Why Cole Escola didn’t give Bernadette Peters a heads up on their 2025 Tony’s gown tribute

Actor Cole Escola reveals more about how their fashion tribute to Bernadette Peters came together for the 2025 Tony Awards, and why they chose not to give her a heads up on the red-carpet outfit in advance.

It was truly a Cinderella moment for Cole. The ‘Oh Mary!’ star attended Broadway’s biggest night wearing a custom Wiederhoeft gown in icy blue, adorned with glass beads, crystals, and sequins. The outfit was inspired by the dress Peters wore at the 1999 Tony Awards, where she won Best Leading Actress in a Musical for ‘Annie Get Your Gun.’

In an interview on ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers, the 38-year-old Broadway star reflected on the significance of the tribute and says they were hoping the borrowed look could give them good luck as a nominee.

WATCH: Cole Escola dishes on his Tony Award’s outfit tribute to Bernadette Peters

"Maybe a part of me thought that it might bring me luck. But also I was like, this is never going to happen to me again," Escola told host Seth Meyers.

"This was like a formative gown for me. It was like a formative moment of like, 'Wow, [Peters] is the most beautiful woman in the world. So, I was like, if this is my special Cinderella goes to the ball one night, I want to look as perfect as possible."

As the story goes, Escola accepted the Tony award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for "Oh, Mary!" – cementing their name as the first nonbinary Broadway winner in the category.

At the time, Peters,77, congratulated Escola and acknowledged the fashion nod in a statement to People.

"I thought they looked absolutely lovely, but when I wore it, I wore my chest hairs in a different pattern,” Peters said.

During the talk show interview, Escola reacted jokingly to Meyers, "As you can see her [chest hairs] are more tucked in.”