On June 12, the 75th annual Tony Awards were held to honor the top performances from the theater industry.
The eventhosted by LGBTQ+ Oscar winner/Tony nominee Ariana DeBose at New York City's Radio City Music Hallfollowed two years of Broadway disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leading the wins was the queer-centered A Strange Loop, which received 11 nominations. The showwhich follows an aspiring playwright and his dizzying, personified thoughtswon the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for drama. A Strange Loop took home the awards for Best Musical and Best Book for a Musical. The Best Musical win delivered a Tony Award to Jennifer Hudson, who is one of the producers of the showmaking her just the 17th EGOT winner ever, meaning she has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, CBS News noted.
Hudson had previously won an Oscar in 2007 for her role in Dreamgirls, a Daytime Emmy in 2021 and two Grammy Awards.
L Morgan Lee made history for Best Performance By an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, being the first trans actress nominated for a Tony, Out Magazine noted.
Another winner (for Best Play Revival) was Take Me Out, a production that centers on a baseball player who reveals he is gay and faces long-held unspoken prejudices. Openly gay actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson edged five other nomineesincluding co-stars Michael Oberholtzer and Jesse Williamsto win Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Some of the other winners included the iconic Patti LuPone, who won her third Tony, this time for Company (Best Featured Actress in a Musical); co-star Matt Doyle (Best Featured Actor in a Musical); Six: The Musical (Best Original Score); out gay British actor Simon Russell Beale (Best Leading Actor in a Play, for The Lehman Trilogy); Joaquina Kalukango (Best Leading Actress in a Musical, for Paradise Square); and Christopher Wheeldon (Best Choreography, for MJ).
The official list of winners is at www.tonyawards.com/winners/ .