It took an entire village to bring a struggling Broadway back. Even the people checking the vax cards at the theater’s doors, as COVID-era patrons fretted over missing curtains that had struggled to rise at all.
“Broadway’s back, baby,” sad Tony Awards host Ariana DeBose, “and she’s waiting for you.”
That was the message of the affirmative, disciplined 75th annual Tony Awards as the major awards were spread across several productions and DeBose gave shoutouts to Broadway’s entire unsung crew — including the swings and understudies who helped Michael R. Jackson’s singularly personal “‘A Strange Loop” snag the Tony for best musical as well as best book, “Company” win the Tony for best musical revival, the pop pastiche “Six” take home best score, “The Lehman Trilogy” hoist best play and “Take Me Out” win best revival of a play.
Tony-winning leading actors were Myles Frost for his stunning performance as the King of Pop in “MJ the Musical;” Joaquina Kalukango for her powerhouse turn in “Paradise Square,” which stopped the Tony Awards Sunday just as it does every night on Broadway; Simon Russell Beale for his performance in “The Lehman Trilogy” and first-time Tony winner Deidre O’Connell for her extraordinary work in “Dana H.”
The number of British accents giving thanks from the podium was strikingly large this year and far bigger than expected, especially in a year when so many London shows struggled to complete transfer plans. The big U.S.-originating favorite of the night, “A Strange Loop” did not do as well overall as some expected, although it still won the Tony prize that matters the most.
This year’s awards ceremony, a return to something approaching early-summer normalcy after three years of COVID-driven chaos, was held Sunday at the Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan and hosted by the genial and affirmative DeBose, whose dance-heavy opening number featured a slew of numbers from classic Broadway musicals. This year’s nominated tuners got to sell their wares, although plays, widely perceived as tough sells on live TV, just got snappy segments of writers talking about their work.
In a show that stayed away from dangerously unfashionable satire, DeBose’s opening number hit a generous, egalitarian tone, one that has worked for the Tonys before, focusing on the history of thank-you speeches and Broadway’s unique position as the locus of so many dreams, both fulfilled and still confined to pillows.
Then again, there was an apt reminder the industry (and the Tonys) still need classic stars as Billy Crystal ran all over the Radio City Music Hall, performing a Yiddish call-and-response number to wild applause. All that and Laurence Fishburne doing an impression of Daffy Duck.
The first big number of the main broadcast starred Hugh Jackman, sporting close-up worthy facial stubble, topping “76 Trombones” as the musical’s musicians filled Radio City Music Hall. Jackman, ever the showman, found time for a wink at the camera.
Big names won early awards: Patti LuPone won her third Tony for best supporting actress in a musical and Jesse Tyler Ferguson took home the Tony for best supporting actor in a play for his work in “Take Me Out.”
LuPone blew a metaphorical kiss to “all of the COVID safety people.” They’re now confined to history, but they got tickets to the Tonys and made their mark in a strange year.
Two of Michael Jackson’s children, Paris and Prince, introduced the scene from “MJ the Musical,” an attraction authorized by the King of Pop’s estate and featuring the thrilling Frost.
Christopher Wheeldon, whose choreography managed both to honor Jackson and do its own thing, won the Tony for best choreography. Directing Tonys went to Sam Mendes for the kaleidoscopic drama “The Lehman Trilogy” and to Marianne Elliott for the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company.”
The Tony’s first hour was dedicated mostly to design and technology awards. Montana Levi Blanco won best costume design for a play for his remarkable collection of designs for “The Skin of Our Teeth.” Blanco dedicated his award to “Mexican-American single mothers.” The opening number of the first hour on Paramount Plus, penned by Darren Criss and Julianne Hough, also celebrated Broadway’s resilience: “We’re still working eight shows a week,” the lyric went, striking a comparison with film and TV, “for a fraction of the wage.”
The legendary Chita Rivera got a great slot. But a special Tony for Angela Lansbury was, alas, confined to streaming. At 96, she could be forgiven for not appearing in person, even as the New York City gay men’s chorus paid a special tribute to an icon of Broadway who has seen and thrived in good times and bum times both.
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