2019 Tony Awards: ‘Hadestown’ and ‘The Ferryman’ are top winners
The 73rd Tony Awards offered little in the way of surprises tonight with the majority of heavy favorites taking home trophies. Hadestown, the reimagining of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that led the nominations with 14, triumphed as Best Musical as part of its 8-award haul. The Ferryman, which tied To Kill a Mockingbird for most nominations for a play with 9, won Best Play and Best Director of a Play for Sam Mendes as a part of its four wins. It detailed the story of a man trying to deal with his violent past with the IRA.
Santino Fontana earned a Best Lead Actor in a Musical for the musical version of Tootsie (which earned Dustin Hoffman an Oscar nomination in 1983), and Stephanie J. Block won Best Lead Actress in a Musical for turn as the legendary Cher in The Cher Show.
The legendary Elaine May won her first Tony Award at age 87 for her role as a grandmother suffering from dementia in The Waverly Gallery, her first Broadway show in 52 years.
Bryan Cranston won his second Tony Award for Lead Actor in a Play as mad newsman Howard Beale in Network (which earned Peter Finch an Oscar in 1977). He won the same award for 2014’s All the Way, a drama about Lyndon Johnson.
Ali Stroker, who started out her career on The Glee Project, became the first performer to use a wheelchair for mobility known to win a Tony in the awards body’s 73 years. She won Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her work as Ado Annie in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
“This award is for every kid who is watching tonight who has a disability, who has a limitation or a challenge, who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena,” said Stroker. “You are.”
Rachel Chavkin, the only female director of a musical this year, won the Best Director of a Musical for Hadestown and used her speech to advocate for more representation.
“There are so many women who are ready to go,” said Chavkin. “There are so many artists of color who are ready to go. And we need to see that racial diversity and gender diversity reflected in our critical establishment too. This is not a pipeline issue. It is a failure of imagination by a field whose job is to imagine the way the world could be.”
Here is the full list of nominees with winners in bold.
Best Musical
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Beetlejuice
Hadestown (WINNER)
The Prom
Tootsie
Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s All My Sons
The Boys in the Band (WINNER)
Burn This
Torch Song
The Waverly Gallery
Best Revival of a Musical
Kiss Me, Kate
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (WINNER)
Best Book of a Musical
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Beetlejuice
Hadestown
The Prom
Tootsie (WINNER)
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Be More Chill, Music & Lyrics: Joe Iconis
Beetlejuice, Music & Lyrics: Eddie Perfect
Hadestown, Music & Lyrics: Anaïs Mitchell (WINNER)
The Prom, Music: Matthew Sklar Lyrics: Chad Beguelin
To Kill a Mockingbird, Music: Adam Guettel
Tootsie, Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Paddy Considine, The Ferryman
Bryan Cranston, Network (WINNER)
Jeff Daniels, To Kill a Mockingbird
Adam Driver, Burn This
Jeremy Pope, Choir Boy
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Annette Bening, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons
Laura Donnelly, The Ferryman
Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery (WINNER)
Janet McTeer, Bernhardt/Hamlet
Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton
Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, The Prom
Derrick Baskin, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Alex Brightman, Beetlejuice
Damon Daunno, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Santino Fontana, Tootsie (WINNER)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show (WINNER)
Caitlin Kinnunen, The Prom
Beth Leavel, The Prom
Eva Noblezada, Hadestown
Kelli O’Hara, Kiss Me, Kate
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Bertie Carvel, Ink (WINNER)
Robin De Jesús, The Boys in the Band
Gideon Glick, To Kill a Mockingbird
Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This
Benjamin Walker, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Fionnula Flanagan, The Ferryman
Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a Mockingbird (WINNER)
Kristine Nielsen, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Julie White, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Ruth Wilson, King Lear
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
André De Shields, Hadestown (WINNER)
Andy Grotelueschen, Tootsie
Patrick Page, Hadestown
Jeremy Pope, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Ephraim Sykes, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Lilli Cooper, Tootsie
Amber Gray, Hadestown
Sarah Stiles, Tootsie
Ali Stroker, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (WINNER)
Mary Testa, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, To Kill a Mockingbird
Bunny Christie, Ink
Rob Howell, The Ferryman (WINNER)
Santo Loquasto, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Jan Versweyveld, Network
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Peter England, King Kong
Rachel Hauck, Hadestown (WINNER)
Laura Jellinek, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
David Korins, Beetlejuice
Best Costume Design of a Play
Rob Howell, The Ferryman (WINNER)
Toni-Leslie James, Bernhardt/Hamlet
Clint Ramos, Torch Song
Ann Roth, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Ann Roth, To Kill a Mockingbird
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Michael Krass, Hadestown
William Ivey Long, Beetlejuice
William Ivey Long, Tootsie
Bob Mackie, The Cher Show (WINNER)
Paul Tazewell, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Ink
Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Peter Mumford, The Ferryman
Jennifer Tipton, To Kill a Mockingbird
Jan Versweyveld and Tal Yarden, Network
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, The Cher Show
Howell Binkley, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Bradley King, Hadestown (WINNER)
Peter Mumford, King Kong
Kenneth Posner and Peter Nigrini, Beetlejuice
Best Sound Design of a Play
Adam Cork, Ink
Scott Lehrer, To Kill a Mockingbird
Fitz Patton, Choir Boy (WINNER)
Nick Powell, The Ferryman
Eric Sleichim, Network
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski, Beetlejuice
Peter Hylenski, King Kong
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Drew Levy, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, Hadestown (WINNER)
Best Direction of a Play
Rupert Goold, Ink
Sam Mendes, The Ferryman (WINNER)
Bartlett Sher, To Kill a Mockingbird
Ivo van Hove, Network
George C. Wolfe, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Best Direction of a Musical
Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown (WINNER)
Scott Ellis, Tootsie
Daniel Fish, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Des McAnuff, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Casey Nicholaw, The Prom
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown, Choir Boy
Warren Carlyle, Kiss Me, Kate
Denis Jones, Tootsie
David Neumann, Hadestown
Sergio Trujillo, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations (WINNER)
Best Orchestrations
Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose, Hadestown (WINNER)
Simon Hale, Tootsie
Larry Hochman, Kiss Me, Kate
Daniel Kluger, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Harold Wheeler, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- ‘Shōgun,’ ‘Ripley,’ ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Earn Casting Society (CSA) Artios Awards Television Nominations - November 1, 2024
- Trailer Watch: ‘Unstoppable,’ ‘Paddington in Peru,’ ‘Cruel Intentions,’ ‘Squid Game 2’ and More - November 1, 2024
- SFFILM to Screen Mike Leigh’s ‘Hard Truths’ with Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Person - October 31, 2024
‘Shōgun,’ ‘Ripley,’ ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Earn Casting Society (CSA) Artios Awards Television Nominations 
Trailer Watch: ‘Unstoppable,’ ‘Paddington in Peru,’ ‘Cruel Intentions,’ ‘Squid Game 2’ and More 
‘Separated’ Review: Errol Morris Hasn’t Forgotten Trump’s Immigration Policy Cruelty and Neither Should We | Chicago International Film Festival 
‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’ Review: There’s No Place Like Gnome | AFI FEST