The two-part, four-hour 75th Annual Tony Awards, celebrating the 2021-2022 Broadway season, were presented June 12 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. The Tony Awards: Act One—hosted by Emmy winners Darren Criss and Julianne Hough—kicked off the evening at 7 PM ET with an hour of exclusive content streaming live on Paramount+. The three-hour The 75th Annual Tony Awards—hosted by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose—followed at 8 PM ET on CBS, also streaming live and on demand on Paramount+, making this year's ceremony the first in Tony Awards history available live nationwide.
A Strange Loop, which was the most Tony-nominated production of the season (with 11 nominations), ended up earning two prizes: the coveted Best Musical Tony Award and Best Book of a Musical for its Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, lyricist, and librettist Michael R. Jackson, whose powerful musical centers on Usher, a young, Black, gay theatre writer grappling with his toxic inner thoughts while trying to write a musical about a young, Black, gay theatre writer grappling with his toxic inner thoughts.
The Lehman Trilogy, which ended its limited run at the Nederlander Theatre in January, took home the Tony for Best Play. Written by Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Power, the play chronicles the success and eventual failure of the famed financial institution. The London import also won awards for director Sam Mendes, lighting designer Jon Clark, scenic designer Es Devlin, and original London company member Simon Russell Beale, who won the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play Tony for his work as Henry Lehman. The Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play went to Deirdre O'Connell for her work in Lucas Hnath's documentary play Dana H., playing Hnath's mother, who was kidnapped by a patient in the psych ward where she worked as a chaplain.
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Newcomer Myles Frost won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his Broadway debut as the late King of Pop Michael Jackson in MJ, which earned four awards, including those for Best Choreography (Christopher Wheeldon), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Gareth Owen), and Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Natasha Katz). Joaquina Kalukango, who was Tony-nominated in 2020 for her work in Slave Play, earned the 2022 Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role as Nelly O’Brien in Paradise Square, which takes place during the Civil War and tells the rich story of Irish immigrants and Black Americans fighting for a similar cause.
Marianne Elliott’s reimagined, gender-swapped production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company was named Best Revival of a Musical, one of five awards the 1970 musical about marriage picked up during the evening. (Company and The Lehman Trilogy won the most awards of any production of the season.) Second Stage's revival of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out, which ended its run at the Hayes June 11, was named Best Revival of a Play with co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson receiving the Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for his comedic performance as a gay accountant who is profoundly affected by the game of baseball.
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Patti LuPone won her third Tony—and her first for a featured role—for her performance as Joanne in the aforementioned revival of Sondheim’s Company, following her earlier wins for creating the title role in the Broadway production of Evita and playing Rose in the most recent revival of Gypsy. It was also lucky number three for LuPone’s director, Elliott, who has now won three Tonys for direction: Best Director of a Musical for Company and Best Director of a Play for War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Elliott is now the only woman to have won three Tonys for direction.
Stage and screen star Phylicia Rashad won her second Tony—Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play—for her work as Faye in Dominique Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew following her 2004 Tony for Best Actress in a Play, playing Lena Younger in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun.
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Tony-winning Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda introduced a segment paying homage to Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who passed away last year. The tribute included a performance of the Into the Woods anthem “Children Will Listen” from one of Sondheim’s foremost interpreters, three-time Tony recipient Bernadette Peters, who introduced that song as Broadway’s original wise, but crooked-fingered Witch. Tony and Emmy winner Billy Porter also delivered a haunting rendition of My Fair Lady’s “On the Street Where You Live” during the evening’s In Memoriam tribute.
Throughout the evening host DeBose paid tribute to the understudies, standbys, and swings who helped keep Broadway open during the past year; the West Side Story Oscar winner also highlighted the contributions made by both the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ to the diverse theatrical season.
Winners of the 75th Annual Tony Awards follow (winners names are in bold preceded by an asterisk):
Best Musical
Girl From The North Country
MJ
Mr. Saturday Night
Paradise Square
SIX: The Musical
*A Strange Loop
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sharon D Clarke, Caroline, or Change
Carmen Cusack, Flying Over Sunset
Sutton Foster, The Music Man
*Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square
Mare Winningham, Girl From The North Country
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Billy Crystal, Mr. Saturday Night
*Myles Frost, MJ
Hugh Jackman, The Music Man
Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire
Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabby Beans, The Skin of Our Teeth
LaChanze, Trouble in Mind
Ruth Negga, Macbeth
*Deirdre O'Connell, Dana H.
Mary-Louise Parker, How I Learned to Drive
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
*Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy
Adam Godley, The Lehman Trilogy
Adrian Lester, The Lehman Trilogy
David Morse, How I Learned to Drive
Sam Rockwell, American Buffalo
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues
David Threlfall, Hangmen
Best Play
Clyde's, by Lynn Nottage
Hangmen, by Martin McDonagh
*The Lehman Trilogy, by Stefano Massini and Ben Power
The Minutes, by Tracy Letts
Skeleton Crew, by Dominique Morisseau
Best Revival of a Musical
Caroline, or Change
*Company
The Music Man
Best Book of a Musical
Girl From The North Country, Conor McPherson
MJ, Lynn Nottage
Mr. Saturday Night, Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel
Paradise Square, Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan
*A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
*Matt Doyle, Company
Sidney DuPont, Paradise Square
Jared Grimes, Funny Girl
John-Andrew Morrison, A Strange Loop
A.J. Shively, Paradise Square
Best Revival of a Play
American Buffalo
for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
How I Learned to Drive
*Take Me Out
Trouble in Mind
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Uzo Aduba, Clyde's
Rachel Dratch, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Kenita R. Miller, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
*Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew
Julie White, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Kara Young, Clyde's
Best Direction of a Musical
Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop
*Marianne Elliott, Company
Conor McPherson, Girl From The North Country
Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage, SIX: The Musical
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ
Best Direction of a Play
Lileana Blain-Cruz, The Skin of Our Teeth
Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
*Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy
Neil Pepe, American Buffalo
Les Waters, Dana H.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Jeannette Bayardelle, Girl From The North Country
Shoshana Bean, Mr. Saturday Night
Jayne Houdyshell, The Music Man
L Morgan Lee, A Strange Loop
*Patti LuPone, Company
Jennifer Simard, Company
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Alfie Allen, Hangmen
Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind
*Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out
Ron Cephas Jones, Clyde's
Michael Oberholtzer, Take Me Out
Jesse Williams, Take Me Out
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Warren Carlyle, The Music Man
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, SIX: The Musical
Bill T. Jones, Paradise Square
*Christopher Wheeldon, MJ
Best Orchestrations
David Cullen, Company
Tom Curran, SIX: The Musical
*Simon Hale, Girl From The North Country
Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, MJ
Charlie Rosen, A Strange Loop
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Simon Baker, Girl From The North Country
Paul Gatehouse, SIX: The Musical
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Company
Drew Levy, A Strange Loop
*Gareth Owen, MJ
Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
*Mikhail Fiksel, Dana H.
Palmer Hefferan, The Skin of Our Teeth
Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, The Lehman Trilogy
Mikaal Sulaiman, Macbeth
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Neil Austin, Company
Tim Deiling, SIX: The Musical
Donald Holder, Paradise Square
*Natasha Katz, MJ
Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset
Jen Schriever, A Strange Loop
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Joshua Carr, Hangmen
Jiyoun Chang, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
*Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy
Jane Cox, Macbeth
Yi Zhao, The Skin of Our Teeth
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions, Flying Over Sunset
*Bunny Christie, Company
Arnulfo Maldonado, A Strange Loop
Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini, MJ
Allen Moyer, Paradise Square
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong, Skeleton Crew
*Es Devlin, The Lehman Trilogy
Anna Fleischle, Hangmen
Scott Pask, American Buffalo
Adam Rigg, The Skin of Our Teeth
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Fly Davis, Caroline, or Change
Toni-Leslie James, Paradise Square
William Ivey Long, Diana, The Musical
Santo Loquasto, The Music Man
*Gabriella Slade, SIX: The Musical
Paul Tazewell, MJ
Best Costume Design of a Play
*Montana Levi Blanco, The Skin of Our Teeth
Sarafina Bush, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Emilio Sosa, Trouble in Mind
Jane Greenwood, Neil Simon's Plaza Suite
Jennifer Moeller, Clyde's
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Flying Over Sunset; Music by Tom Kitt, Lyrics by Michael Korie
Mr. Saturday Night; Music by Jason Robert Brown, Lyrics by Amanda Green
Paradise Square; Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare
*SIX: The Musical, Music and Lyrics by Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
A Strange Loop, Music and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson
2022 Tony honorees include Angela Lansbury, recipient of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre; Robert E. Wankel, recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award; James C. Nicola, recipient of a Special Tony Award; Chicago's Court Theatre, recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award; and Asian American Performers Action Coalition, Broadway For All, Emily Grishman, Feinstein's/54 Below, and United Scenic Artists Local 829, each the recipient of a Tony Honor.
Multiple wins:
Company: 5
The Lehman Trilogy: 5
MJ: 4
Dana H.: 2
SIX: 2
A Strange Loop: 2
Take Me Out: 2
The Girl From The North Country: 1
Paradise Square: 1
Skeleton Crew: 1
The Skin of Our Teeth: 1
The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards were presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss were executive producers for White Cherry Entertainment. Weiss directed.
For more Tony Awards coverage, visit Playbill.com/Tonys.
