Tony Award Winners 2019: ‘Hadestown’ Wins the Night
Broadway
The Tonys have all been given out, and Hadestown was the big winner, with a total of eight awards, including Best Musical and Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for André De Shields, who was born the year before the Tonys debuted 72 years ago.
From parody songs — host James Corden’s customized lyrics for “Michael in the Bathroom” from Be More Chill were hilarious — to a starry array of presenters and special guests (NPH!), there were many memorable moments. Our favorites included Best Director of a Musical winner for Hadestown, Rachel Chavkin, who called out the industry’s gender parity and diversity problems in her speech. “There are so many women who are ready to go. There are so many artists of color who are ready to go. And we need to see that racial diversity and gender diversity reflected in our critical establishment, too. This is not a pipeline issue. It is a failure of imagination by a field whose job is to imagine the way the world could be.”
Ali Stroker became the first performer who uses a wheelchair to win a Tony. While accepting the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical statuette, she said, “This award is for every kid who is watching tonight who has a disability, who has a limitation or a challenge.”
Santino Fontana, who won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Tootsie, gave a sweet shout out to his pregnant wife. Bryan Cranston, who won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Network, joked that, “Finally a straight old white man gets a break!” before turning serious by thanking the press, saying, “The media is not the enemy of the people. Demagoguery is the enemy of the people.”
Although Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus dramatist Taylor Mac went home empty-handed, when he emerged in that jaw-dropping ensemble and declared, “Hello, queens! I wrote a play,” we have no doubt he helped inspire the next generation of groundbreaking writers.
And Stephanie J. Block, who won Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for The Cher Show, gave an adorable tribute to her husband, actor Sebastian Arcelus, saying if he ever tries to leave her, she’s going with him.
What were your favorite moments? Tell us in the comments below, after the complete list of winners.
Best Musical
WINNER: Hadestown
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Time of The Temptations
Beetlejuice
The Prom
Tootsie
—
Best Play
WINNER: The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth
Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus by Taylor Mac
Ink by James Graham
What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck
—
Best Revival of a Musical
WINNER: Oklahoma!
Kiss Me, Kate
Best Revival of a Play
WINNER: The Boys in the Band
All My Sons
Burn This
Torch Song
The Waverly Gallery
—
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
WINNER: Santino Fontana for Tootsie
Brooks Ashmanskas for The Prom
Derrick Baskin for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Alex Brightman for Beetlejuice
Damon Daunno for Oklahoma!
—
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
WINNER: Stephanie J. Block for The Cher Show
Caitlin Kinnunen for The Prom
Beth Leavel for The Prom – Read our interview with Leavel
Eva Noblezada for Hadestown
Kelli O’Hara for Kiss Me, Kate
—
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
WINNER: Bryan Cranston for Network
Paddy Considine for The Ferryman
Jeff Daniels for To Kill a Mockingbird
Adam Driver for Burn This
Jeremy Pope for Choir Boy
—
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
WINNER: Elaine May for The Waverly Gallery
Annette Bening for All My Sons
Laura Donnelly for The Ferryman
Janet McTeer for Bernhardt/Hamlet
Laurie Metcalf for Hillary and Clinton
Heidi Schreck for What the Constitution Means to Me
—
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
WINNER: Ali Stroker for Oklahoma!
Lilli Cooper for Tootsie
Amber Gray for Hadestown
Sarah Stiles for Tootsie
Mary Testa for Oklahoma!
—
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
WINNER: André De Shields for Hadestown
Andy Grotelueschen for Tootsie
Patrick Page for Hadestown
Jeremy Pope for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Ephraim Sykes for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
—
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
WINNER: Bertie Carvel for Ink
Robin De Jesús for The Boys in the Band
Gideon Glick for To Kill a Mockingbird
Brandon Uranowitz for Burn This
Benjamin Walker for All My Sons
—
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
WINNER: Celia Keenan-Bolger for To Kill a Mockingbird
Fionnula Flanagan for The Ferryman
Kristine Nielsen for Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Julie White for Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Ruth Wilson for King Lear
—
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
WINNER: Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell
Be More Chill by Joe Iconis
Beetlejuice by Eddie Perfect
The Prom, music by Matthew Sklar & lyrics by Chad Beguelin
To Kill a Mockingbird by Adam Guettel
Tootsie by David Yazbek
—
Best Book of a Musical
WINNER: Tootsie by Robert Horn
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations by Dominique Morisseau – Read our interview with Morisseau
Beetlejuice by Scott Brown & Anthony King
Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell
The Prom by Bob Martin & Chad Beguelin
—
Best Direction of a Musical
WINNER: Rachel Chavkin for Hadestown
Scott Ellis for Tootsie
Daniel Fish for Oklahoma!
Des McAnuff for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Casey Nicholaw for The Prom
—
Best Direction of a Play
WINNER: Sam Mendes for The Ferryman
Rupert Goold for Ink
Bartlett Sher for To Kill a Mockingbird
Ivo van Hove for Network
George C. Wolfe for Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
—
Best Choreography
WINNER: Sergio Trujillo for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Camille A. Brown for Choir Boy
Warren Carlyle for Kiss Me, Kate
Denis Jones for Tootsie
David Neumann for Hadestown
—
Best Costume Design of a Musical
WINNER: Bob Mackie for The Cher Show
Michael Krass for Hadestown
William Ivey Long for Beetlejuice
William Ivey Long for Tootsie
Paul Tazewell for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
—
Best Costume Design of a Play
WINNER: Rob Howell for The Ferryman
Toni-Leslie James for Bernhardt/Hamlet
Clint Ramos for Torch Song
Ann Roth for Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Ann Roth for To Kill a Mockingbird
—
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
WINNER Rachel Hauck for Hadestown
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Peter England for King Kong
Laura Jellinek for Oklahoma!
David Korins for Beetlejuice
—
Best Scenic Design of a Play
WINNER: Rob Howell for The Ferryman
Miriam Buether for To Kill a Mockingbird
Bunny Christie for Ink
Santo Loquasto for Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Jan Versweyveld for Network
—
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
WINNER: Bradley King for Hadestown
Kevin Adams for The Cher Show
Howell Binkley for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Peter Mumford for King Kong
Kenneth Posner and Peter Nigrini for Beetlejuice
—
Best Lighting Design of a Play
WINNER: Neil Austin for Ink
Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer for Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Peter Mumford for The Ferryman
Jennifer Tipton for To Kill a Mockingbird
Jan Versweyveld and Tal Yarden for Network
—
Best Sound Design of a Musical
WINNER: Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz for Hadestown
Peter Hylenski for Beetlejuice
Peter Hylenski for King Kong
Steve Canyon Kennedy for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Drew Levy for Oklahoma!
—
Best Sound Design of a Play
WINNER: Fitz Patton for Choir Boy
Adam Cork for Ink
Scott Lehrer for To Kill a Mockingbird
Nick Powell for The Ferryman
Eric Sleichim for Network
—
Best Orchestrations
WINNER: Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose for Hadestown
Simon Hale for Tootsie
Larry Hochman for Kiss Me, Kate
Daniel Kluger for Oklahoma!
Harold Wheeler for Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
—
Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Rosemary Harris
Terrence McNally
Harold Wheeler
—
Special Tony Awards
Marin Mazzie
Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company
Jason Michael Webb
—
Regional Theatre Tony Award
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
Palo Alto, CA
—
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Judith Light
—
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Broadway Inspirational Voices – Michael McElroy, Founder
Peter Entin
FDNY Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9
Joseph Blakely Forbes
Top image: James Corden. Photo by Jason Bell/CBS.
RAVEN SNOOK