It’s the biggest night on Broadway!
The 79th annual Tony Awards presented by the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League in a return to Radio City Music Hall. Pop icon P!nk is hosting the gala event that promises performances from all of the nominated musicals, a walk down memory lane, and a few surprises.
Prior to the live television broadcast there were some awards presented in the pre-show event called “Act One”…
Best Book of a Musical: Cinco Paul for “Schmigadoon!”
Best Original Score written for the Theatre: Cinco Paul for “Schmigadoon!”
Best Costume Design of a Play: Jeff Mahshie for “Fallen Angels”
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Qween Jean for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
Best Lighting Design of a Play: Jack Knowles for Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Jen Schriever and Michael Arden for “The Lost Boys”
Best Sound Design of a Play: Mikaal Sulaiman for Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”
Best Sound Design of a Musical: Kai Harada for “Ragtime”
Best Orchestrations: Doug Besterman and Mike Morris for “Schmigadoon!”
Best Scenic Design of a Play: Chloe Lamford for Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”
Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Dana Laffrey for “The Lost Boys”
Best Choreography: Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre:
Andre’ Bishop
James Lapine
Jules Fisher
Special tony Award: League of Resident Theatres
Isabelle Stevenson tony Award: Mary-Mitchell Campbell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre:
1/52 Project
Jake Bell
Kenn Lubin
Loren Plotkin
Pink opens with a musical performance of “Lady Marmalade” with new lyrics for the occasion and included many of the stars form Broadway.
She noted that Broadway is like group therapy.
The first award of the night was for Best Performance by an Actor in a Play and went to John Lithgow for his role as Roald Dahl in “Giant”. He noted that he won his first Tony Award 53 years ago. Tonight was his third.
The cast of “Schmigadoon!” performed.
The award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play went to Laurie Metcalf for her role in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”.
The cast of “Ragtime” perform.
The award for Best Direction of a Musical went to Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
The award for Best Direction of a Play went to Joe Mantello for Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”.
The cast of “Titanique” give a performance.
The award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical went to Shoshana Bean for her role in “The Lost Boys”. This is her first Tony Award win.
The re-imagined “Cats” has become “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and the cast gives a performance.
The award for Best Play went to “Liberation”. It has been nearly 40 years since an American female playwright won the award.
The cast of “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” perform.
The award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical went to Ali Louis Bourzgui for his role in “The Lost Boys”. This is his first Tony Award win.
At 30 years and counting, “Chicago” is the longest running revival in Broadway history. Members of the cast perform. Pink joined the cast for “All That Jazz”.
The award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play went to Lesley Manville for her role in “Oedipus”. This is her first Tony Award win for the two time Olivier Award winner. A 2,500 year old play that was brought into the present.
The cast of the “Rocky Horror Show” give a performance.
Sting noted a great piece of work is continually evolving. He presented the award for Best Revival of a Musical to “Ragtime”.
Leslie Odem Jr performed “Without You” for the In Memoriam segment paying tribute to those who have passed over the past year.
The award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play went to Alden Ehrenreich for his role in “Becky Shaw”.
The cast of “The Lost Boys” perform.
Billy Crystal presents the award for Best Revival of a Play to Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”. The show’s star Nathan Lane accepted the award.
Fifteen years and over 5,500 performances ago, “The Book of Mormon” debuted on Broadway. Tonight members of the original cast return for a performance.
Fifty year ago, “A Chorus Line” made its Broadway debut. Rachel Zegler performed “What I Did for Love”
The award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical went to Caissie Levy for her role in “Ragtime”. This is her first Tony Award win.
The award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical went to Joshua Henry for his role in “Ragtime”. This is his first Tony Award win. He said it was an honour to play the role.
The final award of the night is for Best Musical goes to “Schmigadoon!”.