Jeremy Robust took residence his first Tony Award on Sunday for his position within the play An Enemy of the Individuals, as one of many many Hollywood contenders up for awards on the 77th Annual Tonys.
“This play is a cry from the center and an exhortation to withstand the troublesome truths which are staring us all down proper now,” Robust stated.
Will Brill, one of many a number of nominees in Stereophonic, was additionally among the many early winners, taking residence a Tony Award greatest efficiency by an actor in a featured position in a play, a class that additionally included two of his castmates. He requested the total solid in attendance on the Tony Awards to face as he accepted his award.
Stereophonic, essentially the most nominated play in historical past, has an opportunity to beat or tie the file for many successful play in historical past, if it takes residence seven or extra awards. The play has already gained for its set and sound design in addition to for greatest director of a play.
Kara Younger additionally took residence her first Tony Award, after being nominated for 3 years in a row, for her position within the revival of the play Purlie Victorious, reverse Leslie Odom Jr.
The Tony Awards ceremony is happening on the Lincoln Middle’s David H. Koch Theater, hosted by Ariana DeBose.
The Outsiders musical, based mostly on the beloved e book, additionally took residence Tony Awards for sound and lighting design, and for greatest director of a musical, for Danya Taymor. She was one among 4 girls nominated within the class, which has sometimes been dominated by males. Her nomination may very well be a touch on the outcomes of one of the best musical race, which is anticipated to be one of many closest at this yr’s ceremony.
Through the Tonys preshow, Shaina Taub took residence the Tony for writing the e book to the musical Suffs, a musical about Suffragettes by which she additionally stars and wrote the rating, and Justin Peck gained one of the best choreography Tony Award for Illinoise, a dance-based musical, which is a style that has not all the time been effectively acquired on Broadway.
“I like theater with all my coronary heart, and I’m grateful to this group for embracing a musical that harnesses the profound energy of dance on Broadway,” Peck stated.
Through the preshow, Audra McDonald offered the Particular Tony Award for lifetime achievement to five-time Tony Award winner, director and author George C. Wolfe, whose credit embrace Caroline, or Change and Angels in America, who she’s going to quickly be working with once more in Gypsy. Wolfe, whose work typically offers with themes of race and identification and social justice, spoke about harnessing the ability of theater to satisfy the second, including “it needn’t seem like you to be about you.”
“As we undergo this extremely difficult time, it’s essential that we strategy it not with concern and never with trepidation, however with realizing that we work with the dynamic of celebrating, exploring the highly effective, fragile dynamic that’s the human coronary heart,” Wolfe stated.
Jack O’Brien, a three-time Tony Award-winning director for exhibits reminiscent of Hairspray, was additionally a recipient of the lifetime achievement award, offered by Harvey Fierstein, and known as working in theater extra of a calling than a job.
“Nobody ever requested us to do that,” O’Brien stated. “We didn’t reply an advert in The New York Instances that stated, ‘Glittering theatrical varieties wanted to avoid wasting a moribund business’ … however we couldn’t assist it, might we?”