On Sunday, Broadway’s biggest night took center stage as the 77th annual Tony Awards celebrated another year of Broadway excellence.
At its core, Broadway harbors the ability to take audiences to another world through the powerful stories being told right before their eyes. Whether this season took you to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1967 with The Outsiders, a campfire filled with stories with Illinoise, inside of a recording studio with Stereophonic, or 20th-century-America with Suffs, this season was a transformative experience with so many incredible stories to be told.
The show was broadcasted live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center and hosted by Tony Award nominee and now three-time-host Ariana DeBose.
The play Stereophonic dominated the night, securing five Tony Awards including Best Play. Directed by Daniel Aukin, who also took home the award for Best Direction of a Play, the show was celebrated for its innovative storytelling and powerful performances. It tells powerful stories of dealing with trauma, and in an equally powerful speech, Will Brill, who took home the Tony Award for Best Featured actor in a play, thanked his therapist. He touched on this later on in the media room.
“Personally, I think this is maybe a common thing for a lot of artists, is that because we’re such front-facing people, often we are trying to please people,” Brill said. “And so, there’s a lot of people pleasing that happens, and we sacrifice being honest a lot of the time, for that sake. I think there’s a tendency to cover up while you’re going through. The advice that I would give to anybody who’s struggling is try to be honest with yourself, and try to be honest with the people who love you, because they will continue to love you if they see you suffering.”
Despite the difficulties it faced during its first broadway run in the 80’s, the revival of Merrily We Roll Along has had a great deal of success and adoration, and took home four Tony Awards. In addition to its Best Revival of a Musical Win, both of the show’s leading men, Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff took home Tony’s as well.
“This has always been a show that worked for me, scenery as well,” Radcliffe said. “Every time. I also think there’s a very flattering kind of recency bias, in the way that everyone talks about our production of this show. If we’re a part of showing what a great show this is, then that’s an incredible honor.”
Complete Winners List
- Best Musical: “The Outsiders”
- Best Play: “Stereophonic”
- Best Revival of a Musical: “Merrily We Roll Along”
- Best Revival of a Play: “Appropriate”
- Lead Actor in a Musical: Jonathan Groff, “Merrily We Roll Along”
- Lead Actress in a Musical: Maleah Joi Moon, “Hell’s Kitchen”
- Lead Actor in a Play: Jeremy Strong, “An Enemy of the People”
- Lead Actress in a Play: Sarah Paulson, “Appropriate”
- Featured Actor in a Musical: Daniel Radcliffe, “Merrily We Roll Along”
- Featured Actress in a Musical: Kecia Lewis, “Hell’s Kitchen”
- Featured Actor in a Play: Will Brill, “Stereophonic”
- Featured Actress in a Play: Kara Young, “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”
- Best Direction of a Play: Daniel Aukin, “Stereophonic”
- Best Direction of a Musical: Danya Taymor, “The Outsiders”
- Best Book of a Musical: Shaina Taub, “Suffs”
- Best Orchestrations: Jonathan Tunick, “Merrily We Roll Along”
- Best Choreography: Justin Peck, “Illinoise”
- Best Scenic Design of a Play: David Zinn, “Stereophonic”
- Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Tom Scutt, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”
- Best Costume Design of a Play: Dede Ayite, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”
- Best Costume Design of a Musical: Linda Cho, “The Great Gatsby”
- Best Lighting Design of a Play: Jane Cox, “Appropriate”
- Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, “The Outsiders”
- Sound design of a play: Ryan Rumery, “Stereophonic”
- Sound design of a musical: Cody Spencer, “The Outsiders”
- Original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theater: “Suffs”
Music & Lyrics: Shaina Taub
The 77th Tony Awards were a night to remember, celebrating the resilience, creativity, and outstanding achievements of the Broadway community. For those who missed the live event, the ceremony is available for streaming on Paramount+.
About the Tony Awards
Presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, the Tony Awards honor excellence in Broadway theatre. They have been broadcast on CBS since 1978, produced by Tony Award Productions and White Cherry Entertainment.
Sponsors
City National Bank, American Express, Carnegie Mellon University, Baccarat, FIJI Water, Shake Shack, Sofitel New York, Playbill, Rainbow Room, and Basil Hayden.
Venue
The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, a world-renowned venue designed by Philip Johnson and home to New York City Ballet.
Streaming Information
Available on-demand on Paramount+ for SHOWTIME subscribers, with live and on-demand access for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs.
