By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Even the ushers at Radio City Music Hall seemed thrilled to be in the room where it happened.
A few of them could be seen grooving, like everyone else at Sunday’s Tony Awards, to the “Hamilton” reunion performance — a medley of some of that blockbuster musical’s biggest songs, performed by the original cast. The occasion was the 10th anniversary of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s juggernaut that spawned multiple touring companies, a West End production and a live-capture film — and is still going strong.
But while the theater was buzzing to songs like “My Shot,” “The Schuyler Sisters,” “History Has Its Eyes on You,” and “The Room Where It Happens,” some people were unfortunately NOT in the room where, er, it was happening. They were the ones who’d taken a trip to the bar or stroll around the lobby, and were then held from entering until the next commercial break — missing perhaps the night’s most anticipated highlight.
They’d also have missed the entire audience singing along with Jonathan Groff, aka King George, “Da-da-da, dat-da, dat, da-da-da, da-ya-da, Da-da, dat, dat, da-ya-da.” Note for next year: Exit at your peril!
Some other notable moments from Tony night:
Cole Escola plans a call to Mom, thanks a Grindr date
Most award winners thank Mom, their agents, their co-stars, their spouses.
Cole Escola, one of the major stars of this Tony night, promised Mom a call, but also decided to thank “Teebo from Grindr” — the dating app — when accepting the award for lead actor in a play.
Escola is star and writer of the riotous “Oh, Mary!” — a reimagining of the life of Mary Todd Lincoln (and her beleaguered husband, Abe) that addresses the question: What if the Lincoln assassination wasn’t such a bad thing for Mary? (Mary wants to be a cabaret star, you see.) The show is seeing audiences collapse in laughter for 80 minutes every night on Broadway.
To nobody’s surprise, Escola, a downtown cabaret star, beat out high-wattage competitors like George Clooney and Daniel Dae Kim for the acting award. They mentioned their co-nominees in their speech, saying they had enjoyed sharing “warm salads” at pre-awards lunches.
Escola is the first nonbinary actor to win a Tony in the category.
And this guy’s still single
When “Maybe Happy Ending” writers Hue Park and Will Aronson accepted the award for best book of a musical, Park felt it necessary to point out that they weren’t an actual couple. “I am very much single,” he clarified, for anyone wondering.
Then later, when the duo won for best score, Park deemed a reminder necessary: “By the way, I’m still single.”
And then “Maybe Happy Ending,” the charming and quirky romance between decommissioned robots in a futuristic Korea, won the big prize: best musical. Park did not get the mic. But producer Jeffrey Richards did, and he reminded the crowd: “Hue is still single.”
Broadway as home, sweet home
Cynthia Erivo, the “Wicked” star and powerhouse vocalist hosting the evening, said it first: “As they apparently say in a very fertile piece of intellectual property, “she said with a wink, “there’s no place like home. And Broadway has always been mine.”
It’s a familiar theme on Tony night: the theater community as a welcoming haven for those who may feel different or unseen. It was echoed by Harvey Fierstein, winner of a lifetime achievement award, describing how he joined the theater after being welcomed by a company in Brooklyn. And it was expressed very emotionally by Nicole Scherzinger, winning best actress in a musical for “Sunset Blvd.”
“Growing up, I always felt like I didn’t belong,” said Scherzinger, former lead singer of the pop group Pussycat Dolls who plays Norma Desmond in the minimalist version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber show. “But you all have made me feel like I belong, and I have come home at last.” Those last words echo the lyrics of one of Desmond’s big numbers, “As If We Never Said Goodbye.”
“So if there’s anyone out there who feels like they don’t belong, or your time hasn’t come, don’t give up,” Scherzinger continued. “Just keep on giving and giving because the world needs your love and your light now more than ever.”
You really COULD have heard a pin drop
There’s always lots of chatter going on during an awards show. But the way the crowd quieted down during Audra McDonald’s powerful, agonized performance of “Rose’s Turn” from “Gypsy” was striking. In the song’s quiet moments, you heard utter silence in the vast room.
McDonald, Tony’s most awarded actor, is clearly revered by the theater community, who cheered her with standing ovations. But the award she was up for went to Scherzinger.
‘Succession,’ succeeding again
It’s been two years since HBO’s “Succession” ended, but its stars keep turning up at awards shows — and often winning. Jeremy Strong won a Tony last year and was nominated for an Oscar this year. Kieran Culkin won an Oscar this year and is appearing on Broadway this season, though he wasn’t nominated. And now it was the turn of Sarah Snook — Emmy and Golden Globe winner — to win a Tony.
Snook, who played mercurial sibling Shiv Roy in the series, took the Tony for best actress in a play for “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” in which she plays all 26 roles.
Remembering a friend
Former Tony winner and musical theater regular Gavin Creel, who died last year of cancer, was a friend to many in the theater community, and was remembered more than once on Tony evening.
During the early pre-show, actor Celia Keenan-Bolger was honored with the Isabelle Stevenson award, for her advocacy work in the arts. She spoke movingly of her deep friendship with Creel and their advocacy work together.
Later, singer/actor Sara Bareilles performed a soulful duet of “Tomorrow” from “Annie,” harmonizing with Erivo, during the memorial segment. That segment ended with a photo of Creel, also a dear friend to Bareilles, and the singer teared up.
Both Bareilles and Keenan-Bolger are involved with the Gavin Creel Fellowship, an initiative that plans to provide $25,000 grants to five emerging theater actors each year.
And she is telling you she’s not going
The final award had been announced by presenter Miranda — best musical to “Maybe Happy Ending” — and the audience started to disperse. But Erivo had another idea.
Riffing on the concept of leaving, she launched into the famous “Dreamgirls” ballad “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” — with rewritten lyrics.
It was a yet another powerhouse performance from someone who has one of the best voices on the planet. The audience stopped dispersing — and started cheering.