by Katherine Lurie
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 for the third consecutive year, having presided over an authorless ceremony the previous year, opening with an elaborately choreographed dance.
Maleah Joi Moon won best lead actress in a musical for her role in “Hell’s Kitchen” and Jonathan Groff won best lead actor in a musical for his role in “Merrily We Roll Along.”
“Merrily We Roll Along,” winner of the award for best revival of a musical, has been a favorite story this season, delighting audiences and critics with a revived production of Stephen Sondheim’s most famous flop, which closed after 52 previews and 16 performances in its first run on Broadway in 1981.
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.”
Sarah Paulson won the award for best lead actress for “Appropriate,” while Will Brill won the award for best featured actor in his production “Stereophonic,” beating two other actors. Kara Young, the first black actress to be nominated for a Tony Award for three consecutive years, 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, reviving her Oscar-winning role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s film “West Side Story,” paid tribute to Broadway legend Chita Rivera, who died in January at age 91.
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.”
This article is generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
