By Meredith Heyman . . .
The 77th Annual Tony Awards was Broadway’s biggest night. Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose hosted for the third year in a row at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on June 16. Theater Pizzazz caught up with the night’s winners in the press room.
The night’s first award, which aired on Pluto TV as a part of the Tony Awards Act I broadcast, went to Shaina Taub for Best Book of a Musical for Suffs. Taub thanked the “generous” mentors who have inspired her, from Lin-Manuel Miranda to Lynn Ahrens and Jeanine Tesori. She also credited her Jewish culture with giving her peace coming into the evening. She said she thought “Dayenu” or just to be nominated would be “enough.” So the special honor was almost hard for her to believe. Later in the night Taub also won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Suffs.
George C. Wolfe was awarded a Special Tony Award For Lifetime Achievement In The Theatre. He discussed his upcoming project, the highly anticipated revival of Gypsy, starring Audra McDonald. He noted he is “thrilled and excited” to be at the helm and promised “it’s going to be fun.” Jack O’Brien was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He called working in the theater a “calling.”
Billy Porter took home the 2024 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for his work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and Entertainment Community Fund. He proclaimed artists have the “power to heal.” He shared, “As we evolve and as we and as we learn how to do better we do better, and I am proud to say that it’s better. It’s better everywhere… There was nobody that looked like me. You know I’m a Black church sissy who wanted to be in the theater and look at me now.” The Tony Award-winner also kept a cool head when his speech did not show up in the teleprompter during the broadcast and his phone, which held the speech, was offstage.
Kara Young thanked those who paved the way for her to win her first Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. She shared “This is acknowledging more than me. This is acknowledging all the people who came before me, who were never acknowledged for their work… the art changes the world, even if it’s just a little bit of the world.”
Jeremy Strong also won his first Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for An Enemy of the People. Coming to the stage and accepting the award he was overcome with emotion. He shared, “I felt overwhelmed. I was onstage today a few hours ago. It’s a very different sort of thing to sort of disappear into a play than it is to stand up as yourself in front of your community. But I felt overwhelmed with gratitude. To be honest, any kind of contest when it comes to creative work is inherently ridiculous. So, this belongs to me as much as it belongs to William and Liev and Michael and Leslie. But I feel very honored and moved.”
Tony Award-winner, Maleah Joi Moon, won Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical award for Hell’s Kitchen and could not believe the honor. “It feels fake. It feels like a dream come true. And it feels like it’s not real and also the most real thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s joyful and unnerving and everything all at once,” she said.”
Recipient of a special Tony Award, Alex Edelman, noted his show Just For Us has become even more “pertinent” since the war in Israel began in the fall of 2023. He shared, “The show is about people who fundamentally and profoundly disagree with each other sitting in a room, and what it’s like to try to gain an understanding of those other people and ourselves. And I think with what’s going on in the world, especially what’s going on in Israel and Palestine, especially with every single day feeling like the differences between us and those who disagree with us become more and more fundamental and more and more profound that the idea that people could sit in spaces that are extremely mixed, even diametrically opposed, and try to get an understanding… that is what this award is for.”
Daniel Radcliffe’s first Tony Award nomination and win for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Merrily We Roll Along comes on Father’s Day, which added to what he described as an “emotionally charged day.” Although Radcliffe admitted to not getting to spend much time with his son today, he shared he was looking forward to making up for that tomorrow. Radcliffe’s father was with him for the special night, who he credited with shaping his musical theater background from Chicago and Cabaret to a “ton of Sondheim shows.”
He also appreciated the flattering way people talk about the production of the show, “which is like, there will be other amazing productions of Merrily, and if we are a part of showing what a great show this is, then that’s an incredible honor.”
Tony Award-winner for Best Leading Actor in a Musical award for Merrily We Roll Along, Jonathan Groff, also thanked his family for their early acceptance of his craft. “My mom let me dress up as Cinderella and Peter Pan and they took me to see theater, even though my parents are jocks. My dad is a horse trainer. But they understood passion because they’re both quite passionate people.”
Julian Hough revealed Tony Award winner for Appropriate, Sarah Paulson, was staying in her New York home during the play’s run. The Tony Award Act 1 broadcast host shared she should thank her in her speech. When asked if she had gotten the chance to do that with her speech, she noted she had not gotten to thank her yet but shared she “thanked her a lot via text message. Really a lot.”Big winners for the night were Stereophonic with five Tonys, Merrily We Roll Along took four statues. The Outsiders received four awards, Appropriate won three.
