It was a star-studded night at the biggest event celebrating theatrical achievement
With the Oscars, you might be forgiven for thinking that it was the end of the award season. After all, it is the most well known film appreciation event. However, there’s one that officially signals the end of the ‘statuette’ season and is considered among the four most prestigious accolades (it puts the ‘T’ in EGOT, afterall). It is the Tony Awards, which happened late last weekend, and featured some thrilling wins, alongside some brilliant performances.
The last of the EGOT
The Tonys are considered the premier award for theatrical performances and production, and are a part of the much hallowed quartet including the Emmys (for television), the Grammys (for music), and the Oscars (for film). Hosted in the Lincoln Centre in the Big Apple, the awards were highlighted by some big names, with some really big winners. Much like how the Golden Globes have different categories for drama and comedy, the Tonys have a plethora of awards split over two major categories, i.e., play and musical.
The two productions that dominated the awards were Stereophonic written by David Adjmi, and the Angelina Jolie-produced The Outsiders. Winning the best play, along with sound design, set design, and play direction for Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic followed a rock band in the late ‘70s that found itself on the cusp of stardom. The Outsiders, adapted from S.E. Hinton’s young adult novel of the same name, which was also made into a movie by Francis Ford Coppola, picked up the same awards for the musical category. As the producer, it was also Angelina Jolie’s first ever Tony award.
Power-packed performances
Jeremy Strong won the best actor for his lead role in the Ibsen-written An Enemy Of The People. The play, which is a cautionary environmental drama, also won the Best Revival in the play category. Appropriate, which was again a revival, won Sarah Paulson the best actress award in a leading role, beating out Rachel McAdams and Jessica Lange. This was both the actors’ first Tony win, and following on from his Emmy win last year, it puts Strong halfway to the prestigious EGOT sweep.
The other big winner of the night was Daniel Radcliffe, who won the best featured actor award for the revival of the Sondheim musical, Merrily We Roll Along. Kecia Lewis, a theatre veteran, won the best featured actress for her performance in Hell’s Kitchen, a musical inspired by the life of Alicia Keys and her music.