The 2019 Tony Awards brought together Broadway’s best and brightest talents for a night of entertainment, accolades, and very important historical moments.
The director of the smash musical Hadestown , Rachel Chavkin, scored her first Tony, reported The New York Times . As the only woman who was nominated as a director of any show, drama, or musical this year, Chavkin took up the cause for her fellow talented female contemporaries as she accepted her award.
Chavkin, only the fourth woman in Tony history to win as the director of a musical, as reported by The New York Times , used her acceptance speech to invoke a change toward the inclusion of more women directors on Broadway.
“This is not a pipeline issue,” Chavkin explained during her speech. “It is a failure of imagination by a field whose job is to imagine the way the world could be.”
History was also made during the show when Ali Stroker became the first actor who was wheelchair-bound to win a Tony. Stroker was honored for her work in the role of Ado Annie in Oklahoma! The new Tony-winner lost the use of her legs in a car accident at the age of 2. Stroker dedicated her award to “every kid who is watching tonight who has a disability, who has a limitation or a challenge, who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_-zvnurL3M
The following are the nominated shows and performers. The winners are highlighted in bold.
Best Play Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth 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 Kiss Me, Kate Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Best Musical Ain’t Too Proud to Beg Beetlejuice Hadestown The Prom Tootsie
Best Revival of a Play Arthur Miller’s All My Sons The Boys in the Band by Mart Crowley Burn This by Lanford Wilson Torch Song by Harvey Fierstein The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical Brooks Ashmanskas, The Prom Derrick Baskin, Ain’t Too Proud Alex Brightman, Beetlejuice Damon Daunno, Oklahoma! Santino Fontana, Tootsie
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show Caitlin Kinnunen, The Prom Beth Leavel, The Prom Eva Noblezada, Hadestown Kelli O’Hara, Kiss Me, Kate
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play Paddy Considine, The Ferryman Bryan Cranston, Network Jeff Daniels, To Kill a Mockingbird Adam Driver, Burn This Jeremy Pope, Choir Boy
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play Annette Bening, All My Sons Laura Donnelly, The Ferryman Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery Janet McTeer, Bernhardt/Hamlet Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me
Best Book of a Musical Ain’t Too Proud , Dominique Morisseau Beetlejuice , Scott Brown and Anthony King Hadestown , Anaïs Mitchell The Prom , Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin Tootsie , Robert Horn
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater Be More Chill , Joe Iconis Beetlejuice , Eddie Perfect Hadestown , Anaïs Mitchell The Prom , Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin To Kill a Mockingbird , Adam Guettel Tootsie , David Yazbek
Best Direction of a Musical Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown Scott Ellis, Tootsie Daniel Fish, Oklahoma! Des McAnuff, Ain’t Too Proud Casey Nicholaw, The Prom
Best Direction of a Play Rupert Goold, Ink Sam Mendes, The Ferryman Bartlett Sher, To Kill a Mockingbird Ivo van Hove, Network George C. Wolfe, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical André De Shields, Hadestown Andy Grotelueschen, Tootsie Patrick Page, Hadestown Jeremy Pope, Ain’t Too Proud Ephraim Sykes, Ain’t Too Proud
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical Lilli Cooper, Tootsie Amber Gray, Hadestown Sarah Stiles, Tootsie Ali Stroker, Oklahoma! Mary Testa, Oklahoma!
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play Bertie Carvel, Ink Robin De Jesús, The Boys in the Band Gideon Glick, To Kill a Mockingbird Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This Benjamin Walker, All My Sons
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play Fionnula Flanagan, The Ferryman Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a Mockingbird Kristine Nielsen, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus Julie White, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus Ruth Wilson, King Lear
Best Choreography Camille A. Brown, Choir Boy Warren Carlyle, Kiss Me, Kate Denis Jones, Tootsie David Neumann, Hadestown Sergio Trujillo, Ain’t Too Proud
Best Orchestrations Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose, Hadestown Larry Hochman, Kiss Me, Kate Daniel Kluger , Oklahoma! Simon Hale, Tootsie Harold Wheeler, Ain’t Too Proud
Best Scenic Design of a Musical Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Ain’t Too Proud Peter England, King Kong Rachel Hauck, Hadestown Laura Jellinek, Oklahoma! David Korins, Beetlejuice
Best Scenic Design of a Play Miriam Buether, To Kill a Mockingbird Bunny Christie, Ink Rob Howell, The Ferryman Santo Loquasto, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus Jan Versweyveld, Network
Best Costume Design of a Musical Michael Krass, Hadestown William Ivey Long, Beetlejuice William Ivey Long, Tootsie Bob Mackie, The Cher Show Paul Tazewell, Ain’t Too Proud
Best Costume Design of a Play Rob Howell, The Ferryman Toni-Leslie James, Bernhardt/Hamlet Clint Ramos, Torch Song Ann Roth, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus Ann Roth, To Kill a Mockingbird
Best Sound Design of a Musical Peter Hylenski, Beetlejuice Peter Hylenski, King Kong Steve Canyon Kennedy, Ain’t Too Proud Drew Levy, Oklahoma! Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, Hadestown
Best Sound Design of a Play Adam Cork, Ink Scott Lehrer, To Kill a Mockingbird Fitz Patton, Choir Boy Nick Powell, The Ferryman Eric Sleichim, Network
Best Lighting Design of a Musical Kevin Adams, The Cher Show Howell Binkley, Ain’t Too Proud Bradley King, Hadestown Peter Mumford, King Kong Kenneth Posner and Peter Nigrini, Beetlejuice
Best Lighting Design of a Play Neil Austin, Ink Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus Peter Mumford, The Ferryman Jennifer Tipton, To Kill a Mockingbird Jan Versweyveld and Tal Yarden, Network
The Tony Awards, hosted by James Corden, aired on CBS.