NEW YORK (AP) — Alicia Keys electrified on Tony Price on Sunday, teaming up with superstar Jay-Z on their hit “Empire State of Mind,” while history was made when Broadway toasted the 11th woman to win the Best Director crown, Danya Taymor.
Taymor — whose aunt is Julie Taymor, the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a musical — directed “The Outsiders,” a realistic musical adaptation of the classic American young adult novel.
“Thank you to the amazing women who raised me,” she said.
Keys appeared on the piano on stage at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater as part of his semi-autobiographical musical. “Hell’s Kitchen” featured a medley of songs, then began singing his 2009 smash with Jay-Z. She then left the stage to join the rapper on some interior steps to loud applause.
Host Ariana DeBose launched the show with an original and acrobatic number and Jeremy Fort took home the night’s first grand prize as Broadway’s biggest party opened its arms to hip-hop and rock fans.
Strong, the “Succession” star, nabbed his first Tony for his work in the revival of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 political play, “An Enemy of the People.” The theater award for Best Leading Actor in a Play will be placed alongside its Emmy, Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe.
The play tells the story of a public-minded doctor in a small town who discovers that the public spa’s water supply is contaminated, but his efforts to clean up the mess pit his ethics against political cowards.
“This piece is a cry from the heart,” he said.
Kara Young, the first black performer to be nominated for a Tony three years in a row, won best actress in a play this time for “Purlie Victorious,” the story of a black preacher’s plan to recover his heritage and reclaim his heritage. his church of a plantation owner.
“Thank you to my ancestors,” she said, adding thanks to her parents, brother, partner, actors and co-star. Leslie Odom Jr. and its director, Kenny Leon. She saved her life thanks to playwright Ossie Davis and his star Ruby Dee, who originated the role.
From Bose, a three-time host, began with a nod to “Chicago” by holding up a newspaper with the headline “She’s Back!!!” then jumping into the original song “This Party’s for You”, which had a disco vibe with hip-hop elements and multiple acrobatic lifts.
The song was an encouragement to those who sacrifice for their art, and it takes a gentle dig at other types of entertainment: “You’ll learn that movies and television can make you rich and make you famous.” But theater will make you better. She ended the song with a dramatic fall backwards off a pillar.
“Stereophonic”, a play about a Like Fleetwood Mac band recording an album during a turbulent, life-changing year, led the Tony tally with four, including for director Daniel Aukin and for actor-bassist Will Brill. Among those who thanked Brill were his therapist and his bass teacher.
What happened at the pre-show?
During the pre-show, the piece “Stereophonic” and the musical “The foreigners” each took two technical Tonys. “Stereophonic” won the award for sound design for Ryan Rumery, while David Zinn’s work on the series won the award for best scenic design of a play. “Stereophonic”, went into the night with a leader 13 Tony nominations, tied with “Hell’s Kitchen”
The Tony Awards, an annual celebration of Broadway, take place this Sunday.
“The Outsiders” also won two pre-show Tonys: best sound design for Cody Spencer and best lighting design for Hana S. Kim and Brian MacDevitt.
“Suffs” won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and Dede Ayite’s work on “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” won for Best Costume in a Play. Jonathan Tunick won best orchestration for “Merrily We Roll Along” and Linda Cho won the Tony for best costume design in a musical for “The Great Gatsby.” The award for best choreography went to Justin Peck for “Illinoise.”
“A period of transformation”
The awards cap a season of Broadway theater that had something for everyone — fun musicals like “Back to the Future,” a heart-stopping romance. in “The Notebook” policy rallying cries like “Suffs” and intimate sets like “Mother Play” and “Appropriate.” Filipinos take center stage in “Here Lies Love” and autism was explored in “How to Dance in Ohio.”
“I think it’s been a year of real flexibility. I also think that Broadway is in a period of transformation,” DeBose said in an interview days before the show. “A total of 36 productions opened on Broadway this season alone and each aimed at a very different audience. I believe we learn, “If you build it, they will come.” So we continue to find our voice and figure out who Broadway wants to be.
From Bose said she expects the show to run “like a Broadway show” — in other words, quickly and with scene changes in front of the audience. “We want to give you the full Broadway experience,” she said.
Nicole Scherzinger will host the “In Memoriam” section and the late Chita Rivera will receive a separate tribute from Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Bebe Neuwirth.
Some key rewards to watch out for
Two shows share the most nominations with 13: the coming of age of a piano prodigy in “Hell’s Kitchen” and the back-and-forth struggle to create a rock album in the piece “Stereophonic.” They compete in different categories, best new musical and best new play.
Among the 26 competitive categories, two are virtual locks: “Stereophonic,” a critical and box office triumph, and “Merrily We Roll Along,” the Stephen Sondheim – George Furth musical which failed in its Broadway premiere in 1981, but is the favorite for best musical revival.
It could also be argued that “Appropriate,” Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play about a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has competing motivations and grievances, will comfortably win the award for best revival of a play.
I’m looking to beat “Hell’s Kitchen” for the new musical crown, “The Outsiders”, an adaptation of the beloved novel by SE Hinton and the film by Francis Ford Coppola; “Illinoise”, the stage adaptation, rich in dance and without dialogue, of the album “Illinois” by Sufjan Stevens in 2005; “Suffs,” based on early 20th-century American suffragettes; and “Water for Elephants,” which combines Sara Gruen’s 2006 bestseller with circus elements.
Hoping to topple “Stereophonic,” here’s “Mother Play,” Paula Vogel’s look at a mother and her children from 1964 to the 21st century; “Mary Jane,” Amy Herzog’s humanist portrait of a divorced mother of a young boy suffering from serious health problems; “Prayer for the French Republic,” Joshua Harmon’s sprawling family comedy-drama that deals with Zionism, religious fervor and anti-Semitism; and “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy about the lives of West African women working in a salon.
The leading actress in a musical race is between “Days of Wine and Roses” veteran Kelli O’Hara and “Hell’s Kitchen” newcomer Maleah Joi Moon. On the acting side, Sarah Paulson of “Appropriate” should win the trophy for best lead actress against a challenge launched by Jessica Lange in “Mother Play”.
Jonathan Groff is the favorite to win best leading actor in a musical for “Merrily We Roll Along,” competing against Eddie Redmayne in “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” and Brian d’Arcy James in “Days of Wine and Roses.”
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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