Tony Awards biggest moments: Cynthia Erivo holds space, Nicole Scherzinger wins big
NEW YORK – Broadway has fallen head over heels with a pair of androids.
"Maybe Happy Ending," a heart-tugging romantic dramedy about helper robots in near-future South Korea, was the big winner at the Tony Awards June 8, taking home six prizes including best musical, best director (Michael Arden), and best actor (Darren Criss). The fiercely original show opened to glowing reviews and meager box office last fall, but it has gradually become one of the hottest tickets in New York – a rare word-of-mouth success story in the ultra-competitive Broadway landscape.
This year's ceremony saw the vibrant Afro-Cuban musical "Buena Vista Social Club" and Netflix prequel play "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" scoop up multiple trophies apiece. Kara Young ("Purpose"), Francis Jue ("Yellow Face") and lifetime achievement award honoree Harvey Fierstein delivered some of the night’s most stirring speeches, while the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Purpose" beat out hit satire “Oh, Mary!" for best play.
Here are more of the biggest moments from this year's star-studded festivities:
Tonys host Cynthia Erivo 'holds space' with Oprah Winfrey in opening number
At the top of the telecast, first-time host Erivo playfully shot down a bevy of suggestions about how to add pizzazz to her opening number. (Blast George Clooney out of a human cannon? Hard pass.)
The "Color Purple" powerhouse then ran into Winfrey in the wings, asking her, "What do you do when everyone is telling you what you need to do?" Winfrey dispensed her wisdom, saying: "Forget about them, babe. The only thing you need to do is be yourself." Grinning, Erivo proceeded to grab Winfrey's finger – re-creating her viral "holding space" meme with "Wicked" co-star Ariana Grande from last fall.
"There's no place like home," Erivo said onstage, in one of her many nods to "Wicked" and "The Wizard of Oz" throughout the night. "And Broadway has always been mine."
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Sarah Snook says 'Succession' group chat has lit up since her Tony win
Snook, who's best known to HBO fans as Shiv Roy on "Succession," received her first Tony Award for best leading actress in a play for "The Picture of Dorian Gray," giving a marathon performance as 26 different characters in the one-person show.
Several "Succession" alums have graced Broadway this past year, including Jeremy Strong ("The Enemy of the People"), Kieran Culkin ("Glengarry Glen Ross"), Juliana Canfield ("Stereophonic") and Molly Griggs ("John Proctor is the Villain").
"We haven't done much flaunting of awards in photos, but it's such a special group chat," Snook told reporters backstage. "It’s a really special group of people, and we're all theater nerds deep down."
Last spring, Cate Blanchett's production company Dirty Films acquired movie rights to bring "Dorian Gray" to the big screen. Snook said she hasn't yet heard anything about the potential adaptation, although she would be open to reprising her roles.
"I don’t know how this gets turned into a film," Snook said. "It’s a particularly complex piece to do as a theater show. Dramaturgically, it holds up, and I think Kip (Williams) would be an incredible director for that project. If I got to be a part of that, that would be a dream come true."
Nicole Scherzinger, Audra McDonald, 'Hamilton' reunion hit Tony performance highs
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and the original Broadway cast took the stage for an electrifying medley of the most beloved songs from the groundbreaking hip-hop musical, including "My Shot," "The Schuyler Sisters," "You’ll Be Back" and "The Room Where It Happens." McDonald also brought the audience to its feet with her ferociously emotional rendition of "Rose's Turn" from "Gypsy."
Earlier in the night, "Sunset Boulevard" leading lady Scherzinger took our breath away with her stunning take on "As If We Never Said Goodbye," introduced by the show's original Broadway star, Glenn Close.
Scherzinger went on to clinch the Tony for best leading actress in a musical in what was considered a neck-and-neck race with McDonald. “Growing up, I always felt like I didn’t belong,” the former Pussycat Dolls singer said through tears. “But you all have made me feel like I belong, and I have come home, at last.”
'Maybe Happy Ending' star Darren Criss dedicates Tony Award to his wife and kids
In another of the tightest races of the evening, Criss garnered best leading actor in a musical for "Maybe Happy Ending," trouncing formidable contenders Jonathan Groff ("Just in Time") and Tom Francis ("Sunset Boulevard"). The "Glee" charmer elatedly thanked his spouse for helping raise their two children amid his demanding schedule.
"The real hero … is my wife, Mia, who took a massive swing on allowing me to do this and to allow this crazy upheaval in our life to make this logistically possible," Criss said.
"And for bearing the brunt of raising two tiny friends under 3 so that I could raise a singing robot at the Belasco Theatre eight times a week. Mia, you're the very pedestal that upholds the shiny, spinny bit in our lives, and your love and your support for me and our beautiful children – combined with the miracle of working on something as magical as ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ – has been, and will always be, award enough."
Cole Escola thanks Grindr hookup in historic win for nonbinary performers
Cole Escola, the deranged genius behind "Oh, Mary!", won best leading actor in a play for their inspired turn as first lady Mary Todd Lincoln. They’re now the first nonbinary performer to win in that Tony category.
Channeling Bernadette Peters in an off-the-shoulder Wiederhoeft gown, Escola feverishly sprinted to the stage and thanked fellow best actor nominees including George Clooney and Daniel Dae Kim.
"It's an honor to be in your company," Escola said. "It's been a sincere pleasure spending time with you over these warm salads at all these (Tony) luncheons." They continued to thank their mom and their "whole gang" of friends: "Oh, and Tebow from Grindr and Amy Sedaris, who always reminds me how important she is to me. And she is."
Written by Escola, "Oh, Mary!" imagines Lincoln as an alcoholic wannabe cabaret star and her husband, Abraham (Conrad Ricamora), as a closeted, temperamental commander-in-chief. Asked by reporters whether they would consider an Eleanor Roosevelt comedy next, Escola joked that she is "played out. It would have to be something original, not another historical figure."
The singular playwright had some choice four-letter words for people who refuse to take chances on queer art; later, they sardonically compared the best actress showdown to a presidential election. (“Four more years!” they deadpanned when Scherzinger won.) But Escola had earnest moments, too, as they looked back at the unlikely phenomenon around “Oh, Mary!”
“Trust that voice that says, ‘I think I’m right actually,’” Escola said. “It might take 12 years to put the pen to paper, but that voice is right.”