The 78th Tony Awards took place on June 8 in New York and provided a glimmer of hope and joy amidst the cloud of despair happening on the opposite coast.
Naturally, the night was very LGBTQ friendly and was hosted by Tony Award-winning and Oscar nominated actress Cynthia Erivo as she started the night with a wonderful opening number.
Broadway legend and queer icon Harvey Fierstein was honored with a Special Lifetime Achievement Award which brought his tally to a total of five. He previously won two Tony Awards for Torch Song Trilogy in 1982, one for best play and one for his performance. In 1983, he won a Tony for writing the book for La Cage aux Folles along with Jerry Herman who wrote the music. And in 2002, he won for his performance as Edna Turnblad for the Broadway musical adaptation of John Waters’ film Hairspray.“Don’t make mommy cry,” Fierstein said as he accepted the award. He told the audience an abridged story of his time as a kid in Brooklyn and how he got his start in community theater making posters in a basement of Unitarian church. A kid who lip synced to Broadway showtunes in his bedroom mirror with a towel wrapped around his head and how by the age of 15 he was on the board of directors of the Gallery Players, a theater that still exists in Brooklyn. “You can get the rest of the story from my best selling New York Times [biography]”, he said.
“What I find most humbling is the thought that somehow my journey means something to you,” he admitted, adding that there wasn’t way to possibly thank everyone responsible for his success. “No one does theater alone but I must call out my mother who dragged us to opera and ballet and Broadway as often as she could afford.”
He went on to say, “I dedicate this award to the people in the dark and offer my most profound thanks to all of you, my community.”
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Costume designer Paul Tazewell made history on Sunday night, winning Best Costume Design of a Musical for Death Becomes Her. The win comes only three months after Tazewell made history at the Oscars becoming the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Wicked — but his history-making does not stop there.
Tazewell made history on Sunday night becoming the second person in the history to win an Oscar and a Tony in the same calendar year. The last person to achieve such a feat was Irene Sharaff in 1952 when she won an Oscar in for An American in Paris and a Tony for The King & I.
“I would love for my legacy to speak to me as a designer who always gave my A-game,” Tazewell said in an interview with GLAAD’s Tony Morrison backstage at the Tony Awards. “And took the stories that I chose to tell with my clothing very seriously, and hopefully that touched people’s hearts and changed lives in big ways.”
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Also making history was Cole Escola, who was the first non-binary performer to to win a Tony Award for lead role in a play for their portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln as a aspiring cabaret performer in the successful Oh, Mary!
After running wildly to the stage ito accept the award from Sarah Paulson and Jean Smart, Escola started their speech: “Julie Harris has a Tony for playing Mary Todd Lincoln!”
“I want to thank the other nominees, George, Jon, Harry, Daniel and Louis,” they said donned in a dress paying homage to Bernadette Peters. “It’s an honor to be in your company, and more than that, it’s been a sincere pleasure spending time with you over these warm salads at all these lunches.”
They went on to thank Oh, Mary! director Sam Pinkleton, the cast, their friends, and a special someone from Grindr.
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It didn’t take long for legend Bernadette Peters to compliment Escola’s homage to her dress and congratulate them on their win. “”I thought they looked absolutely lovely, but when I wore it, I wore my chest hairs in a different pattern,” said Peters. “But more importantly, congratulations to Cole on the Tony!”
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It was a big night for the musical Maybe Happy Ending as it won the top prize of Best Musical but Michael Arden was very tongue in cheek as he took the stage to accept the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and asked, “If there are any queer people watching tonight…” which was met with laughter. He appropriately went on to say “Happy Pride.”
If you remember at the 2023 Tony Awards, Arden caused a tiny bit of a stir but it was all in good fun when he said f-word when he won the same award for Parade. In his acceptance speech, he said “Growing up, I was called the f-word more times than I could remember,” Arden said in his speech. “And all I can say now is, I’m a f****t with a Tony!” Naturally, the f-word was bleeped out.
Drag Race alum and the All Star of all All Stars Jinx Monsoon was also at the Tony Awards performing with the cast of Pirates! The Penzance Musical alongside David Hyde Pierce.
The night was filled with many fantastic performances and moments including a Hamilton reunion with the original cast as well as Audra McDonald lighting up the stage with her performance of “Rose’s Turn” from Gypsy. Oprah Winfrey managed to “hold space” with Erivo and the night’s host also bookended the night with her own rendition of “And I Am Telling You”.
