After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Tony Awards – the annual award ceremony for outstanding Broadway plays and musicals, returned last June 12 at Radio City Music Hall. Ariana DeBose, the star of West Side Story and an Oscar winner, hosted the 75th Tony Awards.
From Jennifer Hudson achieving EGOT status to Ariana DeBose singing while sitting on Andrew Garfield’s lap, here are the must-see moments from Broadway’s biggest event this year.
A Strange Loop won the award for Best Musical.
A Strange Loop focuses on Usher (not the R&B singer), a black queer writer writing his musical about a black queer writer writing a musical about a black queer writer writing a musical, and it goes on over and over again.
A Strange Loop is Michael R. Jackson’s most famous show, as it earned him tons of awards and made him the first openly gay black writer and the first black musical writer to win the Pulitzer Prize.
A Strange Loop is semiautobiographical, as Jackson, like Usher, is a black and queer male lyric writer who has struggled with many of the same artistic insecurities as his character.
Company bagged the award for Best Revival of a Musical.
The Tony Awards this year recognized Stephen Sondheim’s classic Company as the best revival of a musical.
Company is about a New Yorker in their mid-thirties who is pressured by friends to find a relationship. This production is also dedicated to Stephen Sondheim, the late American composer.
Mr. Saturday Night had a great Sunday night at the Tony Awards.
Billy Crystal starred on Broadway in a stage adaptation of the 1992 movie Mr. Saturday Night, performing “A Little Joy”, a song from the said movie. Crystal played a washed-up standup comedian named Buddy Young Jr.
He danced his way into the audience while performing a Yiddish scat sing-along at Radio City Music Hall, then walked over to Samuel Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who both joyously sang and laughed along.
“If you liked me, I’m Buddy Young Jr,” Crystal said at the end of the performance. “If you’re not so sure, I’m Hugh Jackman!”
Jennifer Hudson achieved EGOT status.
Jennifer Hudson is a multi-award-winning actress who co-produced A Strange Loop and is the 17th person to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. She is also the third Black woman to win the title.
Myles Frost wins Best Lead Actor award for his role as Michael Jackson in MJ.
“Ma, I made it,” Frost uttered as he emotionally and gratefully received his award for being The Tony Awards’ Best Lead Actor for the role of Michael Jackson.
“I really gotta pee right now, so I’ll keep it quick: Mom, I love you so, so much. Without you, there would be no me. You taught and showed me what a strong Black woman is and what it means to raise a strong Black man. I just pray I made you proud.”
He greeted his mother and broke down in tears in the middle of his speech while performing “Blame It On The Boogie” by Jackson 5.
Frost closed his speech with a tribute to Jackson, saying, “I love you all, and as Michael would say: With love, heal the world.”
Ariana DeBose sang while sitting on Andrew Garfield’s lap.
DeBose, being the funny and entertaining host for this year’s event, did a hilarious entertainment song performance, engaging with people in the crowd, including Andrew Garfield. He looked sheepish from his seat in the audience as DeBose approached him.
“I am close to you, oh so close to you / I am touching you, there’s not a lot that you can do,” DeBose sang as he giggled and poked Garfield in the face.
She sang as she sat on his lap, and he threw his arms around her.: “I’m sitting on you / ’cause what they say is true / ’cause there is no escaping us in the audience!”
DeBose then stood up and walked off to continue her performance.
What was your favorite Tony Award moment this year? Tell us in the comments!
Other POP! stories you might like:
Here are the highlights from the 64th Grammy Awards
Here’s what went down at the 94th Academy Awards