Hell’s Kitchen was the primary of the nominated musicals to get a efficiency on the 2024 Tony Awards, and the quantity featured Alicia Keys and Jay-Z reuniting to carry out their hit “Empire State of Thoughts.”
However the semi-autobiographical present, for which Keys composed the rating and helped prepare the music and served as a producer, ended the night time shedding the highest prize of greatest musical and profitable solely two awards regardless of going into the 2024 Tonys with a number one 13 nominations.
Hell’s Kitchen had been tied with Stereophonic because the most-nominated productions this yr, however the play received 5 awards, together with greatest play, on Sunday night time. Hell’s Kitchen’s wins have been within the classes of greatest actress (Maleah Joi Moon) and featured actress (Kecia Lewis) in a musical.
The perfect musical prize ended up going to 12-time nominee The Outsiders.
However arguably the most important snub of the night time was the very best course of a musical loss for Merrily We Roll Alongside‘s Maria Friedman, who had been the favourite to win and had been credited with remodeling the 1981 flop into a success revival. As a substitute, in maybe a sign of the very best musical win, the award went to The Outsiders‘ Dayna Taymor, which has been lauded, specifically for its cinematic battle scenes.
Elsewhere, numerous a number of nominees have been shut out, together with Water for Elephants, which was up for seven awards, together with greatest musical, and four-time nominees Mom Play, Mary Jane and Right here Lies Love.
The latter, from David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, remodeled the Broadway Theater to incorporate a disco dance flooring for attendees to face and transfer round on through the present, was predicted by many to win in greatest scenic design, but it surely couldn’t match the immersive theater transformation of Cabaret on the Equipment Kat Membership, which has additionally reconfigured the theater in order that the viewers sits within the spherical and to incorporate a number of flooring of bars and a preshow meant to evoke the Equipment Kat Membership. And, Right here Lies Love closed in November, that means it could have been distant in Tony voters’ minds, whereas Cabaret remains to be operating.
Nonetheless, that scenic design award, introduced through the Tonys‘ Act One preshow, was the one win for nine-time nominee Cabaret.
Additionally going dwelling with just one award have been five-time nominee Illinoise and six-time nominees Purlie Victorious and An Enemy of the Individuals.
Within the lead actor in a play class, Enemy of the Individuals‘s Jeremy Robust might have stunned some pundits when he triumphed over Leslie Odom Jr., who had been predicted by some to win in an in depth race.
One other shock was the Will Brill (Stereophonic) win for featured actor in a play. And a few observers might have been stunned by the Jessica Lange loss to Sarah Paulson in the very best actress in a play class however the two actresses have been in an in depth race for the win.
Caitlin Huston contributed to this report.