It’s the biggest night on Broadway…the annual Tony Awards! For the third year in a row, Ariana DeBose is hosting the gala event and promises the full Broadway experience live from Lincoln Center in New York City.
But before the gala event, Act One gets the night started with by recognizing the creative and design teams.
The award for Best Book of a Musical got the awards started with Shaina Toub for “Suffs” taking the first award of the night. She took the stage to some rousing applause and cheers.
The award for Best Costume Design of a Play went to Dede Ayite for “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”.
The award for Best Costume Design of a Musical went to Linda Cho for “The Great Gatsby”.
The award for Best Orchestration went to Jonathan Tunick for “Merrily We Roll Along”. The now 13 time Tony Award winner noted that he was very proud to be winning his first Tony for a Sondheim musical.
The Outstanding Regional Theater Award went to The Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia.
The award for Best Scenic Design of a Musical went to Tom Scutt for “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”.
The award for Best Scenic Design of a Play went to David Zinn for “Stereophonic”.
Six time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald presented the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award to George C Wolfe.
The award for Best Choreography went to Justin Peck for “Illinoise”.
CJay Philip was presented with the Excellence in Theater Education Award. She concluded with “Let the light within you shine!”
The award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical went to Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim for “The Outsiders”. This was a first win for Hana
The award for Best Lighting Design of a Play went to Jane Cox for “Appropriate”. This is Cox’s first win.
Four time Tony Award winner Harvey Firestein presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Jack O’Brien. He noted that “no one asked them to do this”; adding “it’s a calling.”
The award for Best Sound Design of a Play went to Ryan Rumery for “Stereophonic”. This is his first nomination and win.
The award for Best Sound Design of a Musical went to Cody Spencer for “The Outsiders”. This is his first Tony Award win.
Activist, artist, and actor Billy Porter was presented the Isabelle Stevens Award. He opened his speech with a song. The teleprompter wasn’t working, so Porter got his phone and read his powerful speech.
Ariana DeBose opens her third time of hosting the Tony Awards with a musical performance.
Noting that the current headlines are terrifying, DeBose says that the Theater is a safe place.
Taraji P Henson presented the first award of the night on the live broadcast to Jeremy Strong in “Enemy of the People” for the Leading Actor in a Play. This is his first nomination and win.
The musical biopic from Alicia Keys “Hell’s Kitchen” kicked off the Best Musical nominees. Keys herself joined the cast on the stage for a performance.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson presented the award for Featured Actor in a Play to Will Brill for his role in “Stereophonic”. This is his first nomination and win.
The Who’s Pete Towsend introduces their musical “Tommy”. He noted that he was 24 years old when he started putting the rock opera together. Townsend joins the cast in the performance.
The award for Best Featured Actress in a Play went to Kara Young for her role in “Purely Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”. This is her first Tony Award win.
The cast from “Merrily We Roll Along” give performance.
The award for Best Direction of a Play went Daniel Aukin for “Stereophonic”. His first nomination and win, Aukin was the only male nominee in the category.
The award for Best Direction of a Musical went to Danya Taymor for “The Outsiders”. This is her first nomination and win.
The cast from “Water for Elephants” give a performance.
The award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical went to Daniel Radcliffe for his role in “Merrily We Roll Along”. This is his first Tony nomination and win.
The award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical went to Kecia Lewis for her role in “Hell’s Kitchen”. This is her first Tony Award win. The most nominated production this year; this is the first “Hell’s Kitchen” win of the night.
The cast of “Illinoise” give a performance.
The cast of “Stereophonic” perform. With 13 Tony nominations, it is the most nominated play in Tony history.
The award for Best Score went to Shaina Taub for “Suffs”. This is her second award of the night.
The cast of “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” perform. The revival of the musical has been reworked to where the entire theatre is the club.
The award for Best Revival of a Play went to “Appropriate”.
Earlier this year the theatre lost an icon and a legend when Chita Rivera died. The Tony Awards pay tribute to Rivera.
The award for Best Play went to the record setting play “Stereophonic”!
The cast of “Suffs” give a performance.
The cast of “The Outsiders” perform.
Jennifer Hudson presents the award for Best Revival of a Musical to “Merrily We Roll Along”.
The award for Lead Actress in a Play went to Sarah Paulson for her role in “Appropriate”. This is Paulson’s first Tony Award.
Nicole Scherzinger pays tribute to those who have passed on over the past year with a performance of “What I Did for Love” for the In Memoriam segment.
The award for Lead Actress in a Musical went to Maleah Joi Moon for her role in “Hell’s Kitchen”. This is her first Tony Award nomination and win. She dedicated the award to her parents.
The award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical went to Jonathan Groff for his role in “Merrily We Roll Along”. This is his first Tony Award win.
In the final award of the night, the winner of the Best Musical award went to “The Outsiders”