Tony Awards 2019 Reactions
That time of year again; the biggest night of the year in American theatre, the Tony Awards, were held in New York last night, and as per every year, here's my reaction to it.
It was again hosted by James Cordon, and I admit, his opening number was pretty good, and not as cheesy as other seem to be. In fact, people on t'internet have even said it is almost up there with Neil Patrick-Harris' Bigger in 2013 - penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda and which won an Emmy (I think...)!
Last year left a few people scratching their heads considering the material - including the SpongeBob musical - allowing the critic-friendly The Band's Visit to sweep the awards.
This year held a little more variety, and a little more imagination than last year; I say that, but there were very little if no surprises, and there was a clear winner of the night. That, I am pleased to say, was Hadestown (YAY!). Anais Mitchell's musical based on the Greek legend Orpheus and Eurydice won 8 out of its 14 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Lighting Design of a Musical. Out of its 4 actors who were nominated, Andre DeSheilds took the Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as the winged God Hermes, booted in a sharp suit and heart-warming acceptance speech. Rachel Chavkin (who won Best Direction of a Musical for the show), also had a fantastic speech - it's truly shocking that she was the only female director on Broadway this season!
Next up is jukebox musical The Cher Show, winning for Best Costume Design of a Musical, and, for Broadway favourite Stephanie J Block, it was 3rd nomination lucky as she won the Best Actress in a Musical award.
From Best Actress to Best Actor in a Musical, which went to Santino Fontana (best known as the voice of Hans in Frozen) to is performance in Tootsie. The show about an actor who resorts to cross-dressing to find work also won Best Book, meaning Hadestown missed out on the Triple Crown.
Rounding out the new musicals was a Best Choreographer win for Sergio Trujillo and his work on Aint Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations - and he gave another fantastic speech. The stage adaptations of Beetlejuice (I NEED to check this out) and King Kong, as well as favourite The Prom (who I thought would win something), all came away empty handed, as did the viral sensation Be More Chill.
Onto musical revivals, and there were only 2 this year. Kiss Me Kate, starring Kelli O'Hara (The King and I), came away empty-handed, but it was a much better story for Oklahoma!. This classic has been completely stripped back, reimagined and transformed, and it looks AMAZING! The fact it won Best Revival of a Musical is kind of a "no shit!" moment, but more importantly, it also got the Best Featured Actress in a Musical: almost 4 years ago, Ali Stroker made her Broadway debut in the revival of Spring Awakening. She was the first person who uses a wheelchair to do so. Fast-forward to now, and she is the first wheelchair-user to get nominated and WIN a Tony. Congrats Ali, you're truly an inspiration!
Moving onto Plays, and it was another FAB year for the Brits. Jez Butterworth's The Ferryman was the big winner here, winning 4 awards, on top of its Oliviers last year. Also, following on from his 2018 Olivier win, Bertie Carvel won his first Tony for his performance in Ink, winning the Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Elsewhere, another Broadway favourite, Celia Keenan-Bolger won her 1st Tony after 3 previous nominations! She won Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, the stage adaptation of Harper Lee's classic book - fine time to mention the biggest snub of the nominations was that Mockingbird was somehow NOT nominated for Best Play, despite it being showered with many other nominations.
The Best Actress in a Play gong went to 87 year-old Elaine May for The Waverly Gallery, and Bryan Cranston won his 2nd Tony for his performance in Network, the same part which had also given him an Oliver last year. New play Choir Boy picked up Best Sound Design of a Play, and the Best Revival of a Play went to The Boys In The Band - a piece that Ryan Murphy (Glee, Pose) is set to adapt for Netflix WITH the Broadway cast (including Jim Parsons, Andrew Rannells, Tony nominee Robin de Jesus and more).
I'm pretty happy overall with the outcome here, mostly due to Hadestown winning as many as it did - take THAT Olivier committee - nothing against Come From Away, Company etc etc, but this is why you should have given the National's production SOME recognition!
It was again hosted by James Cordon, and I admit, his opening number was pretty good, and not as cheesy as other seem to be. In fact, people on t'internet have even said it is almost up there with Neil Patrick-Harris' Bigger in 2013 - penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda and which won an Emmy (I think...)!
Last year left a few people scratching their heads considering the material - including the SpongeBob musical - allowing the critic-friendly The Band's Visit to sweep the awards.
This year held a little more variety, and a little more imagination than last year; I say that, but there were very little if no surprises, and there was a clear winner of the night. That, I am pleased to say, was Hadestown (YAY!). Anais Mitchell's musical based on the Greek legend Orpheus and Eurydice won 8 out of its 14 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Lighting Design of a Musical. Out of its 4 actors who were nominated, Andre DeSheilds took the Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as the winged God Hermes, booted in a sharp suit and heart-warming acceptance speech. Rachel Chavkin (who won Best Direction of a Musical for the show), also had a fantastic speech - it's truly shocking that she was the only female director on Broadway this season!
Next up is jukebox musical The Cher Show, winning for Best Costume Design of a Musical, and, for Broadway favourite Stephanie J Block, it was 3rd nomination lucky as she won the Best Actress in a Musical award.
From Best Actress to Best Actor in a Musical, which went to Santino Fontana (best known as the voice of Hans in Frozen) to is performance in Tootsie. The show about an actor who resorts to cross-dressing to find work also won Best Book, meaning Hadestown missed out on the Triple Crown.
Rounding out the new musicals was a Best Choreographer win for Sergio Trujillo and his work on Aint Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations - and he gave another fantastic speech. The stage adaptations of Beetlejuice (I NEED to check this out) and King Kong, as well as favourite The Prom (who I thought would win something), all came away empty handed, as did the viral sensation Be More Chill.
Onto musical revivals, and there were only 2 this year. Kiss Me Kate, starring Kelli O'Hara (The King and I), came away empty-handed, but it was a much better story for Oklahoma!. This classic has been completely stripped back, reimagined and transformed, and it looks AMAZING! The fact it won Best Revival of a Musical is kind of a "no shit!" moment, but more importantly, it also got the Best Featured Actress in a Musical: almost 4 years ago, Ali Stroker made her Broadway debut in the revival of Spring Awakening. She was the first person who uses a wheelchair to do so. Fast-forward to now, and she is the first wheelchair-user to get nominated and WIN a Tony. Congrats Ali, you're truly an inspiration!
Moving onto Plays, and it was another FAB year for the Brits. Jez Butterworth's The Ferryman was the big winner here, winning 4 awards, on top of its Oliviers last year. Also, following on from his 2018 Olivier win, Bertie Carvel won his first Tony for his performance in Ink, winning the Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Elsewhere, another Broadway favourite, Celia Keenan-Bolger won her 1st Tony after 3 previous nominations! She won Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, the stage adaptation of Harper Lee's classic book - fine time to mention the biggest snub of the nominations was that Mockingbird was somehow NOT nominated for Best Play, despite it being showered with many other nominations.
The Best Actress in a Play gong went to 87 year-old Elaine May for The Waverly Gallery, and Bryan Cranston won his 2nd Tony for his performance in Network, the same part which had also given him an Oliver last year. New play Choir Boy picked up Best Sound Design of a Play, and the Best Revival of a Play went to The Boys In The Band - a piece that Ryan Murphy (Glee, Pose) is set to adapt for Netflix WITH the Broadway cast (including Jim Parsons, Andrew Rannells, Tony nominee Robin de Jesus and more).
I'm pretty happy overall with the outcome here, mostly due to Hadestown winning as many as it did - take THAT Olivier committee - nothing against Come From Away, Company etc etc, but this is why you should have given the National's production SOME recognition!
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