Broadway’s night of nights. The Tony Awards took place earlier this week and Cole Escola took home the trophy for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.
Escola, who is the first non-binary person to win a major Tony award, was recognised for their work in the play Oh, Mary! which they also wrote.
The acclaimed play is a comedic spoof that reimages former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln as someone who really want to get away from politics and fulfill her dreams of being a cabaret performer. The play is set in the days leading up to the assassination of her husband Abraham Lincoln, who in the play is depicted as being gay with the couple’s marriage just a front to hide his homosexuality.
Host Cynthia Erivo had warned winners they only had 90 seconds from their name being called to get to the stage and make the speech for before they’d be played off.
Accepting their award Escola didn’t waste any time hitching up their ball gown and making a run for the podium where they delivered a lightening fire acceptance speech.
While Escola gave a shout out to their mum, and promised to call as soon as possible, they also acknowledged the other actors in the category George Clooney, Daniel Dae Kim, Jon Michael Hill, Harry Lennix and Louis McCartney.
Director Sam Pinkleton and the shows producers were thanked, but Escola also took time to thank his close friends, and T-bone from Grindr, and his former collaborator Amy Sedaris.
Pinkleton also picked up his first Tony Award for his work directing the acclaimed show. Briming with excitement Pinkelton thanked his mother for not stopping him from being “a little gay boy doing little gay things”.
Pinkleton said Escola had taught him to “make what you love, and not what you think people want to see.”, before thanking audiences for coming to see the show.
After an opening number from host Cynthia Erivo, the first presenters of the night were Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves. The duo are best known for their film roles as Bill and Ted in three Hollywood film, but soon they’ll be on stage together for a revival of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
They presented the award for best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play which went to Australian Sarah Snook for her performance in A Picture of Dorian Gray.
Snook previously won an Olivier Award for the shows West End run, and the production’ New York season was her Broadway debut.
“This means so much for a little Australian girl to be here on Broadway.” Snook said as she accepted her award. OUTinPerth readers first got to know the actor when she appeared on the cover of our August 2014 issue, and she became world famous when she starred in the series Succession.
Through out the night the audience was entertained by numbers from each of the productions nominated for Best Musical.
First up was Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard who star in the new musical Death Becomes Her, which is based on the 1992 film that starred Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep.
The duo were introduced by castmate, and former Destiny’s Child member, Michelle Williams. The camp number For The Gaze featured quick changes and tributes to queer icons.
Later in the night there were selections from Sunset Boulevard, Dead Outlaw, Pirates! The Penzanze Musical which includes David Hyde Pearce and Jinkx Monsoon in its cast. Plus sections from Buena Vista Social Club, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, and Real Women Have Curves.
Audra Macdonald, who holds the record for the most Tony wins ever showed why she’s the Queen, with a rousing performance from the musical Gypsy.
The original company from Hamilton reunited to mark the 10th anniversary of the show that’s been one of the biggest hits of the last decade. Jonathan Groff also performed a section from Just in Time the musical about the life of singer Bobby Darin.
Adam Lambert, who made his Broadway debut this season in Cabaret, presented the award for Best Performance in a featured role in a Musical to Jak Malone for Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical.
Malone said winning the award was a “lifelong dream” and shared how much he loves taking to the stage each night to play his character Hester.
‘Eight times a week I walk out on that stage and tell the audience that I’m a woman. I’m not one, and I only convey it through simple adjustments to posture, voice and energy. But night after night audiences believe in Hester. They weep for her, they invest in her, they love her for her old romantic heart.
“If you wanted our show and found yourself believing in Hester, well then I’m so glad to tell you, intentionally or otherwise you might have just bid farewell to cynicism, to outdated ideas, to that rotten old binary, and opened yourself up to a world that is already out there is glorious technicolor and isn’t going away anytime soon.”
One of the most memorable acceptance speeches of the night came from Natalie Venetia Belcon who Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for Buena Vista Social Club. She used her speech to give a shout out, a wink and a smile to Jason Momoa.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Harvey Fierstein, whose Broadway successes include Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage aux Folles and Kinky Boots. Disappointingly his award was given in the earlier part of the evening which is not broadcast.
Fierstein noted that his career had taken off in the early 1980’s, the same time as the AIDS epidemic.
“It was 1982 and not only did I arrive on Broadway, but so did AIDS. This was no time to hide. We needed to go to war, and it was a war that cost us much too dearly.
“I might never really understand how I survived those years, or the years that led me to be standing on this stage accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award. But what I find most humbling is the thought that somehow my journey means something to you.” the actor and writer said.
Later Fierstein told reporters he was dedicating his award to Arthur Laurents, the director of La Cage aux Folles, who passed away in 2011.
Nicole Scherzinger was overcome with emotion as she collected her award for Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in a bold retelling of Sunset Boulevard.
Francis Jue won Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for Yellow Face, while Kara Young took home Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Purpose.
Purpose also won the award for Best Play, adding to its list of accolades. Written by gay playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, it also won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Best Revival of a Play went to Eureka Day. Jonathan Spector’s 2018 work was first performed on Broadway in 20119, and was restaged in late 2024. The Best Revival of a Musical was won by Sunset Boulevard.
Michael Arden won Best Director of a Musical for his work on Maybe Happy Ending. Glee alumni Darren Criss won the Leading Actor in a Musical award for his performance in the musical that was first performed in South Korea.
It was also named Best Musical. It tells the story of two robots who have been abandoned by their owners, together they set off to explore relationships, mortality and love.
