NYTG at The 72nd Annual Tony Awards... And the Winners are...
The Band's Visit and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child win big at the 2018 Tony Awards!
At The 72nd Annual Tony Awards this evening, the Band visited... and swept the board! Yes, the Broadway premiere of the critically acclaimed hit musical The Band's Visit took home a grand total of 10 Tony Awards (out of a possible 11), including the final award of the night - "Best Musical"! The production was the hot favorite to score the biggest wins in the musical categories, but also provided a couple of surprise victories with Itamar Moses beating the bookies' favorite Tina Fey (of Mean Girls) in the category of "Best Book of a Musical" and Tony Shalhoub snatching the win from Joshua Henry (of Carousel) or Ethan Slater (of SpongeBob SquarePants) to be crowned "Best Leading Actor in a Musical". In addition, Mr. Shalhoub wasn't the only member of the company of The Band's Visit celebrating tonight as co-stars Katrina Lenk and Ari'el Stachel also took home Tonys for "Best Leading Actress in a Musical" and "Best Featured Actor in a Musical", respectively, with Mr. Stachel giving perhaps one of the most emotional acceptance speeches of the night, referring to his own personal struggles growing up with a Middle Eastern ethnicity in the wake of 9/11 until the freedom of his own self-acceptance.
Congratulations also go to Broadway favorite Lindsay Mendez , who received her first Tony Award for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in the Broadway revival of Carousel, which also won "Best Choreography" thanks to Justin Peck. SpongeBob SquarePants (which tied with Mean Girls as the most nominated shows with 12 nods each) only managed to take home one trophy and that was for David Zinn's larger-than-life scenic design, whilst the Lincoln Center Theater revival of My Fair Lady only managed to scoop the Tony for "Best Costume Design of a Musical" from its 10 nominations, thanks to Catherine Zuber's lavish designs. And perhaps the most crowd-pleasing surprise of the night was the fact that Once on This Island was crowned "Best Revival of a Musical" despite stiff competition from Carousel and My Fair Lady, with Alex Newell and Hailey Kilgore bringing the house down with their rendition of "Mama Will Provide" earlier in the evening.
As for the plays, there were few surprises and the clear favorite of the night - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two - continued to cast its spell over voters, earning a grand total of 6 Tony Awards, including "Best Play," "Best Director of a Play" (for John Tiffany) and all four design categories. The National Theatre's revival of Angels in America - another hugely successful London import - was also a big winner as "Best Revival of a Play" in addition to its stars Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane taking home the Tonys for "Best Leading Actor in a Play" and "Best Featured Actor in a Play," respectively. Laurie Metcalf managed to scoop her second Tony Award for her performance in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women as "Best Featured Actress in a Play," joining co-star (and the bookies' favorite) Glenda Jackson, who, at the age of 82 and on her fifth nomination, finally won her first Tony.
The ceremony itself was in fine voice, literally, as co-hosts (and Tony Award nominees in their own right) Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban showed off their exquisite vocals on more than one occasion throughout the evening, even dedicating the opening number to all the losers in Tony Awards history and to most of the nominees who would lose out later in the evening... After all, they both confessed having experience of losing at the Tony Awards themselves! They also evoked hearty laughter from the audience as they presented one segment dressed as each other's Broadway debut characters (as a bearded Bareilles emerged as Pierre from The Great Comet of 1812 with a still-bearded Groban as Jenna from Waitress). They also took part in a special, eclectic mash-up of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals and Chita Rivera performances, as the two living legends were honored with Special Tony Awards for "Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre".
The audience was also treated to a special performance from "The Boss" himself, as Bruce Springsteen gave an intimate rendition of "My Hometown" upon receiving a Special Tony Award for his record-breaking run of Springsteen on Broadway. He was intoduced by Mr. Robert De Niro, whose "F*** Trump!" outbursts also seemed to greatly appeal to those in attendance.
The current cast of last year's "Best Musical" Dear Evan Hansen performed a beautifully re-worked version of "For Forever" during the 'In Memoriam' section of the ceremony, but perhaps the most emotionally-charged performance of the whole evening came from students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who just four months ago experienced a tragic and hellacious shooting in which fourteen students and three staff members lost their lives. As they poured their hearts out and sang "Seasons of Love" from Rent, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Those youngsters received a standing ovation that they will deservedly remember for the rest of their lives.
Check out the full list of winners and our photos from the winners' room below:
Best Play
The Children - Author: Lucy Kirkwood
Farinelli and The King - Author: Claire van Kampen
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Author: Jack Thorne - WINNER!
Junk - Author: Ayad Akhtar
Latin History for Morons - Author: John Leguizamo
Best Musical
The Band's Visit - WINNER!
Best Revival of a Play
Angels in America - WINNER!
Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh
Best Revival of a Musical
Once On This Island - WINNER!
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
Best Book of a Musical
The Band's Visit - Itamar Moses - WINNER!
Frozen - Jennifer Lee
Mean Girls - Tina Fey
SpongeBob SquarePants - Kyle Jarrow
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Angels in America - Music: Adrian Sutton
The Band's Visit - Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek - WINNER!
Frozen - Music & Lyrics: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Mean Girls - Music: Jeff Richmond, Lyrics: Nell Benjamin
SpongeBob SquarePants - Music & Lyrics: Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T's, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani & Lil'C
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America - WINNER!
Tom Hollander, Travesties
Jamie Parker, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Mark Rylance, Farinelli and The King
Denzel Washington, The Iceman Cometh
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women - WINNER!
Condola Rashad, Saint Joan
Lauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God
Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Joshua Henry, Carousel
Tony Shalhoub, The Band's Visit - WINNER!
Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Hailey Kilgore, Once On This Island
LaChanze, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Katrina Lenk, The Band's Visit - WINNER!
Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
Jessie Mueller, Carousel
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Michael Cera, Lobby Hero
Brian Tyree Henry, Lobby Hero
Nathan Lane, Angels in America - WINNER!
David Morse, The Iceman Cometh
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Susan Brown, Angels in America
Noma Dumezweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Deborah Findlay, The Children
Denise Gough, Angels in America
Laurie Metcalf, Three Tall Women - WINNER!
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Norbert Leo Butz, My Fair Lady
Alexander Gemignani, Carousel
Grey Henson, Mean Girls
Gavin Lee, SpongeBob SquarePants
Ari'el Stachel, The Band's Visit - WINNER!
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Renée Fleming, Carousel
Lindsay Mendez, Carousel - WINNER!
Ashley Park, Mean Girls
Diana Rigg, My Fair Lady
Best Direction of a Play
Marianne Elliott, Angels in America
Joe Mantello, Three Tall Women
Patrick Marber, Travesties
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - WINNER!
George C. Wolfe, The Iceman Cometh
Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Once On This Island
David Cromer, The Band's Visit - WINNER!
Tina Landau, SpongeBob SquarePants
Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Bartlett Sher, My Fair Lady
Best Choreography
Christopher Gattelli, My Fair Lady
Christopher Gattelli, SpongeBob SquarePants
Steven Hoggett, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Justin Peck, Carousel - WINNER!
Best Orchestrations
John Clancy, Mean Girls
Tom Kitt, SpongeBob SquarePants
Annmarie Milazzo & Michael Starobin, Once On This Island
Jamshied Sharifi, The Band's Visit - WINNER!
Jonathan Tunick, Carousel
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Three Tall Women
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and The King
Christine Jones, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - WINNER!
Santo Loquasto, The Iceman Cometh
Ian MacNeil and Edward Pierce, Angels in America
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Dane Laffrey, Once On This Island
Scott Pask, The Band's Visit
Scott Pask, Finn Ross & Adam Young, Mean Girls
Michael Yeargan, My Fair Lady
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants - WINNER!
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jonathan Fensom, Farinelli and The King
Nicky Gillibrand, Angels in America
Katrina Lindsay, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - WINNER!
Ann Roth, Three Tall Women
Ann Roth, The Iceman Cometh
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Mean Girls
Clint Ramos, Once On This Island
Ann Roth, Carousel
David Zinn, SpongeBob SquarePants
Catherine Zuber, My Fair Lady - WINNER!
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - WINNER!
Paule Constable, Angels in America
Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, The Iceman Cometh
Paul Russell, Farinelli and The King
Ben Stanton, Junk
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, SpongeBob SquarePants
Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, Once On This Island
Donald Holder, My Fair Lady
Brian MacDevitt, Carousel
Tyler Micoleau, The Band's Visit - WINNER!
Best Sound Design of a Play
Adam Cork, Travesties
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Angels in America
Gareth Fry, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - WINNER!
Tom Gibbons, 1984
Dan Moses Schreier, The Iceman Cometh
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada, The Band's Visit - WINNER!
Peter Hylenski, Once On This Island
Scott Lehrer, Carousel
Brian Ronan, Mean Girls
Walter Trarbach and Mike Dobson, SpongeBob SquarePants
(Photos by Tom Millward)
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