NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – The 76th Annual Tony Awards returned Sunday night (June 12) to NYC’s United Palace Theatre. The show “must go on,” and it did – despite the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike – the curtains still opened for the show that celebrates all “the great white way” had to offer this past year.
Oscar winner Ariana DeBose returned to host the telecast on CBS and did so unscripted. The charismatic DeBose kicked off the show with an opening number that spoke … well, nothing. After looking through a blank “script,” she turned the United Palace into her dance studio with a group of dancers and musicians along for the ride.
When she did speak, she expressed her support for the striking Writers Guild of America, telling the crowd, “To anyone who may have thought that last year was a bit unhinged, to them I say, ‘Darlings, buckle up.'” She then explained that not only was she unscripted, but every presenter would also be. “We’re just making it up as we go along,” she said.
The awards, unscripted, instead decided to showcase what they were there to honor, Broadway. The show was chock full of performances from Ben Platt (Parade) and the Glee actress many love to hate, Lea Michele (FunnyGirl) and many others.
History was made when J. Harrison Glee won the Tony for Lead Actor in a Musical, winning over their co-star Christian Borle for Some Like It Hot – marking the first time an actor who identifies as nonbinary has won a Tony in the leading actor category. That achievement became x2 when Alex Newell, who also identifies as nonbinary, was awarded Best Featured or Supporting Actor in a Musical for Shucked.
I’ve included the nominees with the winners in BOLD below.
Best Musical
Winner: Kimberly Akimbo
& Juliet
New York, New York
Shucked
Some Like It Hot
Best Play
Winner: Leopoldstadt
Ain’t No Mo’
Between Riverside and Crazy
Cost of Living
Fat Ham
Best Revival of a Musical
Winner: Parade
Camelot
Into the Woods
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Revival of a Play
Winner: Topdog/Underdog
A Doll’s House
The Piano Lesson
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Best Leading Actress of a Musical
Winner: Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo
Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sara Bareilles, Into the Woods
Lorna Courtney, & Juliet
Micaela Diamond, Parade
Best Leading Actress of a Play
Winner: Jodie Comer, Prima Facie
Jessica Chastain, A Doll’s House
Jessica Hecht, Summer, 1976
Audra McDonald, Ohio State Murders
Best Leading Actor of a Musical
Winner: J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot
Christian Borle, Some Like It Hot
Josh Groban, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Brian D’Arcy James, Into the Woods
Ben Platt, Parade
Colton Ryan, New York, New York
Best Leading Actor of a Play
Winner: Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Topdog/Underdog
Corey Hawkins, Topdog/Underdog
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Wendell Pierce, Death of a Salesman
Best Featured Actress of a Musical
Winner: Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo
Julia Lester, Into the Woods
Ruthie Ann Miles, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
NaTasha Yvette Williams, Some Like It Hot
Betsy Wolfe, & Juliet
Best Featured Actress of a Play
Winner: Miriam Silverman, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Nikki Crawford, Fat Ham
Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ain’t No Mo’
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living
Kara Young, Cost of Living
Best Featured Actor of a Musical
Winner: Alex Newell, Shucked
Kevin Cahoon, Shucked
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo
Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like It Hot
Jordan Donica, Camelot
Best Featured Actor of a Play
Winner: Brandon Uranowitz, Leopoldstadt
Jordan E. Cooper, Ain’t No Mo’
Samuel L. Jackson, The Piano Lesson
Arian Moayed, A Doll’s House
David Zayas, Cost of Living
Best Direction of a Musical
Winner: Michael Arden, Parade
Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Jack O’Brien, Shucked
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo
Best Direction of a Play
Winner: Patrick Marber, Leopoldstadt
Saheem Ali, Fat Ham
Jo Bonney, Cost of Living
Jamie Lloyd, A Doll’s House
Stevie Walker-Webb, Ain’t No Mo
Max Webster, Life of Pi
Best Book of a Musical
Winner: David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
David West Read, & Juliet
Robert Horn, Shucked
Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, Some Like It Hot
David Thompson and Sharon Washington, New York, New York
Best Original Score
Winner: Kimberly Akimbo, music by Jeanine Tesori; lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire
Almost Famous, music by Tom Kitt; lyrics by Cameron Crowe and Tom Kitt
KPOP, music and lyrics: Helen Park and Max Vernon
Shucked, music and lyrics: Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally
Some Like It Hot, music: Marc Shaiman; lyrics: Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman
Best Choreography
Winner: Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Steven Hoggett, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Susan Stroman, New York, New York
Jennifer Weber, KPOP
Jennifer Weber, & Juliet
