Cole Escola, channeling Bernadette Peters, thanked fellow nominees in their speech for their history-making Tony Awards win for "Oh, Mary!"

At the final fitting for their custom Wiederhoeft gown ahead of the show, Escola shared their thoughts on Patti LuPone, and a proposal for fixing gendered categories at the Tonys: “They should do it based on where you piss,

Escola wore a custom Wiederhoeft gown inspired by Peters' 1999 look Bernadette Peters responded to Cole Escola's 2025 Tony Awards dress homage The Broadway legend said Escola's look was "lovely" and joked that she "wore my chest hairs in a different pattern" Peters also congratulated Escola on winning the award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor Bernadette Peters is shouting out Cole Escola's style homage.