New York:The Tony Awards, which honours the best of stage performances Broadway plays and musicals resumed its regular schedule after an epidemic hiatus since June 2019. The three-hour-long webcasted event was hosted by actress Ariana DeBose who won best supporting actress in "West Side Story" at this year's Academy Awards.
This season of comebacks hasn't always been easy. After COVID outbreaks, practically every play has had to cancel performances or lose important actors for numerous shows, and new waves of the virus and variants like Omicron have impacted ticket sales at times. Despite the hurdles and losses, 34 plays and musicals premiered this season, with 29 of them being nominated for awards. This season on Broadway, a record number of shows by Black playwrights were staged, setting a new high, as reported by Variety.
Following the Black Lives Matter movement, Broadway has been pushed to tell more stories about marginalised groups. Many of the Tony Award winners this year, including "Skeleton Crew," "Paradise Square," and "for coloured females who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf," deals with race issues. Here is a list of winners at the 75th Tony Awards, which were held on Sunday in New York:
- Best Musical: “A Strange Loop”
- Best Play: “The Lehman Trilogy.”
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Simon Russell Beale, “The Lehman Trilogy.”
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Deirdre O’Connell, “Dana H.”
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Myles Frost, “MJ.”
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Joaquina Kalukango, “Paradise Square.”
- Best Revival of a Musical: “Company.”
- Best Revival of a Play: “Take Me Out.”
- Featured Actor, Play: Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Take Me Out”
- Featured Actress, Play: Phylicia Rashad, “Skeleton Crew”
- Featured Actress, Musical: Patti LuPone, “Company.”
- Featured Actor, Musical: Matt Doyle, “Company.”
- Best Book of a Musical: Michael R. Jackson
- Best Direction of a Play: Sam Mendes, “The Lehman Trilogy.”
- Best Direction of a Musical: Marianne Elliott, “Company.”
- Best Score: “Six: The Musical,” with music and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.
- Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon, “MJ.”
- Costume Design: Montana Levi Blanco, “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
- Costume Design, Musical: Gabriella Slade, “Six: The Musical”
- Scenic Design, Play: Es Devlin, “The Lehman Trilogy.”
- Scenic Design, Musical: Bunny Christie, “Company.”
- Lighting Design, Play: Jon Clark, “The Lehman Trilogy.”
- Lighting Design, Musical: Natasha Katz, “MJ.”
- Sound Design, Play: Mikhail Fiksel, “Dana H.”
- Sound Design, Musical: Gareth Owen, “MJ.”
- Best Orchestrations: Simon Hale, “Girl from the North Country.”
The season — with 34 new productions — represents a full return to theaters after nearly two years of a pandemic-mandated shutdown. At the last Tonys nine months ago, the winners were pulled from just 18 eligible plays and musicals, and many of the competitive categories were depleted.
Sondheim, the iconic composer who died in late 2021, was honored in a special segment by Bernadette Peters singing his song “Children Will Listen.” Angela Lansbury, who was honored with a lifetime achievement Tony, wasn’t present so her “Sweeney Todd” co-star Len Cariou accepted on her behalf. (With inputs from AP/ANI)
