Melanie Martinez is widely recognized for her intricate and detailed production concepts for shows. Undeniably so, Melanie is dedicated to their craft. Since 2012, Melanie has been known to create alter-egos and alternate universes through her music and childhood-related themes.
On Sunday, an incredible Broadway season was celebrated as the biggest night on Broadway returned to Radio City Music hall for the first time since 2019 (after a smaller ceremony was held at the Winter Garden theatre in September of 2021.) The joyous occasion of being back at the home of the awards was made even better by the showstopping performances, speeches that brought tears to our eyes, and of course the opportunity to celebrate the magic of live theatre in person with all of the people we love and admire.
Opening earlier this year, Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop made headlines for providing a compelling, funny, and incredibly honest portrayal of walking through life as a Black queer man working as a Broadway usher, and in Usher’s own words, “barely scraping by.” It’s a show about a Black queer man writing a show about a Black queer man writing a show about a Black queer man, as the title alludes. The fan favorite earned an impressive 11 nominations, including best Musical. Though the show isn’t exactly autobiographical, Jackson did work as an Usher and much of the narrative, narrated by a cast of “thoughts” are based on his own experiences. Jackson took home the award for best book of a musical, and his amazing show took home best picture. Dressed in a bright pink cape, he stood clutching his award in the Tony’s media room with a room brightening smile on his face.
“I would tell him to relax, have fun, and save his money.” Jackson said, when asked about what he would tell his younger self. “But I would also tell him, ‘You’re okay. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re anchovies, and not everyone loves anchovies—until they do.'”
Paradise Square book writer Larry Kirwan told us that his now white hair was red when the process for his show began. It’s not surprising that a show as good as this one took so much time to create. Set in the “Five Points” of Manhattan in 1863 at a titular bar called Paradise Square, the show follows Nelly O’brien and her lively chosen family at a time where Irish immigrants and freed slaves joined together and lived in what is now Manhattan’s financial district. Nominated for and later winning the Tony award for Best Actress In a Leading Role in a Musical for her Role as Nelly, Joaquina Kalukango received a standing ovation from the Tony audience as she held the final note in her performance of Let It Burn. The performance was truly showstopping, and her award was so well deserved. It was presented to her by her The Color Purple co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Danielle Brooks, to make matters even sweeter.
“I just keep thinking of the women who came before me.” Kalukango said in the media room after being asked how it felt to know how iconic her performance was and would be. “I keep thinking of Melba Moore. I keep thinking of Jennifer Holiday. I keep thinking of Pearl Bailey. I think of all these women who paved the way. I even think of Phylicia Rashad. It’s an honor to be a part of the community. I love the community so much, and I think we’ve all really had to embrace each other because this has been a really tough year, full of uncertainty, to sort of come back. It just feels like we’re so happy to be here, to be present, and to tell stories again.”
See below for a FULL LIST of the 75th annual Tony Award Winners!
“A Strange Loop” (WINNER)
“Girl From the North Country”
“MJ”
“Mr. Saturday Night”
“Paradise Square”
“Six”
Joaquina Kalukango, “Paradise Square” (WINNER)
Sharon D Clarke, “Caroline, Or Change”
Carmen Cusack, “Flying Over Sunset”
Sutton Foster, “The Music Man”
Mare Winningham, “Girl From the North Country”
Myles Frost, “MJ” (WINNER)
Billy Crystal, “Mr. Saturday Night”
Hugh Jackman, “The Music Man”
Rob McClure, “Mrs. Doubtfire”
Jaquel Spivey, “A Strange Loop”
Deirdre O’Connell, “Dana. H” (WINNER)
Mary-Louise Parker, “How I Learned to Drive”
Gabby Beans, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Ruth Negga, “Macbeth”
LaChanze, “Trouble in Mind”
Simon Russell Beale, “The Lehman Trilogy” (WINNER)
Adam Godley, “The Lehman Trilogy”
Adrian Lester, “The Lehman Trilogy”
David Threlfall, “Hangmen”
Sam Rockwell, “American Buffalo”
David Morse, “How I Learned to Drive”
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, “Lackawanna Blues”
“The Lehman Trilogy” (WINNER)
“Clyde’s”
“Hangmen”
“Skeleton Crew”
“The Minutes”
“Company” (WINNER)
“Caroline, or Change”
“The Music Man”
Michael R. Jackson, “A Strange Loop” (WINNER)
Lynn Nottage, “MJ”
Christina Anderson & Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan, “Paradise Square”
Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel, “Mr. Saturday Night”
Conor McPherson, “Girl from the North Country”
Matt Doyle, “Company” (WINNER)
Jared Grimes, “Funny Girl”
John-Andrew Morrison, “A Strange Loop”
Sidney DuPont, “Paradise Square”
A.J. Shively, “Paradise Square”
“Take Me Out” (WINNER)
“American Buffalo”
“For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”
“How I Learned to Drive”
“The Skin of Our Teeth”
Phylicia Rashad, “Skeleton Crew” (WINNER)
Uzo Aduba, “Clyde’s”
Kara Young, “Clyde’s”
Rachel Dratch, “POTUS”
Julie White, “POTUS”
Kenita R. Miller, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf”
Marianne Elliott, “Company” (WINNER)
Stephen Brackett, “A Strange Loop”
Conor McPherson, “Girl From the North Country”
Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, “Six”
Christopher Wheeldon, “MJ”
Sam Mendes, “The Lehman Trilogy” (WINNER)
Les Waters, “Dana H.”
Neil Pepe, “American Buffalo”
Camille A. Brown, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”
Lileana Blain-Cruz, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Patti LuPone, “Company” (WINNER)
Jennifer Simard, “Company”
L Morgan Lee, “A Strange Loop”
Jeannette Bayardelle, “Girl From the North Country”
Jayne Houdyshell, “The Music Man”
Shoshana Bean, “Mr. Saturday Night”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Take Me Out” (WINNER)
Alfie Allen, “Hangmen”
Michael Oberholtzer, “Take Me Out”
Chuck Cooper, “Trouble in Mind”
Ron Cephas Jones, “Clyde’s”
Jesse Williams, “Take Me Out”
“Six,” music and lyrics: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (WINNER)
“Flying Over Sunset,” music by Tom Kitt; lyrics by Michael Korie
“Mr. Saturday Night,” music by Jason Robert Brown; lyrics by Amanda Green
“Paradise Square,” music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan; lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare
“A Strange Loop,” music and lyrics: Michael R. Jackson
Montana Levi Blanco, “The Skin of Our Teeth” (WINNER)
Sarafina Bush, “Pass Over”
Emilio Sosa, “Skeleton Crew”
Jane Greenwood, “Plaza Suite”
Jennifer Moeller, “Clyde’s”
Gabriella Slade, “Six” (WINNER)
Fly Davis, “Caroline, or Change”
Toni-Leslie James, “Paradise Square”
William Ivey Long, “Diana, the Musical”
Santo Loquasto, “The Music Man”
Paul Tazewell, “MJ”
Es Devlin, “The Lehman Trilogy” (WINNER)
Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong, “Skeleton Crew”
Anna Fleischle, “Hangmen”
Beowulf Boritt, “POTUS”
Scott Pask, “American Buffalo”
Adam Rigg, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Bunny Christie, “Company” (WINNER)
Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions, “Flying Over Sunset”
Arnulfo Maldonado, “A Strange Loop”
Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini, “MJ”
Allen Moyer, “Paradise Square”
Jon Clark, “The Lehman Trilogy” (WINNER)
Joshua Carr, “Hangmen”
Jiyoun Chang, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”
Jane Cox, “Macbeth”
Yi Zhao, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Natasha Katz, “MJ” (WINNER)
Neil Austin, “Company”
Tim Deiling, “Six”
Donald Holder, “Paradise Square”
Bradley King, “Flying Over Sunset”
Jen Schriever, “A Strange Loop”
Mikhail Fiksel, “Dana H.” (WINNER)
Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, “The Lehman Trilogy”
Justin Ellington, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”
Palmer Hefferan, “The Skin of Our Teeth”
Mikaal Sulaiman, “Macbeth”
Gareth Owen, “MJ” (WINNER)
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, “Company”
Simon Baker, “Girl from the North Country”
Paul Gatehouse, “Six”
Drew Levy, “A Strange Loop”
Simon Hale, “Girl From the North Country” (WINNER)
David Cullen, “Company”
Tom Curran, “Six”
Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, “MJ”
Charlie Rosen, “A Strange Loop”
Christopher Wheeldon, “MJ” (WINNER)
Camille A. Brown, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf”
Warren Carlyle, “The Music Man”
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, “Six”
Bill T. Jones, “Paradise Square”
The Tony Awards made history tonight with two winners breaking barriers: Jessica Paz, the first woman to win for Best Sound Design of a Musical for her work with Hadestown, and actress Ali Stroker as the first actress who uses a wheelchair to win for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!.
Broadway descends on Radio City Music Hall to celebrate this year’s performances in plays and musicals, with host James Corden. Fans crowded on the corner of 50th Street and 6th Avenue to catch a glimpse of the star-studded red carpet that was adorned with real hand-painted rainbow hued roses in honor of Pride Month and the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.
Solange’s highly anticipated “Orion’s Tour” exceeded all expectations. Solange directed, composed and choreographed her whole set, performing some of her old music and of-course songs from the highly-acclaimed and widely embraced “A Seat at the Table.” The authenticity of every performance combined with the grandiose set-up of Radio City Music Hall made the night of October 2nd, a night to remember and an experience so dear.
The Knockturnal was on the scene last night for Alessia Cara’s first time headlining Radio City Music Hall.
The Masters of Ceremony kicked off their annual tour at Radio City Music Hall in New York. With appearances by some of hip hop’s most iconic MC’s such as Rakim, Ma$e, The Lox, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, this concert was incredible.