[h=3]By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY[/h] Updated
NEW YORK - There were some tight races at Sunday night's Tony Awards, and a few surprises. But Broadway fans who expected to acknowledge some familiar favorites were not disappointed.
Host Neil Patrick Harris and company, wearing tuxes and shimmering dresses, star in a celebration of the theatrical life.
Clybourne Park, a darkly comic study of race relations, edged out the equally acclaimed Other Desert Cities for best play. In the similarly close competition for best musical, Once, based on the romantic folk-pop film, beat another film adaptation, of the Disney cult favorite Newsies.
Once collected eight statuettes in all, though Newsies was awarded best choreography and score. The latter victory was expected, and notable, as it gave composer Alan Menken, a stage and screen veteran and multiple Oscar and Grammy winner, his first Tony (with lyricist Jack Feldman). "I'm in training for my Emmy," Menken joked to reporters later.
Nichols, 80, got a little choked up acknowledging his cast. "They just get better every night, which isn't fair," he said.
Alas, none of his nominated performers won. In the category of lead actor in a play, Brit James Corden, who won kudos for his turn in the comic tour de force One Man, Two Guvnors, beat out Hoffman's tragic Willy Loman. Featured actress nominee Emond lost to Cities' Judith Light.
Garfield was defeated by another rising star: Christian Borle, of TV's Smash, who won best featured actor for Peter and the Starcatcher, an adaptation of the children's novel.
In the media room, Borle said of Garfield, "He has been so great and so sweet, and such a gentleman. I just hugged him and called him a gentleman."
As expected, Broadway darling Audra McDonald won her fifth Tony Award— and her first as lead actress — for The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, a reworked musical-theater version of the folk opera. It also won best revival of a musical in an upset over an acclaimed production of Follies.
Critically celebrated Broadway newcomer Nina Arianda won for lead actress in a play for Venus in Fur, and Once's Steve Kazee took home lead actor in a musical. In an emotional speech, Kazee noted that his mother died of cancer this past Easter and that his fellow cast members "carried me around and made me feel alive."
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NEW YORK - There were some tight races at Sunday night's Tony Awards, and a few surprises. But Broadway fans who expected to acknowledge some familiar favorites were not disappointed.
By Charles Sykes, Invision/AP
Host Neil Patrick Harris and company, wearing tuxes and shimmering dresses, star in a celebration of the theatrical life.
Host Neil Patrick Harris and company, wearing tuxes and shimmering dresses, star in a celebration of the theatrical life.
Clybourne Park, a darkly comic study of race relations, edged out the equally acclaimed Other Desert Cities for best play. In the similarly close competition for best musical, Once, based on the romantic folk-pop film, beat another film adaptation, of the Disney cult favorite Newsies.
Once collected eight statuettes in all, though Newsies was awarded best choreography and score. The latter victory was expected, and notable, as it gave composer Alan Menken, a stage and screen veteran and multiple Oscar and Grammy winner, his first Tony (with lyricist Jack Feldman). "I'm in training for my Emmy," Menken joked to reporters later.
- [h=3]MORE: The Tonys news as it happened[/h]
- [h=3]PHOTOS: Red-carpet photos[/h]
- [h=3]RESULTS: Complete list of winners[/h]
Nichols, 80, got a little choked up acknowledging his cast. "They just get better every night, which isn't fair," he said.
Alas, none of his nominated performers won. In the category of lead actor in a play, Brit James Corden, who won kudos for his turn in the comic tour de force One Man, Two Guvnors, beat out Hoffman's tragic Willy Loman. Featured actress nominee Emond lost to Cities' Judith Light.
Garfield was defeated by another rising star: Christian Borle, of TV's Smash, who won best featured actor for Peter and the Starcatcher, an adaptation of the children's novel.
In the media room, Borle said of Garfield, "He has been so great and so sweet, and such a gentleman. I just hugged him and called him a gentleman."
As expected, Broadway darling Audra McDonald won her fifth Tony Award— and her first as lead actress — for The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, a reworked musical-theater version of the folk opera. It also won best revival of a musical in an upset over an acclaimed production of Follies.
Critically celebrated Broadway newcomer Nina Arianda won for lead actress in a play for Venus in Fur, and Once's Steve Kazee took home lead actor in a musical. In an emotional speech, Kazee noted that his mother died of cancer this past Easter and that his fellow cast members "carried me around and made me feel alive."
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to [email protected]. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines.