It’s the 76th annual Tony Awards and while each of them is special in its own way with the various musical performances; this one is special in a very different way…with the writers on strike, host Arian DeBose and the presenters will all be on their own and improvising their parts.
In appropriate Tony fashion, the biggest night on Broadway opens with some music and dance that makes use of the whole theatre and brought the house to their feet after opening a script book filled with blank pages.
This year the festivities take place from the Palace Theater in Washington Heights.
Noting that award shows are traditionally written by members of the Writer’s Guild of America; host Ariana DeBose said that a whole lot of people had to compromise to bring the show to fruition tonight. There are two monitors in the room and no teleprompters. Everyone will be unscripted for the show.
DeBose notes that the Tony Awards are special in that it is the one night that Broadway comes to the people.
First on the stage is the cast from “New York, New York” with a performance from the show.
The first award of the night on the live television broadcast is for Featured Actor in a Play and went to Brandon Uranowitz for his role in “Leopoldstadt”
The award for Featured Actress in a Musical went to Bonnie Milligan for her role in “Kimberly Akimbo”.
The Cast of “Camelot” give a performance.
The award for Best Direction of a Play went to Patrick Marber for “Leopoldstadt”. Saying that he doesn’t want to complain, Marber noted that when the actors were named their pictures were shown but not so with the directors; he added that he was thrilled to win the prize.
The award for Best Direction of a Musical went to Michael Arden for “Parade”. He said that the award belongs to all the people who work to put the production on. “Parade” is the story of a life cut short because of bigotry and bias. He tells people to raise up their voices for intolerance.
The cast of “& Juliet” gives a performance. In “& Juliet” mashes up Shakespeare and pop music.
The award for Featured Actress in a Play went to Miriam Silverman for “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”.
Leading the way with 13 nominations, the cast of “Some Like it Hot” give a performance.
The award for Best Revival of a Play went to Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Topdog/Underdog”.
Best Revival of a Musical nominees, the cast of “Into the Woods” gives a performance.
Juliann Hough joins Arian DeBose for a dance performance.
Lifetime Achievement recipients John Kander and Joel Grey take the stage to applause from the audience.
The award for Features Actor in a Musical goes to Alex Newell in “Shucked”. Newell is the first non-binary actor to win the award.
The cast of “Parade” give a performance.
The award for Best Book of a Musical went to David Lindsay-Abaire for “Kimberly Akimbo”. He noted that tonight they were celebrating the theatrical community, but tomorrow they would be celebrating the other industry – the writers – who just want to be treated fairly.
The cast from the Revival of a Musical nominee “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” gave a performance.
The cast of “A Beautiful Noise” gives a performance of “Sweet Caroline” that had the audience singing along.
The award for Best Revival of a Musical went to “Parade”.
The Tony Awards paid tribute to “Phantom of the Opera” who closed after a 35 year run. A song from the production accompanied the In Memoriam segment paying tribute to those who have passed on over the past year.
The award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical went to J. Harrison Ghee in “Some Like it Hot”.
The award for the Leading Actress in a Play went to
Jodie Comer for “Prima Facie”.
The cast from “Kimberly Akimbo” give a performance.
The award for Best Play went to “Leopoldstadt”.
The cast of “Shucked” give a performance.
Melissa Etheridge and Barry Manilow present the award for Leading Actress in a Musical to Victoria Clark in “Kimberly Akimbo”.
Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane present the award for Leading Actor in a Play to Sean Hayes in “Good Night Oscar”. He said it has to be the first time an Oscar won a Tony.
The cast of “Funny Girl” gives a performance.
The award for Best Musical goes to “Kimberly Akimbo”.
Awards presented prior to the live television broadcast:
Best Original Score written for the Theatre: “Kimberly Akimbo” by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori
Best Scenic Design of a Play: Tim Hatley and Andrzej Goulding for “Life of Pi”
Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Beowulf Boritt for “New York, New York”
Best Costume Design of a Play: Brigitte Reiffenstuel for “Leopoldstadt”
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes for “Some Like it Hot”
Best Lighting Design of a Play: Tim Lutkin for “Life of Pi”
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Natasha Katz for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Best Sound Design of a Play: Carolyn Downing for “Life of Pi”
Best Sound Design of a Musical: Nevin Steinberg for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Best Choreography: Casey Nicholaw for “Some Like it Hot”
Best Orchestrations: Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter for “Some Like it Hot”
Joel Grey was presented the award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. His daughter Jennifer presented the award. Grey opened his acceptance speech with the opening from “Cabaret”.
John Kander was also given a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
The Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award went to Jerry Mitchell.
The Regional Theatre Tony Award went to the Pasadena Playhouse
Victoria Bailey, Lisa Dawn Cave, and Robert Fried were all presented with Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.