Tony Awards Review: A Writer-Less Ceremony Goes Off Without A Hitch As Broadway Improvises A Winner; Snubs, Surprises And More
Winners at Sunday night’s Tony Awards were quick to express support for the WGA and striking writers, but the awards ceremony itself, broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+, might well have been at cross-purposes. The harsh truth is, the show didn’t seem to suffer much at all.
No scripted banter, acceptance speeches kept to a minimum and a charming and seemingly off-the-cuff hosting performance by Ariana DeBose all made for a terrific evening that showcased Broadway in just the right light. Even the new venue — new for the Tonys, that is — turned in a star performance: The United Palace in New York City’s Washington Heights looked absolutely gorgeous.
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There were a few surprises, but no shocks. Jessica Chastain lost out to Jodie Comer, but really, that was a 50-50 chance going in. Other big names that left without a trophy included Wendell Pierce, Josh Groban, Samuel L. Jackson and Succession‘s Arian Moayed.
One big name that took an award most observers figured would land elsewhere: Sean Hayes.
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The night’s award winners can be found here, but the ceremony itself had its own memorable moments and highlights:
- Kimberly Akimbo. Taking five trophies, including Best Musical and actress wins for Victoria Clark and Bonnie Milligan, the musical about a teenage girl with a (fictional) rapid-aging condition isn’t easy to describe. But the musical number “Anagram” showcased the production in all its sweet, funny and quirky glory. Clark and Milligan also delivered two of the best acceptance speeches of the night, with thanking her thanking her late mother who “didn’t believe in limits, and neither should we,” and Milligan saying, “I want to tell everybody that doesn’t maybe look like what the world is telling you you should look like, You belong somewhere.”
- Leopoldstadt and Some Like It Hot, both took four awards, with the former’s Brandon Uranowitz delivering a moving acceptance speech after winning for featured actor in a play, and J. Harrison Ghee, the nonbinary star of Some Like It Hot, saying, “For every trans, nonbinary, gender nonconforming human who ever was told you couldn’t be, you couldn’t be seen, this is for you.”
- Nonbinary inclusion: In addition to Ghee, who won in the lead actor/musical category, Alex Newell also made history tonight, taking the featured actor/musical award. “Thank you for seeing me, Broadway!” Newell said. “I should not be up here as a queer, nonbinary, fat black lil’ baby from Massachusetts! To anyone that thinks they can’t do it, I’m going to look you dead in your face and say that you can do anything you put your mind to.”
- Ariana DeBose. From the opening shot of DeBose backstage holding a script with no words, DeBose had the audience in her hands. Confident, self-assured, in fine voice and, yes, never at a loss for words, DeBose was perfection, not a misstep in a night that could have offered plenty.
- Sweeney Todd. Sure, it lost the big Musical Revival award to the equally deserving Parade, but the Sondheim masterpiece looked and sounded every bit as fabulous as it plays in the theater.
- Michael Arden, director of Parade, gave one of the best he-who-laughs-last victory speeches ever: “To our beautiful trans, nonbinary queer youth: know that your queerness is what makes you beautiful and powerful. Everyone in this room sees you and needs you, and we will fight alongside you and we will win. Growing up, I was called the f-word more times than I can remember, and now I’m a f*ggot with a Tony!”
- Funny Girl had no business being on stage tonight – it was eligible last year – but who cares? Lea Michele delivered a powerhouse “Don’t Rain On My Parade” in a glowing display of better late than never.
As for the, shall we say, lesser moments, there were:
- A Beautiful Noise. The performance of “Sweet Caroline” from the Neil Diamond bio-musical pretty much explained why the show was a nomination shut-out. Compared to the other productions, it looked chintzy and second-rate. Funny Girl, on the other hand, which also was shoehorned into tonight’s ceremony with no nominations to tout, was a rouser.
- The night’s sole questionable win came in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category, with Sean Hayes taking the trophy for Good Night, Oscar. Perhaps Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Corey Hawkins split the vote with their co-starring performances in Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog, and maybe Between Riverside and Crazy, starring Stephen McKinley Henderson, was too distant a memory for Tony voters (it closed in February). Still, any one of those performances would have made a better choice than Hayes’ attention-grabbing turn.
As for The Gilded Age actor Denée Benton’s reference to Ron DeSantis as the “Grand Wizard” of Florida, we hope that she gave a heads-up to Jason Zembuch Young, the teacher from South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida, who won this year’s special Tony for theater education. In announcing Zembuch Young’s win and making the DeSantis joke, Benton assured nationwide attention on an award category that usually slips by without much notice. The teacher deserves the spotlight.
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The winners, by number of awards, is as follows:
Kimberly Akimbo: 5
Leopoldstadt: 4
Some Like It Hot: 4
Life of Pi: 3
Parade: 2
Sweeny Todd: 2
Good Night, Oscar: 1
New York New York: 1
Prima Facie: 1
Shucked: 1
The Sign in Sidney Blustein’s Window: 1
Topdog/Underdog: 1
Check out Deadline’s archived Live Blog below to see how things unfolded in real time.