“Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” a stage adaptation of the poplar film, dominated the 74th Annual Tony Awards in an unconventional and highly emotional Sunday, winning 10 awards, including the statuette for Best Musical.
Matthew Lopez’s “The Inheritance”, a sprawling epic about the AIDS crisis, won four sculptures and was awarded as best play, while Charles Fuller’s “A Soldier’s Play”, a murder mystery that unspools during isolation. Tha, was named Best Revival of a Play.
Jeremy O. Harris’s “Slave Play”, in a shocking disappointment, a provocative look at racism, gender and sexuality, was acknowledged by critics and received 12 nominations, a record for a non-musical, completely closed. had gone.
Among other major award winners, “A Christmas Carol” earned five awards, all in technical categories.
The four-hour program was unspooled on both broadcast television and the Paramount Plus streaming platform. It served as a commemoration of the best of Broadway and a salute to the return of live theater after an 18-month COVID-19 shutdown.
Many of the shows nominated closed more than a year ago. For example, “Slave Play” made its last appearance on January 19, 2020, at a time when much of the world was waking up to the threat posed by the coronavirus.
The second half of the evening, which was unspooled on CBS, was called “The Tony Awards Present: Broadway Back!” as was billed. and “Freestyle Love Supreme,” “David Byrnes American Utopia,” “Moulin Rouge!” and “Jagged Little Pill.”
Leslie Odom, Jr. hosted the night’s concert, while Audra McDonald attended the first ceremony, a marathon affair in which more than 20 idols were handed out, as well as the rendition of “You’re Gonna Love Me” by Jennifer Hudson. The performance was accompanied by a performance from “You’re Gonna Love Me”. Dreamgirls” and Matthew Morrison and Marisa Jarrett Vinokur sang “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from “Hairspray”.
“You can’t stop the heart of New York City beating Broadway,” McDonald said in its introductory remarks. “I’ve always thought of Tony’s as Broadway’s prom, but tonight it feels like homecoming.”
The idea that “Broadway’s Back!” Could be more wishful than factual. Some shows have reopened, such as “Hamilton” and “The Lion King,” and other major productions such as “Six” and “The Lehman Trilogy” will welcome audiences in the coming weeks.
But the tourism industry, which provides the bulk of ticket sales, is still sluggish. Nodded to the reality of the new pandemic during the evening, audience members remained masked throughout the broadcast.
A winner was almost assured of victory before the final votes were counted. Aaron Tveit of “Moulin Rouge” was the only nominee for Best Leading Actor in a Musical category.
Mary Louise Parker won Best Leading Actress in a Play for “The Sound Inside”, besting Joaquina Calukango (“Slave Play”) and Laura Linney (“My Name Is Lucy Barton”).
Stephen Daldry of “The Inheritance” won the Best Director award in fierce competition from Kenny Lyons (“A Soldier’s Play”) and Robert O’Hara (“Slave Play”).
Andrew Burnap, who starred as a hardened playwright in “The Inheritance”, starred Jake Gyllenhaal (“Sea Wall/A Life”), Tom Hiddleston (“Betrayal”) and Courtney B. Vance (“A Soldier’s Play”) to win the award for Best Leading Actor in a Play.
As expected, Adrienne Warren won Best Leading Actress at a Music Awards for her chameleon performance in the title role of “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”.
“Moulin Rouge!” It earned respect for its director Alex Timbers as well as for its elegant design, costume, lighting, sound design and orchestration.
“Jagged Little Pill”, inspired by Alanis Morissette’s mega-selling album of the same name, earned two awards for the book by Diablo Cody and for Lauren Patton’s supporting performance.
the show is done embroiled in controversy In recent days when two former cast members accused the producers of the show of “harming . . . trans and non-binary community” and alleged that platform management and leading creatives were not receptive to concerns about their health care.
Patton appeared to acknowledge the uproar in her speech. “I believe that the future of the change we need to see on Broadway comes from this type of conversation that is full of honesty and empathy and respect for our shared humanity,” she said. “And I’m so excited to see the action they meet, and to see where theater takes our futures as artists.”
Many respected actors finally earned Tonys after many missed opportunities.
David Alan Grier won the Best Actor in a Drama award after three previous nominations for his work as a corrosive sergeant in “David Alan Grier, “A Soldier’s Play”, while 90-year-old Lois Smith won the oldest acting award. Ever for his work in “Inheritance”.
And Danny Burstein finally said “Moulin Rouge!” Took an idol home in his seventh attempt. Burstein, who was hospitalized with Covid-19 in 2020 and whose wife Rebecca Lucker died of ALS in December, thanked the Broadway community for strengthening the spirits of his family.
“You all came for us,” he said. You were there for us whether you just sent a note or sent your prayers, sent a bagel. It meant the world to us, and it’s something I’ll never forget. I love being an actor on Broadway.”