NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Alicia’s keys electrified the Tony Awards on Sunday, joining superstar Jay-Z in his hit “Empire State of Mind,” while history was made as Broadway toasted the 11th woman to win best director, Danya Taymor.
Taymor — whose aunt is Julie Taymor, the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a musical — directed “The Outsiders,” a gritty musical adaptation of the classic American young adult novel.
“Thank you to the great women who lifted me up,” she said, adding Angelina Jolie, a producer, to her list.
Keys appeared at the piano on stage at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center as the cast of his semi-autobiographical musical “Hell’s Kitchen” was performing a medley of songs and then started singing her and Jay-Z’s 2009 hit. She then left the stage to join the rapper on some inner steps, receiving much applause.
Presenter Ariana DeBose started the broadcast with an original acrobatic number and Jeremy Forte took home the first big prize of the night as Broadway’s biggest party opened its arms to hip-hop and rock fans.
Strong, the star of “Succession,” won his first Tony for his work on the revival of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 political play “An Enemy of the People.” The theater award for best lead actor in a play will sit alongside the Emmy, the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Golden Globe.
The play is about a public-minded small-town doctor who discovers that the public spa’s water supply is contaminated, but his efforts to clean up the mess pit his ethics against cowardly politicians.
“This piece is a cry from the heart,” he said.
Kara Young, the first black performer to be nominated for a Tony three years in a row, won this time for best actress in a play for “Purlie Victorious,” the story of a black preacher’s scheme to reclaim his inheritance and win it back. his church of a plantation owner.
“Thank you to my ancestors,” she said, adding thanks to her mother and father, brother, partner, cast and co-star Leslie Odom Jr. and its director, Kenny Leon. She saved her last thanks for playwright Ossie Davis and his star Ruby Dee, who originated the role.
“Harry Potter” Star Daniel Radcliffe cemented his stage career by winning a Featured Actor in a Musical Tony, his first trophy in five Broadway shows. He won for the revival of “Merrily We Roll Along”, the Stephen Sondheim- George Furth musical that goes back in time.
“This is one of the best experiences of my life,” said Radcliffe, thanking the cast and director. “I’ll never have it this good again.” He also thanked his parents for playing Sondheim in the car while growing up.
Kécia Lewis, who plays a formidable piano teacher in “Hell’s Kitchen,” took home her first Tony. The 40-year-old veteran made her Broadway debut at age 18 in the original company of “Dreamgirls” and has had some incredible, heartbroken times.
“This moment is the one I’ve dreamed of for these 40 years,” she told the crowd. “Do not give up!”
DeBose, a three-time host, began by waving to “Chicago” holding up a newspaper with the headline “She’s Back!!!” and then jumping into the original song “This Party’s for You,” which had a disco vibe with hip-hop elements and several acrobatic moves.
Music was a joy for those who sacrificed themselves for their art and she gently criticized other types of entertainment: “You will learn that movies and TV can make you rich and famous. But theater will make you better.” She ended the song with a dramatic fall behind a pillar.
“Stereophonic”, a play about a Fleetwood Mac style The band that recorded an album during a turbulent, life-changing year led the Tony count with four, including director Daniel Aukin and actor and bassist Will Brill. Among the people Brill thanked were his therapist and bass teacher.
In the pre-show, the play “Stereophonic” and the musical “The outsiders” each won two technical Tonys. “Stereophonic” won the sound design award for Ryan Rumery, while David Zinn’s work on the show won the award for best scenic design of a play. “Stereophonic”, went into the night with a leader 13 Tony nominations, tied with “Hell’s Kitchen”
“The Outsiders” also won two pre-show Tonys: best sound design for Cody Spencer and best lighting design for Hana S. Kim and Brian MacDevitt.
“Suffs” won the Tony Award for best book of a musical and Dede Ayite’s work on “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” won best costumes for a play. Jonathan Tunick won best orchestration for “Merrily We Roll Along” and Linda Cho won the Tony for best costume design in a musical for “The Great Gatsby.” The best choreography award went to Justin Peck for “Illinoise.”
The awards cap off a Broadway theater season that had something for everyone – fun musicals like “Back to the Future,” sweeping romance in “The Notebook”, political war cries like “Suffs” and intimate sets like “Mother Play” and “Appropriate.” Filipinos took center stage in “Here Lies Love” and autism was explored in “How to Dance in Ohio.”
“I think it was a year of real flexibility. I also think that Broadway is in a moment of transformation,” said DeBose in an interview days before the show. “A total of 36 productions opened on Broadway this season alone and each spoke to a very different audience. I believe we are learning, ‘If you build it, they will come.’ So we continue to find our voice and who Broadway wants to be.”
DeBose said he expects the show to move “like a Broadway show” — in other words, quickly and with scene changes in front of the audience. “We want to give you the full Broadway experience,” she said.
Nicole Scherzinger will anchor the “In Memoriam” section and the deceased Chita Rivera will receive a separate tribute from Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Bebe Neuwirth.
Earlier in the evening, two shows shared the most nominations, with 13: the coming of age for a piano prodigy in “Hell’s Kitchen” and the back and forth struggle to create a rock album in the piece “Stereophonic.” They are competing in different categories, best new musical and best new play.
Of the 26 competitive categories, two are virtual locks: “Stereophonic”, a critical and box office triumph, and “Merrily We Roll Along”, the Stephen Sondheim- Musical by George Furth that failed when it opened on Broadway in 1981, but is the big favorite for best musical revival.
It could also be argued that “Appropriate,” Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play about a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has conflicting motivations and grievances, will comfortably win best play revival.
Looking to win “Hell’s Kitchen” for the new musical crown are “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s beloved novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film; “Illinoise,” the dance-heavy, dialogue-free theatrical adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album “Illinois”; “Suffs”, based on early 20th century American suffragettes; and “Water for Elephants”, which combines Sara Gruen’s 2006 bestseller with circus elements.
Hoping to topple “Estereofônico” are “Mother Play,” Paula Vogel’s look at a mother and her children from 1964 to the 21st century; “Mary Jane,” Amy Herzog’s humanistic portrait of a divorced mother of a boy with serious health problems; “Prayer for the French Republic,” Joshua Harmon’s sprawling family comedy-drama about Zionism, religious fervor and anti-Semitism; and “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” a comedy by Jocelyn Bioh about the lives of West African women who work in a beauty salon.
The leading actress in a musical race is between “Days of Wine and Roses” veteran Kelli O’Hara and “Hell’s Kitchen” newcomer Maleah Joi Moon. On the play side, Sarah Paulson of “Appropriate” is expected to win the trophy for best leading actress in a challenge to Jessica Lange in “Mother Play.”
Jonathan Groff is the favorite to win best lead actor in a musical for “Merrily We Roll Along,” competing with Eddie Redmayne in “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” and Brian d’Arcy James in “Days of Wine and Roses.” .
___
Mark Kennedy is in http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
___
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
