Last night's 64th Annual Tony Awards broadcast was, as usual, a desperate three-hour long televised advertisement intended to trick tourists into Broadway theaters with the hopes of seeing movie stars in person. But last night it seemed there was even more attention paid to big famous people than usual, with Denzel Washington, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Scarlett Johansson among the bold-faced winners. The spectacle was co-hosted by Sean Hayes (Will & Grace), who started off the show by planting a long, juicy kiss on Kristin Chenoweth, as a riposte to a controversial Newsweek editorial suggesting he wasn't a convincing straight man in Promises, Promises. Check it out:
How straight was that? If they ever make an Al Gore and Tipper biopic, Hayes has it cinched. The Playgoer and Arts Beat both liveblogged the proceedings, which included musical performances from the four nominated musicals and the four revivals, as well as performances from Matthew Morrisson and Lea Michele (video) from the TV show Glee, which isn't on Broadway or Off, but it's getting tween butts in seats. The tepidly reviewed Memphis won for best musical, and Red, about artist Mark Rothko, took best play and five other Tony awards. The best revival prize went to La Cage aux Folles, which stars Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge, who joked, "If you want to see a Democrat kiss a Republican every night, come to the Longacre Theatre."
Liev Schreiber was our favorite for best actor in a play (A View from the Bridge), but he lost out to Denzel Washington in Fences. Washington's co-star Viola Davis also won for best actress, and the Times notes that it was the first time in Tony history that black performers won best actor and best actress in a play for the same theater season. "You know, I don’t believe in luck or happenstance — I absolutely believe in the presence of God in my life,” said Davis. "I was born into circumstances where I couldn’t see it in my eyes, I couldn’t touch it in my hands — I had to believe it in my heart."
Zeta-Jones won for best featured actress in a musical for her turn in A Little Night Music, while Scarlett Johansson, who was surprisingly competent in A View from the Bridge, won for best featured actress in a play. "I don’t know what to say," Johansson said. "Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be on Broadway. Here I am. Unbelievable." But there's controversy, people, because Johansson got up to claim her award without kissing or looking at her husband Ryan Reynolds! US Magazine um, reports that Johansson "quickly turned around and went back to give him a quick kiss," but Reynolds "appeared uncomfortable in the audience." And Eddie Redmayne, who kind of annoyed us in Red, won for featured actor in a play.
Fela! won three awards, including for Bill T. Jones’s choreography, and the shrill, ersatz punk musical American Idiotwon two, for lighting and scenic design. The outstanding 81-year-old actress Marian Seldes won a lifetime achievement award, which she accepted with a long dramatic pause before walking away without saying a word. And playwright Alan Ayckbourn was also honored for lifetime achievement. Peruse the full list of winners below:
BEST PLAY: “Red.”
BEST MUSICAL: “Memphis.”
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL: “Memphis.”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATER: “Memphis.”
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY: “Fences.”
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL: “La Cage aux Folles.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY: Denzel Washington, “Fences.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Viola Davis, “Fences.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: Douglas Hodge, “La Cage aux Folles.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Catherine Zeta-Jones, “A Little Night Music.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY: Eddie Redmayne, “Red.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Scarlett Johansson, “A View From the Bridge.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: Levi Kreis, “Million Dollar Quartet.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Katie Finneran, “Promises, Promises.”
BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY: Michael Grandage, “Red.”
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL: Terry Johnson, “La Cage aux Folles.”
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Bill T. Jones, “Fela!”
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS: Daryl Waters and David Bryan, “Memphis.”
BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY: Christopher Oram, “Red.”
BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Christine Jones, “American Idiot.”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY: Catherine Zuber, “The Royal Family.”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Marina Draghici, “Fela!”
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY: Neil Austin, “Red.”
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Kevin Adams, “American Idiot.”
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY: Adam Cork, “Red.”
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Robert Kaplowitz, “Fela!”
SPECIAL TONY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE THEATER: Alan Ayckbourn and Marian Seldes.
REGIONAL THEATER TONY AWARD: The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Waterford, Conn.
ISABELLE STEVENSON AWARD: David Hyde Pierce.
TONY HONORS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE THEATER: B.H. Barry and Tim Viola.
