Watch Oakland’s own Daveed Diggs discuss winning his first Tony award:
Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Aaron Burr, won best actor in a musical and cheered Miranda for “a new vision of what’s possible.” He also thanked his wife, actress Nicolette Robinson and his parents.
The show earlier won awards for costume and lighting but lost scenic design to She Loves Me, meaning Hamilton couldn’t break the record haul by The Producers. Still, few shows get introduced by a sitting president, as Barack and Michelle Obama did for the performance by the show’s cast.
The awards show unspooled with a heavy heart a night after a gunman killed 50 people at a gay Florida nightclub, prompting a Broadway tribute to the victims at the top of the show and a smattering of references to tolerance throughout it.
Host James Corden dedicated the night to celebrating the diversity of Broadway. “Hate will never win. Together we have to make sure of that. Tonight’s show stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle,” he said.
Barbra Streisand returned to the Tony stage for the first time in 46 years and acknowledged the killings. “Tonight our joy is tinged with sorrow but we’re here to celebrate Broadway and the beauty that artistry can bring into this world.” Art, she said, can “at times like these console us.”
But for much of the telecast, the mood was light and typical of an awards show.
Miranda, the star and creator of Hamilton, won for best score and book, and during one of his trips to the stage, he read from a sonnet, referencing tragedy and urging “love and love and love….”
Thomas Kail won the Tony for directing Hamilton. He thanked Miranda, a frequent collaborator, and celebrated the diversity of Broadway this season. “Let’s continue to tell stories,” he said.
British actress Cynthia Erivo won the best actress award for her Broadway debut in “The Color Purple.” She thanked her cast for “making me a stronger woman on that stage.” Her show, which failed to beat “Jersey Boys” for the best musical Tony Award in 2006, won the best musical revival award in 2016.
The Humans, about a fractious family’s get-together,” was the second most decorated show with four awards, including best new play. Playwright Stephen Karam dedicated his award to all the struggling writers. “Keep the faith,” he said.
The play also earned wins to two mainstays of the New York stage — Jayne Houdyshell and her stage husband, Reed Birney. Both won for featured roles.
Not all shows had reason to smile. Shuffle Along, the musical that explores a groundbreaking 95-year-old show, failed to win a single award, although it entered the night with 10 nominations. Eclipsed and She Loves Me each won only one statuette; Waitress went home empty-handed.
In response to the shooting Sunday that left at least 50 people dead in a crowded nightclub in Orlando, Florida, “Hamilton” dropped its use of muskets in its performance. Many stars also wore a silver ribbon to show solidarity.
The shooting was close to home for Christopher Fitzgerald, who was nominated for his role in Waitress and went to school in Orlando. “I’m heartbroken. I think everybody is feeling it, so we are at least all coming together to celebrate and not live in fear,” he said on the carpet.
Jessica Lange won her first Tony for playing a drug-addled mother in the revival of the monumental Long Day’s Journey Into Night. The two-time Academy Award winner said: “This is a dream come true and it fills me with such happiness, even on such a sad day as this.”
Frank Langella won his fourth Tony for playing a man who has begun his slide into dementia in The Father. He almost teared up when he mentioned his brother’s struggle with dementia. He also had a message for the people of Orlando: “We will be with you every step of the way.”
Dutch visionary Ivo Van Hove won his first Tony for directing an imaginative revival of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. Under his helm, the barefoot cast warily circled one another under bright lights in a set that resembled a boxing ring. The show was also named best play revival.
The show opened with the cast of Hamilton performing their opening number with the lyrics altered to have them all wondering why Corden — “chatting with Hollywood phonies” — had earned the honor of hosting the show.
The The Late Late Show host had some quips for the theater-loving audience: “This is like the Super Bowl for people who don’t know what the Super Bowl is,” he said at one point. He later flirted with Oprah Winfrey.
Donald Trump was a frequent target. Nathan Lane made a crack about Trump University and Emilio Estefan insisted that his all-Latin cast for “On Your Feet!” were all in the U.S. legally. Corden at one point suggested there were so many diverse performers on the show that the Republican candidate would want to put a wall around the theater. There was also a joke about Trump starring in “The Book of Moron.” To be fair, Glenn Close mocked Hillary Clinton in the fictional show “A Clinton Line.”
“Hamilton” and the 38 new productions this season helped Broadway’s attendance figures hit a record high, up 1.6 percent to 13.3 million ticket buyers. The season also was rich in diversity among actors: Fourteen of the 40 Tony nominees for acting in plays and musicals — or 35 percent — were actors of color.
The best musical Tony caps a stunning year for Hamilton that includes Miranda winning the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama, a Grammy, the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History and a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant.
Tony producers will hope its presence on the telecast will stem a three-year slide in viewership. Last year’s telecast — hosted by Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth — was watched by a mere 6.35 million viewers. In 2014, it reached 7.02 million and captured 7.24 million in 2013.
Here’s the list of nominees, with the winners highlighted:
Best Musical
Bright Star
Hamilton
School of Rock
Shuffle Along
Waitress
Best Play
Eclipsed
The Father
The Humans
King Charles III
Leading Actress in a Musical
Laura Benanti, She Loves Me
Carmen Cusack, Bright Star
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
Jessie Mueller, Waitress
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton
Leading Actor in a Musical
Alex Brightman, School of Rock
Danny Burnstein, Fiddler on the Roof
Zachary Levi, She Loves Me
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Leslie Odom, Jr., Hamilton
Leading Actress in a Play
Jessica Lange, Long Day’s Journey into Night
Laurie Metcalfe, Misery
Lupita Nyong’o, Eclipsed
Sophie Okonedo, The Crucible
Michelle Williams, Blackbird
Leading Actor in a Play
Gabriel Byrne, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Jeff Daniels, Blackbird
Frank Langella, The Father
Tim Pigott Smith, King Charles III
Mark Strong, A View from the Bridge
Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Spring Awakening
John Doyle, The Color Purple
Scott Ellis, She Loves Me
Thomas Kail, Hamilton
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along
Best Direction of a Play
Rupert Gold, King Charles III
Jonathan Kent, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Joe Mantello, The Humans
Liesl Tommy, Eclipsed
Ivo Van Hove, A View from the Bridge
Featured Actress in a Play
Pascale Armand, Eclipsed
Megan Hilty, Noises Off
Jayne Houdyshell, The Humans
Andrea Martin, Noises Off
Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed
Featured Actor in a Musical
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Brandon Victor Dixon, Shuffle Along
Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton
Christopher Jackson, Hamilton
Featured Actress in a Musical
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along
Featured Actor in a Play
Reed Birney, The Humans
Bill Camp, The Crucible
David Furr, Noises Off
Richard Goulding, King Charles III
Michael Shannon, Long Day’s Journey into Night
Best Revival of a Play
The Crucible
A View From the Bridge
Blackbird
Long Days Journey into Night
Noises Off
Best Revival of a Musical
The Color Purple
Fiddler on the Roof
She Loves Me
Spring Awakening
Best Book of a Musical
Steve Martin, Bright Star
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Julian Fellowes, School of Rock
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along
Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
Savion Glover, Shuffle Along
Hofesh Shechter, Fiddler on the Roof
Randy Skinner, Dames at Sea
Sergio Trujillo, On Your Feet
Best Original Score
Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, Bright Star
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Glenn Sltater, Andrew Lloyd Webber, School of Rock
Sara Bareilles, Waitress
Best Orchestrations
August Eriksmoen, Bright Star
Larry Hochman, She Loves Me
Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton
Daryl Waters, Shuffle Along
Scenic Design of a Musical
Es Devlin & Finn Ross, American Psycho
David Korins, Hamilton
Santo Loquasto, Shuffle Along
David Rockwell, She Loves Me
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, Thérèse Raquin
Christopher Oram, Hughie
Jan Versweyveld, A View from the Bridge
David Zinn, The Humans
Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Tuck Everlasting
Jeff Mahshie, She Loves Me
Ann Roth, Shuffle Along
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Michael Krass, Noises Off
Clint Ramos, Eclipsed
Tom Scutt, King Charles III
Lighting Design of a Musical
Howell Binkley, Hamilton
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Shuffle Along
Ben Stanton, Spring Awakening
Justin Townsend, American Psycho
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Katz, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Justin Townsend, The Humans
Jan Versweyveld, The Crucible
Jan Versweyveld, A View from the Bridge
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Associated Press writers Julie Walker, Jocelyn Noveck, John Carucci and Leanne Italie in New York contributed to this report.
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