Alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Darren Criss, a 3rd Fil-Am won at the Tony Awards: Meet Marco Paguia

Fil-Ams ruled at the 78th Tony Awards show.

There was Darren Criss, who won for his performance in “Maybe Happy Ending,” and there was Nicole Scherzinger, a former Pussycat Doll who bagged the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for playing Norma Desmond in “Sunset Blvd.” 

But there was a 3rd Fil-Am winner that evening at the Radio City Music Hall in New York: Marco Paguia, who bagged a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for the musical “Buena Vista Social Club.”

Based on the book of Mario Ramirez and featuring the music recorded by the ensemble musician group, Buena Vista Social Club, the musical is set in Havana, Cuba and spans from the 1950s to the 1990s. It follows the lives of four prominent musicians.

Paguia, a music director, arranger, orchestrator and pianist based in New York, competed against David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber (“Sunset Blvd.”), Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber (“Just in Time”), Will Aronson (“Maybe Happy Ending”), and Bruce Coughlin (“Floyd Collins”).

Marco Paguia poses with the Best Orchestrations award for Buena Vista Social Club at the 78th Annual Tony Awards in New York City, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

He was also the music director for “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” “Girl From the North Country,” “Peter and the Starcatcher,” and “Everyday Rapture” (Broadway).

Paguia also played on the soundtrack to Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. His arrangements and orchestrations have been performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

It was definitely a big night for Fil-Ams, because Criss not only won for Best Performance by a lead in a Musical, he also won for producing the musical. Winning his first two Tony Awards, allowed the former "Glee" star to make history by becoming the first known Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) actor to win the leading role in a musical category, and the first person to win that award for a show they also produced.

Criss, who attended the awards show with his wife Mia Swier, thanked the latter profusely in his acceptance speech. Saying “a lot of humans got me here," Criss first thanked a slew of personalities from his mom to his teachers, before zeroing in on Mia.

"The real hero about this remarkable journey is my wife, Mia, who took a massive swing on allowing me to do this and to allow this crazy upheaval in our life to make this logistically possible, and for bearing the brunt of raising two tiny friends under three so that I could raise a singing robot at the Belasco Theater eight times a week," he said.

Darren Criss accepts Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical award for Maybe Happy Ending at the 78th Annual Tony Awards in New York City, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid

“Mia, you are the very pedestal that upholds the shiny, spinning bit in our lives, and your love and your support for me and our beautiful children, combined with the miracle of working on something as magical as Maybe Happy Ending has been and will always be award enough," Darren added.

“This play that we're doing is about love and memory, so I would like to dedicate this in loving memory to one of the greatest role models I ever had, one of the best friends I ever had, and that is my father, Bill and my brother Chuck. Congratulations to all of you here tonight on your achievements. Everybody out there. Break a leg. And I'm going to go celebrate with my favorite kind of people to party - with theater people.”

“Maybe Happy Ending” dominated the night with six wins including Best Musical, Best Musical Actor (Criss), Best Musical Director, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Scenic Design for a Musical.

Criss beat Jonathan Groff (“Just in Time”), Jeremy Jordan (“Floyd Collins”), Andrew Durand (“Dead Outlaw”), Tom Francis (“Sunset Blvd.”) and James Monroe Iglehart (“A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical”).

Finally, Scherzinger was "so proud to represent" as she thanked everything "for making this little Hawaiian-Ukrainian-Filipino girl's dream come true."

Nicole Scherzinger accepts Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical award for Sunset Blvd. at the 78th Annual Tony Awards in New York City, U.S., June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid

In her emotional speech, the 46-year-old singled out her mom "who had me at 18 and gave everything up for me" and "who instilled in me an unshakable faith." She also made a special shout out to her fiance Tom, "who believes in me when I forget to believe in myself."

“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. So if there's anyone out there who feels like they don't belong or their time hasn't come, don't give up. Just keep on giving and giving. Because the world needs your love and your light now more than ever. This is a testament that love always wins. Thank you so much. God bless you.”

Scherzinger, who was introduced by Glenn Close, brought the house down and received a standing ovation when she performed “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Close, who performed Norma Desmond in the 1995 musical “Sunset Blvd.,” has praised Scherzinger’s performance. She wrote, “Nicole’s performance is an act of raw artistry and astounding bravery.”

“Sunset Blvd.” also won as Best Revival of a Musical.

Also nominated in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical were Audra McDonald (“Gypsy”), Megan Hilty (“Death Becomes Her”), Jasmine Amy Rogers (“BOOP! The Musical”), and Jennifer Simard (“Death Becomes Her”).

Other Fil-Ams nominated for a Tony this year included Conrad Ricamora (Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for “Oh, Mary!”) and Clint Ramos (Best Costume Design of a Musical for “Maybe Happy Ending”). — LA, GMA Integrated News