Broadway is back, and last night’s Tony Awards lit up Radio City Music Hall to cement its return. The show was a wonderful celebration of live theater, but it was not without the requisite soap-boxing that has become typical of awards shows.
Fun performances and beautiful memorials had to compete with woke monologues and a celebration of the first transgender performer to receive a Tony nomination.
Here is a rundown of the good and the woke at the 75th Annual Tony Awards.
The Good
Ariana DeBose as Host
The host of the show, Ariana DeBose, fresh off winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, had difficult shoes to fill.
While growing in popularity and beloved among Broadway devotees, she did not have the same renown as previous hosts of the show such as James Corden, Hugh Jackman, and Neil Patrick Harris.
What she lacked in name recognition, she made up for in talent, energy, and overall likability. DeBose was entertaining in nearly every second she appeared on screen. Her opening number was explosive, and the other bits of music she performed were charismatic and fun to watch.
The Recognition of Understudies
DeBose and many award winners recognized the hard work of those actors on Broadway who must learn multiple roles in a show while receiving very little acclaim.
“I want to give a round of applause to the people who played a vital role in keeping Broadway shows open these past few months: the understudies, the swings, and the standbys,” DeBose said.
This renewed appreciation comes in the wake of a December 2021 interview with the Hollywood Reporter in which Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin said some understudies “aren’t as efficient in delivering the role as the lead is.” She would clarify that comment after backlash.
The ‘In Memoriam’ Section
Each year, the Tonys take a moment to honor those Broadway has lost in the years since the last awards. This year, Billy Porter sang “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady as the names and photos of deceased Broadway legends appeared on the screen behind him.
In addition to the late actors and producers, the show honored reviewers Terry Teachout and Joan Didion, who wrote for National Review.
The greatest loss for Broadway in the past year was composer Stephen Sondheim, who wrote such masterworks as Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. As such, he received the greatest tribute, with Bernadette Peters, who originated lead roles in both aforementioned musicals singing the latter’s “Children Will Listen” to commemorate Sondheim’s mentorship of young composers.
The Woke
DeBose’s Opening Monologue
After her opening number, DeBose rejoiced in a monologue filled with identity politics that Broadway “is becoming more reflective of the community who adores it” and that “the phrase ‘Great White Way’ is becoming more of a nickname as opposed to a how-to guide.”
DeBose shouted out by name the many black nominees specifically because of their race and also made mention of Six composer Toby Marlow, who won the Tony for Best Score, becoming the first non-binary person to win the award.
Woke Musical Sees the First Transgender Performer Nominated
One of the centerpieces of DeBose’s monologue was the first transgender performer to be nominated for a Tony: L. Morgan Lee, a biological male nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for his role in A Strange Loop. He did not win, however, losing out to Broadway legend Patti LuPone for her performance in a gender-bent revival of Company.
A Strange Loop, which won the award for Best Musical, is about Usher, a black, queer writer writing a musical about, a black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer . . .” according to its website. The site also bills it as the “big, Black, and queer-ass Great American Musical for all.”
To his credit, while his production appears laced with identity politics, A Strange Loop’s creator, Michael R. Jackson encouraged the audience not to let diversity be a substitute for quality. “I’m all about representation,” he said in accepting the award for Best Book of a Musical, “but let’s make sure we are staying on our grind.”