NEW YORK (AP) — The Tony Awards for excellence in Broadway theater highlighted history on Sunday, with prizes given to a musical about the suffrage movement, a blistering remake of a book set in the 1960s and the story of a 1970s rock band.
The ceremony was held at Lincoln Center in New York City for the first time, with Tony Award-nominated and Oscar-winning actress Ariana DeBose hosting the awards ceremony for the third consecutive year, following the previous year’s author-less ceremony with an elaborately choreographed performance.
Shaina Taub won the Best Music and Best Book awards for “Suffs,” a play about the suffrage movement with an all-female cast.
“Stereophonic” won Tony Awards for best play and Daniel Aukin for best direction. David Adjmi’s play about a ’70s rock band making an album with original songs by former Arcade Fire member Will Butler broke the record for the most nominations for a play in Tony history.
“Succession” star Jeremy Strong won best lead actor for his role in Henrik Ibsen’s drama “Enemy of the People,” and Daniel Radcliffe, best known for his leading role in the Harry Potter film franchise, won best featured actor for “Merrily We Roll Along.”
Will Brill won the award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in his production “Stereophonic,” beating out two other actors. Kara Young, the first black actress to be nominated for a Tony Award three years in a row, won the award for Best Featured Actress for her role in “Pearly Victorious.”
Justin Peck won the best choreography Tony for the dance musical “Illinois,” bringing Sufjan Steven’s 2005 concept album “Illinois” to the stage.
Danya Taymor won for directing a musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel “The Outsiders,” beating out “Merrily We Roll Along” star Maria Friedman.
The dancers, including DeBose, paid tribute to Broadway legend Chita Rivera, who died this January at age 91, by reviving her Oscar-winning role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s film “West Side Story.”
During a pre-show event hosted by actors Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar and broadcast on the free platform Pluto TV, Tony Awards were presented primarily in technical categories.
The pre-show award for Best Regional Theatre went to Philadelphia’s Wilma Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award went to Billy Porter for his work as an activist and spokesperson for LGBTQ communities.
Director Jack O’Brien and writer, director and producer George C. Wolfe were given the 2024 Special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in the theater.
Special Tony Awards were presented to Alex Edelman for his solo show “Just for Us,” Abe Jacob for his work in sound design, and Nikia Mathis for her wig design in “JaJa’s African Hair Braiding.”
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