Tony Awards Wrap Up

The winners for the 69th Tony Awards have been announced and honored!

I thought hosts Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth were marvelous. (I especially liked Cumming's fake freak outs over Josh Groban.) The broadcast left something to be desired, though, namely all the design and "creative" (rather than performance) categories. It is unacceptable to be honoring excellence on Broadway and not show, in full, acceptance speeches from the people who created the shows—the book and songwriters; the choreographers; the lighting, scenic and costume designers. And the Tony Awards Administration Committee MUST reinstate the Sound Design categories. Finally, all shows that are nominated for Best Musical, Best Revival of a Musical and Best Score should perform, and only those shows.

Without any further ado, here is the full list of winners, with winners in bold typeface and notated with an asterisk. (First the plays, then the musicals.)

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Best Play

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Simon Stephens*
• Disgraced, by Ayad Akhtar
• Hand to God, by Robert Askins
• Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel and Mike Poulton

Hooray! Of course, I would have been delighted had Hand to God won, but Curious Incident simply blew me away. It's an incredible feat, both on the page and on the stage.

Best Revival of a Play

• The Elephant Man
• Skylight*
• This is Our Youth
• You Can't Take It with You  

Clearly, as someone who didn't like Skylight, I am in the minority. In any case, congratulations to the Skylight team.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

• Steven Boyer, Hand to God
• Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
• Ben Miles, Wolf Hall
• Bill Nighy, Skylight
• Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*

Hell yes! Sharp gives a revelatory performance. A star has been born, dear readers. Sharp is just getting started. And I loved that he channeled his character, Christopher, in encouraging young people who are different or misunderstood to persevere because they can do anything. Wonderful.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

• Geneva Carr, Hand to God
• Helen Mirren, The Audience*
• Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
• Carey Mulligan, Skylight
• Ruth Wilson, Constellations

This is the one performance in this category I haven't seen, though I'm not at all surprised. If anything was a lock tonight it was this.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

• Matthew Beard, Skylight
• K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
• Richard McCabe, The Audience*
• Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
• Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall 
• Micah Stock, It's Only a Play

I haven't seen The Audience so I'll leave it at a hearty congratulations to McCabe.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

• Annaleigh Ashford, You Can't Take It with You*
• Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
• Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall
• Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
• Julie White, Airline Highway 

Ahh!!! I'm so happy for Ashford! She's great in everything, she seems to be such a lovely, effervescent person off stage, and she was absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious in You Can't Take It With You. (And she'll be back on Broadway this fall.) And I liked that she gave a shout out to her own Sycamore family, who are "weird, silly and love [her] unconditionally." Bravo, Annaleigh!

Best Direction of a Play

• Stephen Daldry, Skylight
• Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*
• Scott Ellis, You Can't Take It with You
• Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall
• Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God

Getting Curious Incident right is what I imagine herding cats is like (not because the actors are difficult to work with, but because of all the moving parts). Bravo to Marianne Elliott, who's now a two-time Tony Award winner.

Best Scenic Design of a Play

• Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*
• Bob Crowley, Skylight
• Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall
• David Rockwell, You Can't Take It with You 

Right on. Christie and Ross created a veritable playground for the company and it is an integral part of the story and storytelling. Bravo.

Best Costume Design of a Play

• Bob Crowley, The Audience
• Jane Greenwood, You Can't Take It with You 
• Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall*
• David Zinn, Airline Highway 

I haven't seen Wolf Hall (on stage, that is; I did watch the BBC version starring Mark Rylance), so I'll simply say congratulations to Oram.

Best Lighting Design of a Play

• Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time*
• Paule Constable and David Plater, Wolf Hall 
• Natasha Katz, Skylight
• Japhy Weideman, Airline Highway 

Well, if you've seen this play, you probably would have guessed this, and, like me, you'd be quite pleased with this win. 

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Best Musical

• An American in Paris
• Fun Home*
• Something Rotten
• The Visit

Of course I'm bummed An American in Paris didn't win. I do like the fact that Fun Home is a small, intimate musical, something that's layered and asks audiences to think. It's not the kind of musical that typically achieves commercial success so for it to win Best Musical is a boon to creativity and tenacity.

Best Revival of a Musical

• The King and I*
• On the Town
• On the Twentieth Century  

As much as I enjoyed On the Twentieth Century, this is the right choice. I think it is so easy to do a boring revival of The King and I, and Lincoln Center director Andre Bishop was right to praise director Bartlett Sher's vision. Bravo. 

Best Book of a Musical

• Craig Lucas, An American in Paris
• Lisa Kron, Fun Home* 
• Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell, Something Rotten
• Terrence McNally, The Visit

I was hoping for either Craig Lucas or Terrence McNally, but I'm OK with this.

Best Original Score

• Jeanine Tesori (music) and Lisa Kron (lyrics), Fun Home*
• Sting, The Last Ship 
• Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, Something Rotten
• John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics), The Visit

I'm so bummed this didn't go to Sting and The Last Ship. This was, without a doubt, my favorite score of the season. I can't stop listening to it. But it appears the odds were in Fun Home's favor. And, history was made because this was the first time an all-female songwriting team won this award. (Wouldn't it have been nice if Tesori and Kron's acceptance speech had been televised in full?)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

• Michael Cerveris, Fun Home*
• Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
• Brian d'Arcy James, Something Rotten
• Ken Watanabe, The King and I
• Tony Yazbeck, On the Town 

You know I was rooting for my dear Robbie Fairchild, but Cerveris is giving a truly affecting performance, and, to boot, his speech was heartfelt and thoughtful. Congratulations. 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

• Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
• Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
• Beth Malone, Fun Home
• Kelli O'Hara, The King and I*
• Chita Rivera, The Visit 

I am overjoyed that the inimitable Kelli O'Hara is now a Tony Award WINNER! She's wonderful to watch and I couldn't be happier. Lovely.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

• Christian Borle, Something Rotten*
• Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
• Brad Oscar, Something Rotten
• Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
• Max von Essen, An American in Paris 

Lame. Borle seems to be doing some variation on Black Stache, his character in Peter and the Starcatcher, for which he won a Tony a few years ago. I was rooting for Max von Essen, and was sincerely disappointed when he didn't win. Bummer.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

• Victoria Clark, Gigi
• Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
• Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
• Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I *
• Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

Holy Thespis, I'm soooooooo excited about this win. Miles is terrific in The King and I, and her speech was thoughtful, funny and sincere. Bravo to the incredible Miles, who's just getting started.

Best Direction of a Musical

• Sam Gold, Fun Home*
• Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten
• John Rando, On the Town
• Bartlett Sher, The King and I
• Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris 

As much as I love An American in Paris, as a fan of Gold's work for several years now, I'm pleased as punch to see this hip theatre director break big. Way to go, Gold.

Best Choreography

• Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
• Christopher Gattelli, The King and I 
• Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten
• Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris*

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Not that I'm excited about this or anything.)

Best Orchestrations

• Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky and Bill Elliot, An American in Paris*
• John Clancy, Fun Home
• Larry Hochman, Something Rotten
• Rob Mathes, The Last Ship 

If you haven't seen An American in Paris or listened to the cast album (now available), you don't know what you're missing. These orchestrations bring new life to already beautiful songs. C'est magnifique!

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

• Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris*
• David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
• Michael Yeargan, The King and I
• David Zinn, Fun Home 

Merde! Also, remember that 59 Productions is responsible for the projections, which help us see Paris through Jerry Mulligan's eyes. Bravo. 

Best Costume Design of a Musical

• Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten
• Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
• William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
• Catherine Zuber, The King and I* 

I mean, did you see the huge skirt on Kelli O'Hara's dress when she was dancing "Shall We Dance"? Congratulations, Ms. Zuber.   

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

• Donald Holder, The King and I
• Natasha Katz, An American in Paris* 
• Ben Stanton, Fun Home
• Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Bravo! Another well-deserved award for this glorious musical.

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Special Tony Awards

• Tommy Tune, Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
• Cleveland Play House, Regional Theatre Tony Award
• Stephen Schwartz, Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
• John Cameron Mitchell, Special Tony Award
• Arnold Abramson, Adrian Bryan-Brown and Gene O'Donovan, Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre

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And there you have it: The winners of the 69th Tony Awards. Browse through my Tony Pinterest board and my Culturalist profile for more Tony fun. Visit tonyawards.com for more information.

Photos taken from Broadwayworld.com (Walter McBride) and Theater Mania (David Gordon).