Radio City Music Hall hosts the 69th annual Tony awards

Broadway stars and theater geeks everywhere gathered for the 69th annual Tony awards either live at the Radio City Music Hall or by watching on CBS last Sunday, June 7.

The 2015 awards ceremony celebrated one of the most attended and highest grossing Broadway seasons New York has seen in years. The night was hosted by legends Kristin Chenoweth, who won a Tony for a performance as Sally Brown in the original cast of “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown,” as well as Alan Cummings, who received the Best Actor in a Musical award for his performance in “Cabaret” (1998). The two actors had a lot to live up to, especially since superstars Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris hosted the few years beforehand.

Chenoweth and Cummings did not disappoint, however, and hosted with the perfect mix of humor, charm, and, of course, singing and dancing.

“The Tony’s this year seemed a little boring compared to last year’s and I almost didn’t watch, but I’m so glad I did. Kristin was adorable and I’m pretty happy about the winners. I love seeing all the stars from stage together in one room. It makes me proud to be a part of theater and music,” said junior Rianna Cleary.

Named for Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, and producer who had recently passed away, the Tony Awards made their official debut at a dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947. Since then, the Tony awards have been an annual event for the New York theater community. Each year, thousands of actors, producers, musicians, choreographers, and a variety of others who work for the stage gather to honor the talent of Broadway.

This year was full of worthy nominations, including the revival of “The King and I”, “Something Rotten”, and “An American in Paris”. 

Many fans were pleased with the nominees, but others felt certain shows and stars were unfairly forgotten. Darren Criss and the rest of the cast/crew of “Hedwig and The Angry Inch” did not receive any kind of nomination, despite the large amount of revenue that came from ticket sales.

No matter how you felt about the nominations, however, no one could deny that the award show itself was spectacular this year. The telecast featured appearances by Jennifer Lopez, Sting, Jim Parsons, Amanda Seyfried, Kiefer Sutherland, Bryan Cranston, Sutton Foster, Jennifer Nettles, Taye Diggs and Ashley Tisdale, among many others.

The most inspiring moment of the night was the performance by the cast of “Fun Home”, an incredibly moving show based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir about growing up with a closeted dad in a funeral home. It is also the first musical to have a lesbian as its main character, which means a lot for LGBT+ fans and performers.

“I’m really happy ‘Fun Home’ won best musical, mostly because it’s such an awesome show, but also because of the important message it has for gay fans of theater. I know that recently Playbill started releasing programs with pride flag banners on the front, and this just really adds to the feeling of acceptance in Broadway,” said junior Marissa Grasso.

Here is a list of all the winners:

Best Musical
“Fun Home”

Best Play
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Best Revival of a Musical
“The King and I”

Best Revival of a Play
“Skylight”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Alex Sharp, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Helen Mirren, “The Audience”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, “Fun Home”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Kelli O’Hara, “The King and I”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Richard McCabe, “The Audience”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Annaleigh Ashford, “You Can’t Take It With You”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Christian Borle, “Something Rotten!”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ruthie Ann Miles, “The King and I”

Best Book of a Musical
“Fun Home” (Lisa Kron)

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
“Fun Home” (Music: Jeanine Tesori Lyrics: Lisa Kron)

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, “An American in Paris”

Best Costume Design of a Play
Christopher Oram, “Wolf Hall Parts One & Two”

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Catherine Zuber, “The King and I”

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Natasha Katz, “An American in Paris”

Best Direction of a Play
Marianne Elliott, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Best Direction of a Musical
Sam Gold, “Fun Home”

Best Choreography
Christopher Wheeldon, “An American in Paris”

Best Orchestrations
Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, “An American in Paris

Did you watch the Tonys this year? What did you think? Tell us below!