Broadway revivals and ‘Liberation' win big at the Tony Awards, hosted by Pink
“Schmigadoon!,” an adaptation of an Apple TV series that gently mocks big, brassy Broadway shows, won the best new musical Tony Award on a night when actor John Lithgow and playwright Bess Wohl made history.
The musical parodies golden-age Broadway classics like “The Music Man” and “Oklahoma!” centered on a modern-day couple finding themselves in a “Brigadoon”-like fantasyland where the wholesome townspeople keep breaking into song. The win is a redemption for creator Cinco Paul, whose TV series was canceled after two seasons. He won Tonys for the score and the book Sunday.
“Sometimes singing, dancing, jokes and a happy ending are all you need,” said producer Lorne Michaels, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” after the win.
The win for “Schmigadoon!” also completes what some unofficially call a “studio EGOT,” giving the producing company credits for winning awards at all four major ceremonies. Apple already has Emmys for comedies “Ted Lasso” and “The Studio,” the Oscar for best picture for “CODA” and a Grammy via Chris Stapleton’s contribution to the “F1” soundtrack.
The prize for the best new play went to Wohl’s “Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in 1970s Ohio, which earlier this year also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Wohl’s memory play collects stories from second-wave feminists from all walks of life as they tackle misogyny, racism and traditional gender roles. Wohl is only the fourth woman to win a best play Tony, joining Wendy Wasserstein, Yasmina Reza and Frances Goodrich.
“This is the honor of a lifetime,” said Wohl, who thanked her mom, daughters and female producers. “I want to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice. And to all the girls out there: May you speak your truth, and may the world be wise enough to listen.” The win came after presenter Julia Louis-Dreyfus pretended to believe all the original plays this season were written by artificial intelligence.
“Liberation” joins a list of 18 plays that have won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony Award in the same year, which includes “Death of a Salesman,” a well-received revival this year that was racking up awards at the halfway mark.
The Tony for best play revival went to “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller’s masterpiece that looks at the unraveling of the American Dream. It won the 1949 Tony for best new play and best revival crowns in 1984, 1999 and 2012.
It earned a leading six Tonys: “Roseanne” star Laurie Metcalf won her third Tony for playing Willy Loman’s wife opposite Nathan Lane in the revival, which also won for lighting, scenic design and sound design. Joe Mantello won best director for a play.
Wins for ‘Ragtime’ and John Lithgow
“Ragtime” — a big, soaring musical that depicts an America being remade by immigration, racial violence, industrial wealth and political unrest — won the best musical revival.
Caissie Levy, who was Broadway’s first Elsa in “Frozen,” won her first Tony for playing the matriarch of a wealthy suburban family in “Ragtime.” She thanks all the babysitters who let her become both a mother and a Broadway performer.
Moments later, Joshua Henry, a four-time nominee for “The Scottsboro Boys” “Violet” and “Carousel,” won his first Tony as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in “Ragtime.” “Even in the face of tragedy and pain, he fought to be heard,” Henry said of his character.
Lithgow took home the night’s first award, winning best lead actor in a play for “Giant” playing children’s writer Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s production set in 1983, when the author is facing intense backlash for his antisemitic comments. The role earned Lithgow his first Olivier Award in London and now the Tony for lead actor in a play, his third. At 80, he is the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony.
The win puts Lithgow in an exclusive group of actors who have won in three separate acting categories. He previously won featured actor in a play for “The Changing Room” and lead actor in a musical for “Sweet Smell of Success.”
“Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them,” he said. “In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”
Shoshana Bean, who won best featured actress in a musical for playing a single mom in “The Lost Boys,” echoed the themes of “Liberation” in her speech.
“This is for the mamas. This is for the single mamas. This is for my single mama. You are the wild heroes. This is for the incredible army of women that surround and uplift me,” she said.
“Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” which reimagines the 1980s classic feline musical as a celebration of queer ballroom culture, won for best direction of a musical by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.
“We honor the Black and brown trans women and gay men who were ballroom’s pioneers, as well as today’s icons, and our cast of astonishing triple-threats, including people from their 20s to their 80s, and every decade in between,” Levingston said.
Lesley Manville, an Oscar nominee for “Phantom Thread,” won best lead actress in a play, making her Broadway debut in a modern retelling of Sophocles’ classic tragedy “Oedipus.”
What was Pink like as a host
Pink, the Tony’s host, started the show spinning and then dangling uncomfortably from a harness over the stage, dressed like Peter Pan. Former host Neil Patrick Harris stepped in to suggest the first-time host just be herself. “You’re Pink, Pink. You can do anything,” he told her.
After lifting Harris off the stage with her legs, Pink relented to his suggestion of being “less Pan-ish” by taking off her harness, adding a top hat and leading an extended “Lady Marmalade” that included contributions from dozens of performers including Lea Michele and Megan Thee Stallion — plus some strange, new lyrics like “Gitchie, gitchie, Laurie Metcalf” — and ended with some 170 performers on stage and crowding the aisles.
In her opening remarks, Pink, who has not yet gotten a Broadway credit, called herself theater’s second-biggest fan after her teenage daughter, Willow. “I’m not here just to steal peoples’ wigs, although I will be doing that. I’m here to celebrate the hardest-working people in show business,” she said.
“Schmigadoon!” and “Death of a Salesman” each went into the main telecast with a lead of three Tonys after a pre-show on Pluto TV hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess that announced the more technical awards. Qween Jean became the first openly trans Tony winner ever for making the costumes for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”
Plenty of performances
After the big opening number, Pink was generally a genial, low-key figure, popping up in new outfits for a few self-deprecating bits, but then roaring to life when leading a very convincing “All That Jazz” as “Chicago” celebrated its 30th anniversary, with the pop singer nailing the Bob Fosse-inspired choreography.
The In Memoriam section was led by Leslie Odom Jr. singing a powerful “Without You” from “Rent,” honoring such lost figures as actors Robert Duvall, Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, as well as playwright Tom Stoppard. Rachel Zegler then stunned with a version of “What I Did For Love” from “A Chorus Line,” which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Other performances included the original lead cast members of “The Book of Mormon” — Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James — reuniting to celebrate its 15th anniversary.
The handing out of technical awards during the pre-show and the relative paucity of new musical nominees this season meant the shows that were invited to perform had longer slots to work with than previous years, sometimes giving viewers a medley of songs and some scene-setting to boot.
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