And a good time was had by all.
Last night's Tony Awards held in New York City was a terrific celebration of all things Broadway with several high points for the LGBTQ community.
The Band's Visit, something of an underdog against big brand-name musicals Mean Girls, Spongebob Squarepants and Frozen, won an amazing 10 trophies including "Best Musical."
Mean Girls went home empty-handed and Spongebob only snagged a Tony for "Best Scenic Design of a Musical." The two productions were the most-nominated of the evening.
The smash hit play Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, a live follow-up to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels took home 6 Tonys including "Best Play" and "Best Direction of a Play."
The acclaimed revival of gay-centric Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes starring Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane (both winners) won the Tony for "Best Revival of a Play."
Garfield's acceptance speech for his work in the play was dedicated to the LGBTQ community: “We are all sacred and we all belong. So let’s just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked.”
Alex Newell, in spectacular, non-traditional casting as "Asaka," led the cast of Once On This Island in a performance of "We Dance/Mama Will Provide" before winning the statue for "Best Revival of a Musical."
The production was considered something of an underdog in the race with Carousel and My Fair Lady. Watch Newell throw down in life-giving style below:
Hosts Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban did a solid job with their hosting duties mainly staying out of the way (in a good way). Along the way they offered this riff on the trials and tribulations of performing 8 times a week on a Broadway schedule.
An emotional moment featured students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School performing "Seasons of Love" from RENT in honor of their drama teacher Melody Harzfeld who received this year's Theatre Education Award as well as a $10,000 donation to the school's theatre program.
Other tres gay high points:
• Nathan Lane getting emotional as he thanked his husband, Devlin Elliott.
• In presenting the Tony for a "Best Actress" category, Tituss Burgess shared that he considered all the nominees “competition.”
• All-gay cast of the current The Boys in the Band revival, Andrew Rannells, Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto, and Jim Parsons, making an appearance during the ceremony.
And there was that little political bon mot from Robert DeNiro.
Introducing Bruce Springsteen (who was honored with a Special Tony Award )for a musical performance, the Oscar winner shared a few choice thoughts to the audience regarding Donald Trump.
CBS may have censored the statement but the packed house at Radio City Music Hall roared to a standing ovation after De Niro succinctly offered, "Fuck Trump. It’s no longer ‘Down with Trump!’ It’s just ‘Fuck Trump!’” The Australian feed didn't cut anything:
Here's video of DeNiro swearing at Trump on #TonyAwards Australian feed didnt censor it. pic.twitter.com/KZNrT8UIyH— Rhett Bartlett (@dialmformovies) June 11, 2018
Here's a complete list of those who took home Tony Awards last night:
Best Musical: “The Band’s Visit”
Best Play: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Best Revival of a Musical: “Once on This Island”
Best Revival of a Play: “Angels in America”
Best Book of a Musical: “The Band’s Visit,” Itamar Moses
Best Original Score: “The Band’s Visit,” Music and Lyrics: David Yazbek
Best Leading Actor in a Play: Andrew Garfield, “Angels in America”
Best Leading Actress in a Play: Glenda Jackson, “Three Tall Women”
Best Leading Actor in a Musical: Tony Shalhoub, “The Band’s Visit”
Best Leading Actress in a Musical: Katrina Lenk, “The Band’s Visit”
Best Featured Actor in a Play: Nathan Lane, “Angels in America”
Best Featured Actress in a Play: Laurie Metcalf, “Three Tall Women”
Best Featured Actor in a Musical: Ari’el Stachel, “The Band’s Visit”
Best Featured Actress in a Musical: Lindsay Mendez, “Carousel”
Best Scenic Design of a Play: Christine Jones, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Best Scenic Design of a Musical: David Zinn, “SpongeBob SquarePants”
Best Costume Design of a Play: Katrina Lindsay, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Catherine Zuber, “My Fair Lady”
Best Lighting Design of a Play: Neil Austin, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Tyler Micoleau, “The Band’s Visit”
Best Direction of a Play: John Tiffany, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”
Best Direction of a Musical: David Cromer, “The Band’s Visit”
Best Choreography: Justin Peck, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel"
Best Orchestrations: Jamshied Sharifi, "The Band's Visit"
Best Sound Design of a Play: Gareth Fry, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child"
Best Sound Design of a Musical: Kal Harada, "The Band's Visit"
Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories:
Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: Chita Rivera , Andrew Lloyd Webber
Special Tony Awards: John Leguizamo Bruce Springsteen
Regional Theatre Tony Award: La MaMa E.T.C. New York City
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award: Nick Scandalios
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre: Sara Krulwich, Bessie Nelso,n Ernest Winzer Cleaners
