77th Tony Awards: ‘Stereophonic,’ ‘The Outsiders,’ ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ Lead Top Wins

The American Theater Wing has handed out the 77th annual Tony Awards where Stereophonic, The Outsiders and Merrily We Roll Along led the wins while Jeremy Strong, Sarah Paulson, Jonathan Groff and Angelina Jolie all notched a second award in their EGOT status.

After garnering 13 nominations, the most of any show in Tony Awards history, Stereophonic earned five wins: Best Play, Best Direction of a Play for Daniel Aukin, Featured Actor in a Play for Will Brill plus Scenic Design for a Play and Sound Design for a Play

The Outsiders, a musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s coming-of-age novel and the Francis Ford Coppola film of the same name, won Tonys for Best Musical,Best Direction of a Musical for Danya Taymor, Sound Design for a Musical and Lighting Design for a Musical. As a producer on the project, Angelina Jolie earned a Tony to add to her Oscar as the second statue towards EGOT.

Merrily We Roll Along, the revival of a rare critical and box office failure for the legendary Stephen Sondheim in 1981 (it closed after 16 performances and 44 previews), was one of the season’s biggest successes and won four awards: Best Revival of a Musical, Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Jonathan Groff (his first win in three nominations), Featured Actor in a Musical for Daniel Radcliffe, his first nomination, and Best Orchestrations for Jonathan Tunick. The win gives Groff the second in his EGOT status after the Grammy win as a part of the cast of Hamilton. The show tells the story of how three friends’ lives and friendship change over the course of 20 years; it focuses particularly on Franklin Shepard, a talented composer of musicals who, over those 20 years, abandons his friends and songwriting career to become a producer of Hollywood movies. A film adaptation directed by Richard Linklater has already begun shooting, and will over the next 20 years, starring Paul Mescal, Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein.

In his speech Groff thanked his parents for their unwavering support saying, “I walk through life with an open heart because you let me know that I could,” while an equally emotional Radcliffe said “I will never have it this good again” and speaking to co-star Groff and Lindsay Mendez that “I don’t really have to act in this show, I just have to look at you and feel everything that I want to feel.”

Suffs and Hell’s Kitchen picked up two awards apiece while Appropriate earned three: Revival of a Play, Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for Sarah Paulson (earning her a second EGOT award after her Emmy win for 2016 American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson) and Lighting Design for a Play. Jeremy Strong was the winner for Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for An Enemy of the People, nabbing his second award for EGOT after his Emmy win for Succession.

Kara Young won Supporting Actress in a Play for Purlie Victorious and made history as the first Black actor to be nominated for a Tony three years in a row. She was previously nominated for her work in 2022’s Clyde’s and 2023’s Cost of Living.

The 77th Tony Awards were hosted by Ariana DeBose, her third go-round, and held in the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

Here is the complete list of winners. 

Best Play

• Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
• Mary Jane
• Mother Play
• Prayer for the French Republic
• Stereophonic – WINNER

Best Musical

• Hell’s Kitchen
• Illinoise
• The Outsiders – WINNER
• Suffs
• Water for Elephants

Best Revival of a Play

• Appropriate – WINNER
• An Enemy of the People
• Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Best Revival of a Musical

• Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
• Gutenberg! The Musical!
• Merrily We Roll Along – WINNER
• The Who’s Tommy

Best Direction of a Play

• Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic – WINNER
• Anne Kauffman, Mary Jane
• Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
• Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate
• Whitney White, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Best Direction of a Musical

• Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along
• Michael Greif, Hell’s Kitchen
• Leigh Silverman, Suffs
• Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
• Danya Taymor, The Outsiders – WINNER

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

• William Jackson Harper, Uncle Vanya
• Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
• Liev Schreiber, Doubt: A Parable
• Jeremy Strong, An Enemy of the People – WINNER
• Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

• Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
• Jessica Lange, Mother Play
• Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
• Sarah Paulson, Appropriate – WINNER
• Amy Ryan, Doubt: A Parable

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

• Brody Grant, The Outsiders
• Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along – WINNER
• Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
• Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses
• Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

• Eden Espinosa, Lempicka
• Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen – WINNER
• Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses
• Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
• Gayle Rankin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

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

• Will Brill, Stereophonic – WINNER
• Eli Gelb, Stereophonic
• Jim Parsons, Mother Play
• Tom Pecinka, Stereophonic
• Corey Stoll, Appropriate

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

• Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Doubt: A Parable
• Juliana Canfield, Stereophonic
• Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play
• Sarah Pidgeon, Stereophonic
• Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch – WINNER

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

• Roger Bart, Back To The Future: The Musical
• Joshua Boone, The Outsiders
• Brandon Victor Dixon, Hell’s Kitchen
• Sky Lakota-Lynch, The Outsiders
• Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along – WINNER
• Steven Skybell, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

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

• Shoshana Bean, Hell’s Kitchen
• Amber Iman, Lempicka
• Nikki M. James, Suffs
• Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s Spamalot
• Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen – WINNER
• Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along
• Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Book of a Musical

Hell’s Kitchen
Kristoffer Diaz

The Notebook
Bekah Brunstetter

The Outsiders
Adam Rapp and Justin Levine

Suffs – WINNER
Shaina Taub

Water for Elephants
Rick Elice

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Days of Wine and Roses
Music & Lyrics: Adam Guettel

Here Lies Love
Music: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
Lyrics: David Byrne

The Outsiders
Music & Lyrics: Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine

Stereophonic
Music & Lyrics: Will Butler

Suffs – WINNER
Music & Lyrics: Shaina Taub

Best Scenic Design of a Play

• dots, Appropriate
• dots, An Enemy of the People
• Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
• David Zinn, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
• David Zinn, Stereophonic – WINNER

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

• AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
• Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen
• Takeshi Kata, Water for Elephants
• David Korins, Here Lies Love
• Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini, Lempicka
• Tim Hatley and Finn Ross, Back To The Future: The Musical
• Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club – WINNER

Best Costume Design of a Play

• Dede Ayite, Appropriate
• Dede Ayite, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding – WINNER
• Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic
• Emilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
• David Zinn, An Enemy of the People

Best Costume Design of a Musical

• Dede Ayite, Hell’s Kitchen
• Linda Cho, The Great Gatsby – WINNER
• David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
• Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
• Paul Tazewell, Suffs

Best Lighting Design of a Play

• Isabella Byrd, An Enemy of the People
• Amith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French Republic
• Jiyoun Chang, Stereophonic
• Jane Cox, Appropriate – WINNER
• Natasha Katz, Grey House

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

• Brandon Stirling Baker, Illinoise
• Isabella Byrd, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
• Natasha Katz, Hell’s Kitchen
• Bradley King and David Bengali, Water for Elephants
• Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders – WINNER

Best Sound Design of a Play

• Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
• Leah Gelpe, Mary Jane
• Tom Gibbons, Grey House
• Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate
• Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic – WINNER

Best Sound Design of a Musical

• M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer, Here Lies Love
• Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along
• Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
• Gareth Owen, Hell’s Kitchen
• Cody Spencer, The Outsiders – WINNER

Best Choreography

• Annie-B Parson, Here Lies Love
• Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
• Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
• Justin Peck, Illinoise – WINNER
• Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants

Best Orchestrations

• Timo Andres, Illinoise
• Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
• Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance), The Outsiders
• Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, Hell’s Kitchen
• Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along – WINNER

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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.

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