The Writers’ strike was on everyone’s mind at the 76th annual TONY awards on Sunday night. Opening with a gorgeous dance number on the expansive United Palace Theater stage, the TONY show was its own Broadway show on upper Broadway that is, in the heights, Washington Heights. We do know that Lin-Manuel Miranda has enormous influence in the theater community, and he also has some inspiring ideas. Ubering in, guests missed Radio City Hall for a moment but took in the glamor and glitz of this spectacular venue. TONY host Ariana DeBose welcomed everyone in her own language of movement, with that exuberant dance opening, breathless as she welcomed everyone, acknowledging writers— the lack thereof, --and saluting Puerto Rican day. This was the quintessential New York night.
Pre-televised, some awards for lighting and sound design were given out, with a wonderful tribute to John Kander whose New York, New York is now wowing audiences. Beowulf Borritt won Best Scenic Design of a Musical for that show, explaining how the sets were hand-painted, not video screened in his acceptance speech. Both Kander (96) and Joel Grey (91) were celebrated with Lifetime Achievement Awards—Grey receiving his from his daughter, Jennifer Grey. A star from the very start of his career, winning his first TONY for Cabaret (and an Oscar for the movie), Grey was the son of a Yiddish actor which goes far to explain his pre-pandemic production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish. He said, you never know when something you are offered that you don’t think is right for you, is actually right, such as Anything Goes in which he starred with Sutton Foster.
Many such legendary figures were on hand. When Leopoldstadt won for Best New Play, writer Tom Stoppard joined the cast and crew onstage; similarly, when Parade won for Best Musical Revival, writer Alfred Uhry spoke, followed by the “In Memoriam” reel accompanied by Juaquina Kalukango, last year’s winner for Paradise Square, singing “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from Phantom of the Opera. Without saying so, the performance was a nod to Andrew Lloyd Weber who would not have a Broadway show in production for the first time in decades. Even though Funny Girl was not eligible this year, Lea Michele’s “Don’t Rain on my Parade,” was irresistible. And Will Swenson, starring as Neil Diamond in A Beautiful Noise, led a sing-along to “Sweet Caroline.”
In this strange and restrictive political time, many acknowledged the LBGTQ community. Winners in acting categories, Alex Newell (Shucked) and J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot) dressed for the occasion. As did others: producer Jordan Roth in hooded, quasi-Martian attire, presenter, the actress Lupita Nyong’o in a silver breastplate with protruding nipples molded by Pakistani designer Misha Japanwala from her own body. Men in sequined jackets munched on street fare in the alley beside the Palace: rice, beans, and pulled pork, Frosted Flakes, fresh fruit, and, the culinary hit of the night, Shake Shack cheese burgers.
That’s where we ran into the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers, Jessica Hecht, a nominee for Summer 1976, and Rachel Brosnahan, starring in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, supporting Best Featured Actress in a Play winner Miriam Silverstein. We talked about the Lorraine Hansberry drama, and couldn’t resist gushing about the teary end of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Brosnahan went into the Broadway show just three weeks after the series wrapped, emotional from saying goodbye to this defining role portraying a stand-up comedienne’s rise to fame. Denying that the character had anything to do with the legendary Joan Rivers, she recalled a time when Rivers made the effort to see her backstage at her Broadway debut ten years ago. And when Rita Moreno came to see her recently on Broadway, insisting she was not jealous.
A historic night, yes! But with great shows arriving for the coming Broadway season—including one with Melissa Etheridge, who knows what they’ll do for the TONYs next year. As Joel Grey repeated, “Auf Wiedersehen.”
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