The stars of Broadway came out to shine for the 69th annual Tony Awards, and the lights were bright indeed. Fans and critics waited with bated breath in Radio City for the crowning of theater royalty. The ceremony featured some gasps of surprise, some sighs of relief and some predictions about what’s to come next year.
Broadway superstars and former Tony Award winners, Alan Cumming and Kristen Chenoweth, hosted the telecast and opened with a sampling of musical hits including “Popular” from “Wicked,” “Willkommen” from “Cabaret” and “There is Nothing Like a Dame” from “South Pacific.” The duo kept the audience captivated for the three-hour long event with a lot of wit, wisdom and costume changes.
Best New Musical
Entering the ceremony, “Fun Home” and “An American in Paris” both carried 12 nominations each, including best new musical. “Fun Home,” an intimate musical performed on a small budget (in terms of Broadway) about a lesbian cartoonist growing up in a funeral home with her father, was the underdog. The more traditional and crowd-pleasing “An American in Paris,” originally inspired by George Gershwin’s orchestral piece, was favored by many to win the best new musical award. However, “Fun Home” took home the trophy. Both fans and critics alike were pleased to see the intimate, small-scale musical receive its due recognition.
Award Winning Performers
The best leading actor in a musical was pocketed by Michael Cerveris for his role in “Fun Home” and Alex Sharp went home as the best leading actor in a play for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” Helen Mirren (naturally) won the best leading actress award for her role in “The Audience.” And perhaps the most satisfying announcement of the evening was that Kelli O’Hara finally broke her tenacious losing streak by nabbing the best leading actress in a musical for her performance in “The King And I.”
What’s to Come
At the end of the night, there was little pause among fans and critics between the bugling of the current winners and the buzzing of what is to come. The Broadway-bound musical “Tuck Everlasting,” derived from the classic story by Natalie Babbitt, is anticipated to rack in the Tony nominations in 2016. The musical will be directed by Casey Nicholaw, who has three other Broadway productions currently running. Although “Aladdin” and “Something Rotten!” are both successful ventures, Nicholaw received a lot of recognition for the still-running musical “The Book of Mormon,” receiving a Tony award in 2012 for its direction.
Another musical that has people talking is “Hamilton,” which opens on Broadway in July. Written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, the musical details the life and times of American revolutionary and founding father Alexander Hamilton. The story is classic, but the twist is 100 percent modern, as Miranda has composed the musical entirely in hip-hop verse.
As the curtains close on the 69th annual Tony Awards and the bright lights dim, fans, critics and thespians reflect on a year of successes and surprises. But even as the red carpet is being rolled back up, they are looking forward to the exciting announcements of the next year.
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