still. A gorgeous look."

In response to a user comment about Escola's chest hair, a fan wrote, "Wow people are sensitive over a dress and body hair."However, not all comments were positive. A user wrote, "Good lord, are those chest hairs?!?!?" while another commented, "Oh the chest hairs."

Escola won Best Lead Actor in a Play for their fantastic performance in "Oh, Mary!," becoming the first openly nonbinary performer to win a Tony in any acting category for a play.

While their sharp, high-wire performance was well-deserved, their portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln in the show "Oh, Mary! also drew buzz online.

In response to users noting that Escola portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln, a fan said, "Wait til people hear about who originally played women characters in Shakespeare's plays."

The win is a career-defining moment for the 38-year-old actor and a major milestone for LGBTQ+ visibility on Broadway. Their portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln as a boozy, fame-hungry cabaret hopeful in a chaotic, John Waters-style comedy has been called nothing short of riotous.

While Sally Field's take on Lincoln's First Lady in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" didn't earn Oscar gold in 2013, Escola's wild, hilarious reimagining of the historical figure finally brought Mary Todd Lincoln her night of glory on Broadway's biggest stage.

Escola in "Oh, Mary!" portrayed Mary as a boozy cabaret singer who spirals through delusions and drama, while a queer-coded Abraham Lincoln, played by Conrad Ricamora, moves closer to his infamous assassination.

The show has drawn comparisons to classic camp and queer theater, and audiences have been thoroughly enjoying it.

Escola has already won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, leading up to the Tonys — a strong sign that the theater world was ready to honor their unique voice and vision.

"Oh, Mary!" began Off-Broadway in New York's West Village and quickly built an impressive followership. The Broadway transfer only deepened the buzz, drawing high-profile fans like Steven Spielberg, Sally Field, Mark Hamill, Melissa McCarthy, and Mia Farrow.

While Escola's win is groundbreaking, it's not the first time the Tonys have recognized the nonbinary talent. In 2023, J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell made history as the first nonbinary winners in musical categories for "Some Like It Hot" and "Shucked," respectively.

Still, the Tonys, like the Oscars and Emmys, continue to separate acting awards by gender, a structure many have criticized as outdated. But other organizations, like the Drama Desk Awards and Independent Spirit Awards, now use gender-neutral categories.

Escola's historic win adds to that ongoing conversation, and they did it on their terms in a glittering silver gown, with a twisted sense of humor, and a one-of-a-kind performance that made Broadway and history sit up and pay attention.