The 77th Annual Tony Awards have just taken place, and there's so much to talk about. First things first, I overall got 16 out of 26 predictions correct, which is a bit of a downfall from my near perfect score last year. There were 12 categories where I went against the choices that were ranked at number one in the odds at Gold Derby. Among the ones I got right were Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Cabaret over Here Lies Love), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Stereophonic over Appropriate), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (The Outsiders over Illinoise), Best Lead Actor in a Play (Jeremy Strong over Leslie Odom, Jr.), and Best Musical (The Outsiders over Hell's Kitchen).
As for the categories I got wrong…
Best Book of a Musical: As I mentioned in my predictions, Variety said that this award could go to anyone. I settled on The Outsiders because I felt if it was winning Best Musical (which it ended up doing so), it had to win here to support that. Yet it ended up going to Suffs instead.
Best Costume Design of a Play: The Gold Derby odds favored Jaja's African Hair Braiding. I knew it wasn't impossible for that to happen. Although I figured with that show being long gone coupled with how strong Stereophonic, I predicted the latter to win given its recreation of 1970s style clothing. Yet the former won and costume designer Dede Ayite became the very first African American to ever win this award.
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Many expected Cabaret to take this, which I knew was possible. Although one user at Gold Derby who's usually great when it comes to Tony predictions settled on Suffs. On paper, that made a lot of sense given that the costume work in that looked like a typical winner in this category, so I went with it. Yet when The Great Gatsby won, it was a huge shocker. That not only wasn't well received by critics, but it also had no other nominations. I guess the costumes were just undeniable enough to overcome those hurdles. On a side note, when Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film adaptation of the original novel won both of its Oscars for Production Design and Costume Design, Peter Travers literally went on to trash the movie on Twitter. I wonder if anyone did the same following the musical’s win on its only nomination.
Best Lighting Design of a Play: The aforementioned Gold Derby user I've been in touch with predicted An Enemy of the People to win with Stereophonic as the alternative. Either of those scenarios looked possible as did Appropriate. I settled on An Enemy of the People because from photos I've seen of that production, the lighting looked very unique. Although I did have a bit of a sneaking suspicion that Appropriate could pull through, which it ended up doing so.
Best Sound Design of a Musical: I like many others predicted Hell's Kitchen to take this. Jukebox musicals tend to have a great track record in sound design like Fela!, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and MJ. Although the aforementioned Gold Derby user predicted The Outsiders to win as a third prize to go along with its victories for Best Musical and Best Lighting Design. That didn't make sense to me because you have to go all the way back to 1999 where Fosse won the top prize and two below-the-line awards for lighting design and orchestrations. Lucky for him, he was right. Although I was also right in that The Outsiders would take home an additional above the line award (more on that later).
Best Featured Actor in a Play: When I made the predictions, I mentioned that Will Brill appeared to have had strong support from voters for his performance in Stereophonic. Although the aforementioned Gold Derby user I had been in touch with settled on his co-star Eli Gelb instead, feeling the latter received the most notices and buzz from the men and was the center of the play. Hearing that, I wondered if it was possible for the two of them to split, thus paving the way for Corey Stoll to win for Appropriate. Yet I stupidly listened to this user and went with Gelb. In hindsight, Brill winning shouldn't have been too surprising given that he is one of the more recognizable Broadway actors in Stereophonic after having previously made appearances in Act One as well as the most recent revivals of You Can't Take It With You and Oklahoma!.
Best Featured Actress in a Play: As I mentioned in my predictions, I was settled on Sarah Pidgeon in Stereophonic for the win here, but I didn't entirely count out Kara Young as a possibility. She already made headlines as the first African American to be nominated in this category three years in a row. So it seemed inevitable how much she quickly became a mainstay in the New York theatre scene within the last couple of years. As someone who was unable to make it to New York this past season, Purlie Victorious was the only show I caught (through its PBS broadcast). So I'm glad to see it not go home empty handed.
Best Direction of a Musical: I like everyone else really thought Maria Friedman had this in the bag for Merrily We Roll Along. So when Danya Taymor was announced as the winner for The Outsiders, I was like "Whoa!." This reminded me of how Bong Joon-ho pulled off a big shockaroo of a win for Best Director at the 2019 Oscars over Sam Mendes for 1917. Everyone thought the latter had that race locked up. Yet when the former won, that was pretty much the signal that Parasite was winning Best Picture. So I knew The Outsiders was taking a major category to go along with its Best Musical prize, just not the one I thought. Also, what a full circle moment for Danya to become the latest woman to win this award while her aunt, Julie Taymor, was the very first for The Lion King back in 1998.
Best Featured Actress in a Musical: In my predictions, I mentioned that Lindsay Mendez was getting a lot of love for her performance in Merrily We Roll Along. Since she, Jonathan Groff, and Daniel Radcliffe were all considered to be such a team in that show, I like many thought she'd win here to go along with both of their respective prizes, feeling voters would view the three of them as a packaged deal. Interestingly enough, a number of people early on figured Bebe Neuwirth would be competitive for Cabaret. She's a beloved fixture in the Broadway community who won twice before on both of her previous nominations for Sweet Charity (1986) and Chicago (1997). Had she or Mendez won, either of them would've been undefeated at the Tonys. Yet the award ended up going to Kecia Lewis. An actress who now has 10 Broadway credits to her name, she made her main stem debut 40 years when she joined the original production of Dreamgirls. Since then, she appeared in the original casts of Once on This Island and The Drowsy Chaperone. But Hell's Kitchen not only marked her very first Tony nomination, but it also resulted in a win. All in all, I'll say good for her.
Best Original Score: As I mentioned in my predictions, this race was pretty much up for grabs. Despite being a play with music, I felt that there was enough passion for Stereophonic to make it across the finish line here. Meanwhile, I wasn't sure if there was enough for Suffs to pull out the win. Yet with Shaina Taub being one of the most talked about young musical theatre creators working today, I guess it's not that surprising for her to prevail in both this category and Book. Although with those two wins, I did wonder if Suffs still had a shot of pulling out a Best Musical win in the end (which it didn't).
As for the actual telecast, I thought Ariana DeBose really gave it her all, but it just wasn't as strong as her previous two stints as host. Her opening number (which she also choreographed) was fine, but pretty underwhelming compared to the last two years. It felt like it could've opened any award show like the Grammys. There was nothing Broadway related about it. At this point, I think the Tonys should just bring back the opening numbers with all the nominated musicals.
As for the categories I got wrong…
Best Book of a Musical: As I mentioned in my predictions, Variety said that this award could go to anyone. I settled on The Outsiders because I felt if it was winning Best Musical (which it ended up doing so), it had to win here to support that. Yet it ended up going to Suffs instead.
Best Costume Design of a Play: The Gold Derby odds favored Jaja's African Hair Braiding. I knew it wasn't impossible for that to happen. Although I figured with that show being long gone coupled with how strong Stereophonic, I predicted the latter to win given its recreation of 1970s style clothing. Yet the former won and costume designer Dede Ayite became the very first African American to ever win this award.
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Many expected Cabaret to take this, which I knew was possible. Although one user at Gold Derby who's usually great when it comes to Tony predictions settled on Suffs. On paper, that made a lot of sense given that the costume work in that looked like a typical winner in this category, so I went with it. Yet when The Great Gatsby won, it was a huge shocker. That not only wasn't well received by critics, but it also had no other nominations. I guess the costumes were just undeniable enough to overcome those hurdles. On a side note, when Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film adaptation of the original novel won both of its Oscars for Production Design and Costume Design, Peter Travers literally went on to trash the movie on Twitter. I wonder if anyone did the same following the musical’s win on its only nomination.
Best Lighting Design of a Play: The aforementioned Gold Derby user I've been in touch with predicted An Enemy of the People to win with Stereophonic as the alternative. Either of those scenarios looked possible as did Appropriate. I settled on An Enemy of the People because from photos I've seen of that production, the lighting looked very unique. Although I did have a bit of a sneaking suspicion that Appropriate could pull through, which it ended up doing so.
Best Sound Design of a Musical: I like many others predicted Hell's Kitchen to take this. Jukebox musicals tend to have a great track record in sound design like Fela!, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and MJ. Although the aforementioned Gold Derby user predicted The Outsiders to win as a third prize to go along with its victories for Best Musical and Best Lighting Design. That didn't make sense to me because you have to go all the way back to 1999 where Fosse won the top prize and two below-the-line awards for lighting design and orchestrations. Lucky for him, he was right. Although I was also right in that The Outsiders would take home an additional above the line award (more on that later).
Best Featured Actor in a Play: When I made the predictions, I mentioned that Will Brill appeared to have had strong support from voters for his performance in Stereophonic. Although the aforementioned Gold Derby user I had been in touch with settled on his co-star Eli Gelb instead, feeling the latter received the most notices and buzz from the men and was the center of the play. Hearing that, I wondered if it was possible for the two of them to split, thus paving the way for Corey Stoll to win for Appropriate. Yet I stupidly listened to this user and went with Gelb. In hindsight, Brill winning shouldn't have been too surprising given that he is one of the more recognizable Broadway actors in Stereophonic after having previously made appearances in Act One as well as the most recent revivals of You Can't Take It With You and Oklahoma!.
Best Featured Actress in a Play: As I mentioned in my predictions, I was settled on Sarah Pidgeon in Stereophonic for the win here, but I didn't entirely count out Kara Young as a possibility. She already made headlines as the first African American to be nominated in this category three years in a row. So it seemed inevitable how much she quickly became a mainstay in the New York theatre scene within the last couple of years. As someone who was unable to make it to New York this past season, Purlie Victorious was the only show I caught (through its PBS broadcast). So I'm glad to see it not go home empty handed.
Best Direction of a Musical: I like everyone else really thought Maria Friedman had this in the bag for Merrily We Roll Along. So when Danya Taymor was announced as the winner for The Outsiders, I was like "Whoa!." This reminded me of how Bong Joon-ho pulled off a big shockaroo of a win for Best Director at the 2019 Oscars over Sam Mendes for 1917. Everyone thought the latter had that race locked up. Yet when the former won, that was pretty much the signal that Parasite was winning Best Picture. So I knew The Outsiders was taking a major category to go along with its Best Musical prize, just not the one I thought. Also, what a full circle moment for Danya to become the latest woman to win this award while her aunt, Julie Taymor, was the very first for The Lion King back in 1998.
Best Featured Actress in a Musical: In my predictions, I mentioned that Lindsay Mendez was getting a lot of love for her performance in Merrily We Roll Along. Since she, Jonathan Groff, and Daniel Radcliffe were all considered to be such a team in that show, I like many thought she'd win here to go along with both of their respective prizes, feeling voters would view the three of them as a packaged deal. Interestingly enough, a number of people early on figured Bebe Neuwirth would be competitive for Cabaret. She's a beloved fixture in the Broadway community who won twice before on both of her previous nominations for Sweet Charity (1986) and Chicago (1997). Had she or Mendez won, either of them would've been undefeated at the Tonys. Yet the award ended up going to Kecia Lewis. An actress who now has 10 Broadway credits to her name, she made her main stem debut 40 years when she joined the original production of Dreamgirls. Since then, she appeared in the original casts of Once on This Island and The Drowsy Chaperone. But Hell's Kitchen not only marked her very first Tony nomination, but it also resulted in a win. All in all, I'll say good for her.
Best Original Score: As I mentioned in my predictions, this race was pretty much up for grabs. Despite being a play with music, I felt that there was enough passion for Stereophonic to make it across the finish line here. Meanwhile, I wasn't sure if there was enough for Suffs to pull out the win. Yet with Shaina Taub being one of the most talked about young musical theatre creators working today, I guess it's not that surprising for her to prevail in both this category and Book. Although with those two wins, I did wonder if Suffs still had a shot of pulling out a Best Musical win in the end (which it didn't).
As for the actual telecast, I thought Ariana DeBose really gave it her all, but it just wasn't as strong as her previous two stints as host. Her opening number (which she also choreographed) was fine, but pretty underwhelming compared to the last two years. It felt like it could've opened any award show like the Grammys. There was nothing Broadway related about it. At this point, I think the Tonys should just bring back the opening numbers with all the nominated musicals.
That's not to say that the rest of the telecast didn't have some pleasurable moments. I enjoyed several of the musical performances from the nominated shows. There were plenty of heartfelt acceptance speeches from the winners. There was a clever bit with Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, reprising their roles from the Tony nominated Gutenberg! The Musical! from earlier this season. They even got to do a crash course regarding the classics rule when it comes to older works on Broadway for the very first time competing as revivals (which was the case with their show). At one point, there was a tribute to the legendary Chita Rivera, who passed away at age 91 earlier this year. It wasn’t as elaborate as I expected, but it was still touching.
Something I appreciated about the telecast was that for the first time in many years, every single award throughout the night was presented center stage. Lately, play categories were presented on one side of the stage while musicals were presented on the other (with some exceptions). Not the case this time, which was good in part because the Oscars and the Emmys usually have their awards presented center stage too. Plus, doing it that way kind of does make the winners feel more front and center than just being in a certain corner. I also thought it was pretty neat how the scene transitions from the Tonys to the performances felt very theatrical, it was a nice touch. I really loved this year’s In Memoriam segment. Maybe not as much as last year's with Joaquina Kalukango singing 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,' but Nicole Scherzinger performing 'What I Did For Love' from A Chorus Line was still lovely. The ghost light that was on stage during it also felt fitting.
As for the ratings, the telecast received a respectable 3.51 million viewers, though the numbers took a slight decline from last year, which had 4.31 million tuning in. On paper, it looks like decent numbers given the state of live television nowadays and the niche appeal of the Tonys. Although one thing I'd like to mention about the 90 minute pre-show subtitled Act One, I noticed how just like last year, some people struggled trying to find and access it on Pluto TV. My response to that is I think it should go back to Paramount+ next year. Speaking of which, Ariana DeBose has already mentioned that after three years, this will be her final hosting stint for a while. I'm glad that will be the case because I feel we're just about due for a different host. Maybe next year, we'll get someone brand new or I could see them going back to previous emcees like Hugh Jackman or Neil Patrick Harris.
As one Broadway season ends, another is about to begin. So far on the musical side, there's new works such as Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, Swept Away, Tammy Faye, and A Wonderful World as well as revivals of Gypsy, Once Upon a Mattress, The Pirates of Penzance, and Sunset Boulevard on the way in addition to the Broadway premiere of Adam Guettel & Tina Landau's Floyd Collins. As for the plays, there's new works such as English, Eureka Day, The Hills of California, Job, McNeal, Oh, Mary!, and The Roommate as well as revivals of Our Town and Romeo + Juliet coming in addition to the Broadway premiere of David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face. Be sure to keep on following me throughout the 2024-25 season.
As one Broadway season ends, another is about to begin. So far on the musical side, there's new works such as Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, Swept Away, Tammy Faye, and A Wonderful World as well as revivals of Gypsy, Once Upon a Mattress, The Pirates of Penzance, and Sunset Boulevard on the way in addition to the Broadway premiere of Adam Guettel & Tina Landau's Floyd Collins. As for the plays, there's new works such as English, Eureka Day, The Hills of California, Job, McNeal, Oh, Mary!, and The Roommate as well as revivals of Our Town and Romeo + Juliet coming in addition to the Broadway premiere of David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face. Be sure to keep on following me throughout the 2024-25 season.