(click to enlarge photos)
Exhausting but fun to watch was bearded, always adorable Host Hugh Jackman’s entrance from the street thru the backstage onto the stage of Radio City Music Hall, hop, hop hopping all the way! After a musical opening by the cast of After Midnight, including Fantasia, Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight and a cameo tap from Jackman, things were off and running (or shall I say hopping). Look out the Tonys are back!
Jackman delivered parodies to the women nominees for Best Actress in a Play Best Actress in a Musical and the 8 characters he learned for his first musical audition,The Music Man. He joined LL Cool J in a rap to The Music Man – yes,yes!
Among the musical offerings, were performances by Ramin Karimloo and the company of Les Miz; James Monroe Iglehart and the company of Aladdin; Idina Menzel performing “Starting Over” from If/Then; Andy Karl and the company of Rocky (including the fight ring); Alan Cumming and the Kit Kat Klub Girls in Cabaret;Jefferson Mays as several of the characters he plays in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder with cast members Bryce Pinkham, Lauren Worsham & Lisa O’Hare; Neil Patrick Harris & Lena Hall and the company of Hedwig and the Angry Inch; the playwrights themselves talking about their works in the Best Play category; Sutton Foster & Joshua Henry and the cast of Vilolet;Sting and the Broadway Inspirational Voices; Wicked celebrating their 10th Anniversary on Broadway; Jessie Mueller and the cast of Beautiful: the Carole King Musical introduced by Carole King and featured a duet by Jessie & Carole; Nick Cordero and the company of Bullets Over Broadway; Jennifer Hudson performed Finding Neverland from the new Broadway bound show of that name.
Appearances by presenters included Tony Goldwyn, Lucy Liu,Clint Eastwood, Samuel L. Jackson, Fran Drescher, Maggie Gyllenhall, Ethan Hawke, Bradley Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Ru Paul, LL Cool J, Alan Cumming, Kenneth Branagh, Wayne Grady,Zachary Quinto, Gloria & Emelio Estefan,Judith Light, Patrick Wilson, Tina Fey,Audra McDonald,Carole King; Kevin Bacon, Zach Braff, Rosie O’Donnell presenting Tony for Best Musical, and more.
(Winners are in Bold)
Best Play
Act One,
All the Way (Robert Schenkken),
Casa Valentina,
Mothers and Sons,
Outside Mullingar
Best Musical
After Midnight, Aladdin, Beautiful – the Carole King Musical,
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Revival of a Play
The Cripple of Inishmaan,
The Glass Menagerie,
A Raisin in the Sun,
Twelfth Night
Best Revival of a Musical
Hedwig and the Angry Inch,
Les Misérables,
Violet
Best Book of a Musical
Aladdin – Chad Beguelin, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical – Douglas McGrath,
Bullets over Broadway – Woody Allen,A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder – Robert L. Freedman
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Aladdin – Music: Alan Menken; Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin,
The Bridges of Madison County – Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown,
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder – Music: Steven Lutvak; Lyrics: Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak,
If/Then – Music: Tom Kitt; Lyrics: Brian Yorkey
Best Performance By an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Samuel Barnett – Twelfth Night
Bryan Cranston – All the Way,
Chris O’Dowd – Of Mice and Men,
Mark Rylance – Richard III,
Tony Shalhoub – Act One
Best Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Tyne Daly – Mothers and Sons,
LaTanya Richardson Jackson – A Raisin in the Sun,
Cherry Jones – The Glass Menagerie,
a very weepy and thankful Audra McDonald – Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,
Estelle Parsons – The Velocity of Autumn
Best Performance By an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Neil Patrick Harris – Hedwig and the Angry Inch,
Ramin Karimloo – Les Misérables,
Andy Karl – Rocky,
Jefferson Mays – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bryce Pinkham – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Mary Bridget Davies – A Night with Janis Joplin,
Sutton Foster – Violet,
Idina Menzel – If/Then,
Jessie Mueller – Beautiful – The Carole King Musical,
Kelli O’Hara – The Bridges of Madison County
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney – Casa Valentina,
Paul Chahidi – Twelfth Night,
Stephen Fry – Twelfth Night,
Mark Rylance – Twelfth Night,
Brian J. Smith – The Glass Menagerie
Best Performance By an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Sarah Greene – The Cripple of Inishmaan,
Celia Keenan-Bolger – The Glass Menagerie,
Sophie Okonedo – A Raisin in the Sun,
Anika Noni Rose – A Raisin in the Sun,
Mare Winningham – Casa Valentina
Best Performance By an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein – Cabaret,
Nick Cordero – Bullets over Broadway,
Joshua Henry – Violet,
James Monroe Iglehart – Aladdin,
Jarrod Spector – Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Linda Emond – Cabaret,
(a tearfully excited Lena Hall – Hedwig and the Angry Inch,
Anika Larsen – Beautiful – the Carole King Musical,
Adriane Lenox – After Midnight,
Lauren Worsham – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Direction of a Play
Tim Carroll – Twelfth Night,
Michael Grandage – The Cripple of Inishmaan,
Kenny Leon – A Raisin in the Sun,
John Tiffany – The Glass Menagerie
Best Direction of a Musical
Warren Carlyle – After Midnight,
Michael Mayer – Hedwig and the Angry Inch,
Leigh Silverman – Violet,
Darko Tresnjak – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Best Choreography
Warren Carlyle – After Midnight,
Steven Hogget and Kelly Devine – Rocky,
Casey Nicholaw – Aladdin,
Susan Stroman – Bullets Over Broadway
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt – Act One, Bob Crowley – The Glass Menagerie, Es Devlin – Machinal, Christopher Oram – The Cripple of Inishmaan,
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Christopher Barreca – Rocky, Julian Crouch – Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Alexander Dodge – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Santo Loquasto – Bullets Over Broadway
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood – Act One, Michael Krass – Machinal, Rita Ryack – Casa Valentina, Jenny Tiramani – Twelfth Night
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, William Ivey Long – Bullets Over Broadway, Arianne Phillips – Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Isabel Toledo – After Midnight
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable – The Cripple of Inishmaan, Jane Cox – Machinal, Natasha Katz – The Glass Menagerie, Japhy Weideman – Of Mice and Men
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams – Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Christopher Akerlind – Rocky, Howell Binkley – After Midnight, Donald Holder – The Bridges of Madison County
Best Sound Design of a Play
Alex Baranowski – The Cripple of Inishmaan, Steve Canyon Kennedy – Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, Dan Moses Chreier – Act One, Matt Tierney – Machinal
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski – After Midnight, Tim O’Heir – Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Mick Potter – Les Miserables, Brian Ronan – Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Best Orchestrations
Jason Robert Brown – Bridges of Madison County
Doug Besterman – Bullets Over Broaday
Steve Sidwell – Beautiful: Carole King Musical
Jonathan Tunick – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre – Jane Greenwood
Regional Theatre Award – Signature Theatre
Isabelle Stevenson Award – Rosie O’Donnell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre – Joseph P. Benincasa, Joan Marcus, Charlotte Wilcox
