3 years ago
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By MARK KENNEDY
NEW YORK (AP) — “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” a jukebox adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s hyperactive 2001 movie, won the champion caller philharmonic crown astatine the Tony Awards connected a Sunday nighttime erstwhile Broadway looked backmost to grant shows shuttered by COVID-19, mourn its fallen and besides look guardant to welcoming audiences again.
The amusement astir the goings-on successful a turn-of-the-century Parisian nightclub, updated with tunes similar “Single Ladies” and “Firework” alongside the large deed “Lady Marmalade,” won 10 Tonys. The grounds is 12, won by “The Producers.”
Producer Carmen Pavlovic struck a philosophical enactment successful her acceptance speech, sharing the grant with each the shows that struggled successful the past 18-month shutdown.
“It feels a small unusual to maine to beryllium talking astir 1 amusement arsenic champion musical. I consciousness that each amusement of past play deserves to beryllium thought of arsenic the champion musical,” she said. “The shows that opened, the shows that closed not to return, the shows that astir opened. And of course, the shows that paused and are fortunate capable to beryllium reborn — champion philharmonic is each of those shows.”
“The Inheritance” by Matthew Lopez was named the champion caller play and won 3 different awards, and Charles Fuller’s “A Soldier’s Play” won champion play revival and an acting award.
Lopez’s two-part, seven-hour epic uses “Howards End” arsenic a starting constituent for a play that looks astatine cheery beingness successful the aboriginal 21st century. It besides yielded wins for Andrew Burnap arsenic champion histrion successful a play, Stephen Daldry arsenic champion director, and Lois Smith arsenic champion show by an histrion successful a featured relation successful a play.
Thomas Kirdahy, a producer, dedicated the grant to his precocious husband, the playwright Terrence McNally. Lopez, the archetypal Latin writer to triumph successful the category, urged much plays to beryllium produced from the Latin community. “We person truthful galore stories wrong america aching to travel out. Let america archer you our stories,” helium said.
The pandemic-delayed telecast kicked disconnected with an energetic show of “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from archetypal Broadway formed members of “Hairspray!” Ali Stroker sang “What I Did for Love” from “A Chorus Line.” Jennifer Holliday besides took the signifier to present an unforgettable rendition of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” from the philharmonic “Dreamgirls.”
The singers performed for a masked and appreciative assemblage astatine a packed Winter Garden Theatre. Host Audra McDonald got a lasting ovation erstwhile she took the stage. “You can’t halt the beat. The bosom of New York City!” she said.
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” won for scenic design, costume, lighting, dependable design, orchestrations and a featured acting Tony for Broadway favourite Danny Burstein. Sonya Tayeh won for choreography successful her Broadway debut, and Alex Timbers won the trophy for champion absorption of a musical.
In a astonishment to nary one, Aaron Tveit won the grant for champion starring histrion successful a philharmonic for “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.” That’s due to the fact that helium was the lone idiosyncratic nominated successful the category. He thanked a agelong database of people, including his parents, brother, agents, manager and the formed and crew. “We are truthful privileged to get to bash this,” helium said, tearing up. “Because what we bash changes peoples’ lives.”
Burstein, who won for featured histrion successful a philharmonic and had not won six erstwhile times, thanked the Broadway assemblage for supporting him aft the decease past twelvemonth of his wife, Rebecca Luker. “You were determination for us, whether you conscionable sent a enactment oregon sent your love, sent your prayers — sent bagels — it meant the satellite to us, and it’s thing I’ll ne'er forget.”
David Alan Grier won featured histrion successful a play for his relation successful “A Soldier’s Play,” which dissects entrenched Black-white racism arsenic good arsenic interior divisions successful the Black subject assemblage during World War II. “To my different nominees: Tough bananas, I won,” helium said. On stage, the director, Kenny Leon recited the names Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, killed by police. “We volition never, ever hide you.”
Adrienne Warren won the Tony for champion starring histrion successful a philharmonic for her electrical crook arsenic Tina Turner successful “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical.” Warren was considered the front-runner acknowledgment to becoming a one-woman fireball of vigor and exhilaration. She dedicated the triumph to 3 household members she mislaid portion playing Turner — and thanked Turner herself.
Mary-Louise Parker won her 2nd champion pb histrion Tony Award, winning for playing a Yale prof who treasures large lit but has made nary country successful her beingness for idiosyncratic to stock that emotion with successful “The Sound Inside.” She thanked her dog, whom she was walking successful the rainfall erstwhile she bumped into Mandy Greenfield from the Williamstown Theatre Festival, who told her astir the play.
Burnap made his Broadway debut successful “The Inheritance.” He thanked his mom, and the University of Rhode Island and joked that helium felt grateful due to the fact that “I got to enactment for 7 hours.”
The sobering philharmonic “Jagged Little Pill,” which plumbs Alanis Morissette’s 1995 breakthrough medium to archer a communicative of an American household spiraling retired of control, came into the nighttime with a starring 15 Tony nominations. It near with wins for champion book, and Lauren Patten won the grant for champion featured histrion successful a musical.
“A Christmas Carol” cleaned up with 5 method awards: scenic plan of a play, costumes, lighting, dependable plan and score. But nary 1 from the accumulation was connected manus to judge immoderate of the awards.
“Slave Play,” Jeremy O. Harris’ ground-breaking, bracing enactment that mixes race, sex, taboo desires and class, earned a twelve nominations, making it the astir nominated play successful Tony history. But it won nothing.
Sunday’s amusement was expanded from its emblematic 3 hours to four, with McDonald handing retired Tonys for the archetypal 2 hours and Leslie Odom Jr. hosting a “Broadway’s Back!” solemnisation for the 2nd fractional with performances from the 3 apical musicals.
The unrecorded peculiar besides included David Byrne and the formed of “American Utopia” playing “Burning Down the House” to a lasting and clapping crowd. Byrne told them they mightiness not retrieve however to creation aft truthful agelong but they were invited to try.
John Legend and the formed of “Ain’t Too Proud” performed “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and Josh Groban and Odom Jr. sang “Beautiful City” from “Godspell,” dedicating it to educators. And Ben Platt and Anika Noni Rose sang “Move On” from “Sunday successful the Park with George.” Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth reunited for the “Wicked” opus “For Good.”
Members of Broadway’s royalty — Norm Lewis, Kelli O’Hara and Brian Stokes Mitchell — mourned the database of those who person died, which included icons similar McNally, Harold Prince and Larry Kramer.
This season’s nominations were pulled from conscionable 18 eligible plays and musicals from the 2019-2020 season, a fraction of the 34 shows the erstwhile season. During astir years, determination are 26 competitory categories. This twelvemonth determination are 25 with respective depleted ones.
The past Tony Awards ceremonial was held successful 2019. The microorganism forced Broadway theaters to abruptly adjacent connected March 12, 2020, knocking retired each shows and scrambling the outpouring season. Several person restarted, including the alleged large 3 of “Wicked,” “Hamilton” and “The Lion King.”
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AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck contributed to this report.
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Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy is astatine http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits.
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