Curtain Call! The 73rd Annual Tony Awards was full of drama (the good kind) in New York City on Sunday night, and the big winner was a town where the wind blows...any way.
Hadestown was, predictably, the biggest winner of the night, picking up eight awards, including Best Musical, Variety reports. On the non-musical side, The Ferryman copped statuettes for big ones, too—Best Play and Best Direction (Sam Mendes).
Let’s get into this blackness, though.
Among the Hadestown winners was none other than André De Shields, who won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. The popular Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations took home one trophy—Best Choreography.
Blackness also shone in what the Tonys are known for—giving y’all a show!
First up, Billy Motherfucking Porter, with his Gypsy performance during commercial-break audience karaoke.
“Everything’s coming up roses,” indeed. And we’re going to continue to give Billy his, because he was really reminding the kids that he has been about this theatrical life.
“I love the Tonys,” the 49-year-old actor told the New York Times. “It was the first award show that I really paid attention to. I saw Jennifer Holliday sing, ‘And I’m Telling You’ from Dreamgirls and realized I could do this for a living. You know, it’s like, ‘Oh wait, there are black people that do this? And they sing like I’d sing in church? I want to do that.‘”
Naturally, his shenanigans had folks hoping for him to host next year—or at a future Tonys ceremony, period. He agrees.
“I want to run all of it,” Porter added in the NYT interview. “For now, this is the steppingstone to hosting the Tonys’.”
This year’s host was James Corden—again, since he hosted the 70th in 2016—so it is about time to add a person of color to the group. Specifically, black, black, blackity-black Billy Porter, perhaps?
Or maybe, Audra McDonald, who shined alongside Laura Linney in a spoof about their “beef,” ignited by Corden.
Tarell Alvin McCraney left a lasting impression when he introduced his play, Choir Boy. The play went on to win Best Sound Design (Fitz Patton).
“The bodies that uphold the legacies of spirituals are often black and queer,” McCraney mused onstage. “When will we love all of them for who they are, not just what they can do?”
Message.
The complete list of The 73rd Tony Awards winners are below:
Best Musical
Hadestown
Best Play
The Ferryman
Best Revival of a Play
The Boys in the Band
Best Revival of a Musical
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Best Book of a Musical
Tootsie
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Hadestown, Music & Lyrics: Anaïs Mitchell
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Bryan Cranston, Network
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Santino Fontana, Tootsie
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Bertie Carvel, Ink
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a Mockingbird
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
André De Shields, Hadestown
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ali Stroker, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Rob Howell, The Ferryman
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Rachel Hauck, Hadestown
Best Costume Design of a Play
Rob Howell, The Ferryman
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Bob Mackie, The Cher Show
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Ink
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Bradley King, Hadestown
Best Sound Design of a Play
Fitz Patton, Choir Boy
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, Hadestown
Best Direction of a Play
Sam Mendes, The Ferryman
Best Direction of a Musical
Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown
Best Choreography
Sergio Trujillo, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Best Orchestrations
Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose, Hadestown (WINNER)