Tony Awards laud android rom-com ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ and history-making ‘Purpose’

NEW YORK AP Maybe Happy Ending a rom-com musical about androids that crackles with humanity had a definite happy ending at Sunday s Tony Awards It won best new musical on a night when Kara Young made history as the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively for Purpose which also won best new play Starring Darren Criss and Helen J Shen Maybe Happy Ending charts the romantic relationship between two decommissioned robots becoming a commentary on human themes and the passage of time It won a leading six Tonys With Purpose a drawing-room drama about an accomplished Black family exposing hypocrisy and pressures during a snowed-in gathering Branden Jacobs-Jenkins caps a remarkable minimal year In addition to winning back-to-back Tonys his Appropriate won best play revival in he earned the Pulitzer Prize for Purpose That win came the day of the Met Gala where he served on the host committee Jacobs-Jenkins becomes the first Black playwright to win the category since August Wilson took home the trophy in for Fences He urged viewers to help regional theaters Purpose was nurtured in Chicago Young the first Black female actor to be Tony-nominated for four consecutive years won back-to-back Tonys for Purpose Theater is a sacred space that we have to honor and treasure and it makes us united she disclosed Notable Tony moments Sunset Blvd with Nicole Scherzinger as a fallen screen idol desperate to reclaim her fame won best musical revival handing composer Andrew Lloyd Webber his first competitive Tony since when the original show won The current version is a stripped-down minimalist production Scherzinger also won for best lead actress in a musical muscling aside a considerable challenge from Audra McDonald who was gunning for her seventh statuette It caps a remarkable career pivot for Scherzinger once the lead singer of the pop group Pussycat Dolls and a TV talent show judge Don t give up she explained This is a testament that love unfailingly wins Criss who has starred in everything from Glee to The Assassination of Gianni Versace American Crime Story won his first Tony for Maybe Happy Ending which he also co-produced He noted he shared it with Shen who was not nominated Sarah Snook took home the trophy for leading actress in a play for her tireless work in The Picture of Dorian Gray where she plays all roles I don t feel alone any night that I do this show Snook mentioned dismissing the idea of her play as a one-woman show There are so a great number of people onstage making it work and behind the stage making it work Downtown cabaret star Cole Escola took home the best actor in a play trophy for playing a deranged repressed and over-the-top ahistorical version of Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh Mary beating such Hollywood stars as George Clooney and Daniel Dae Kim Sam Pinkleton won best director for Oh Mary and thanked Escola saying they taught him Do what you love not what you think people want to see Francis Jue won best actor in a featured role in a play for the revival of Yellow Face He noted he was gifted his tuxedo from another Asian actor who requested him to wear it to the Tonys I m only here because of the encouragement and inspiration of generations of wonderful deserving Asian artists who came before me he mentioned Jak Malone won best actor in a featured role in a musical for the British import Operation Mincemeat A New Musical playing a woman every performance He hoped his win could be powerful advocacy for trans rights Eureka Day Jonathan Spector s social satire about well-meaning liberals debating a school s vaccine program won the best play revival trophy The original cast of Hamilton including creator Lin-Manuel Miranda did a conquest lap dressed in black to mark the show s th anniversary on Broadway with a medley including My Shot The Schuyler Sisters History Has Its Eyes on You and The Room Where It Happens The host with the bulk First-time host Cynthia Erivo kicked off the show from her dressing room in Radio City Music Hall unsure of her opening number As she made her way through the backstage warren she ran into various people offering advice until she reached Oprah Winfrey who advised The only thing you need to do is just be yourself Erivo then appeared at the stage in a red spangly gown with white accents hip cocked as she launched into the slow-burning original song Sometimes All You Need Is a Song written by Marc Shaiman Scott Wittman Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Initially alone with just a pianist Erivo s soaring voice was soon joined by dozens of members of the Broadway Inspirational Voices choir all dressed in white making her look like a powerful strawberry in a bowl of whipped cream In her opening comments she singled out first-time nominees Escola Louis McCartney Sadie Sink and an up-and-comer that I think you re going to really be hearing quite a bit about George Clooney She noted that the - season took in billion making it the highest-grossing season ever and signaling that Broadway has eventually emerged from the COVID- blues Broadway is officially back Erivo announced Provided we don t run out of cast members from Succession a nod to appearances this season by former co-stars Snook and Kieran Culkin and last season by Jeremy Strong She and Sara Bareilles dueted for a moving in memoriam section serenading The Sun Will Come Out from Annie and honoring its composer Charles Strouse as well as George Wendt Richard Chamberlain Athol Fugard Joan Plowright Quincy Jones Linda Lavin James Earl Jones and Gavin Creel Erivo was an amiable host at one point appearing in the second mezzanine to comment that everyone likes the view from theater balconies except perhaps Abraham Lincoln She had fun with Winfrey later on telling her to check under her chair where she unveiled a gift bag with a toy automobile You get a car Erivo cracked Pre-show results The best book and best points awards went to Maybe Happy Ending with lyrics written by Hue Park and music composed by Will Aronson Its director Michael Arden won Happy Pride he announced and it also picked up best scenic design of a musical Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado won for choreographing Buena Vista Social Club and Peck noted a song from the renowned original album was played at their wedding The musical takes its inspiration from Wim Wenders Oscar-nominated documentary on the making of the Cuban album It won four Tonys Best costumes in a play went to Marg Hornwell for The Picture of Dorian Gray while Death Becomes Her won the musical counterpart for Paul Tazewell in a year where he also became the first Black man to win an Oscar for designing costumes for Wicked Harvey Fierstein the four-time Tony winner behind Torch Song Trilogy and Kinky Boots was honored with a lifetime achievement Tony and became emotional during his speech There is nothing quite like bathing in the applause of a curtain call but when I bow I bow to the audience with gratitude knowing that without them I might as well be lip-syncing showtunes in my bedroom mirror he reported And so I dedicate this award to the people in the dark