The Tony Awards took place June 16 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City—and LGBTQ+ individuals were front and center among the night’s winners
Out actress Sarah Paulson—probably best known for her various roles on the show American Horror Story—won for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a play for Appropriate., edging counterparts such as Jessica Lange and Rachel McAdams Similarly, openly gay actor Jonathan Groff (of TV’s Glee, Mindhunter and Looking) won for leading actor for his role in Merrily We Roll Along.
Justin Peck won for his choreography of Illinoise, based on the work of queer musician Sufjan Stevens. And Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie took home her first Tony for producing The Outsiders: A New Musical; she saw a staging of the production at the insistence of 15-year-old daughter Vivienne. Also, outspoken LGBTQ+ ally Daniel Radcliffe won the award for best performance by a featured actor in a musical for Merrily We Roll Along.
Stereophonic, a play about a rock band creating a hit album, took home the most Tonys (five), including best new play and direction of a play, per NPR. It had received the highest number of nominations for a play ever: 13. Hell’s Kitchen—a musical loosely based on Alicia Keys’ life that used her music—also had 13 nods but only went home with two awards. And four decades after Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along closed quickly during its original run, the musical earned Best Revival of a Musical for its current, acclaimed production, Playbill noted. Shaina Taub won two Tonys—for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical—for Suffs (as in suffragettes), the new musical about women’s long, brave battle to obtain the right to vote.
Queer Oscar winner Ariana DeBose hosted the ceremony for the third consecutive year. Hillary Clinton, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas and Brooke Shields were among the presenters.
The full list of Tony winners is here.
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