74th Tony Awards

The 74th Tony Awards were held on September 26, 2021, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2019–20 season. After being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the ceremony was held at the Winter Garden Theatre and was broadcast in two separate parts on CBS and Paramount+.^[1] Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. served as hosts.

74th Tony Awards
Promotional poster
Date	September 26, 2021 (2021-09-26)
Location	Winter Garden Theatre^[1]
Hosted by	Audra McDonald (ceremony) Leslie Odom Jr. (Broadway's Back!)^[2]
Most awards	Moulin Rouge! (10)
Most nominations	Jagged Little Pill (15)
Website	tonyawards.com
Television/radio coverage
Network	Paramount+ (ceremony) CBS (Broadway's Back!)
Runtime	2 hours (ceremony)^[3] 2 hours (Broadway's Back!)^[3]
Viewership	2.8 million (Broadway's Back!)^[4]
Produced by	Ricky Kirshner Glenn Weiss
Directed by	Glenn Weiss
← 73rd · Tony Awards · 75th →

The musical Jagged Little Pill led the nominations with 15, while the play with the most nominations was Slave Play, with 12. At the ceremony, Moulin Rouge! won ten awards, including Best Musical, becoming the production with the most wins of the season. The Old Vic production of A Christmas Carol won five awards, and The Inheritance won four, including Best Play. At 90 years old, Lois Smith became the oldest performer to win a Tony Award for acting, receiving the award for Featured Actress in a Play.

Background

Originally scheduled to be held on June 7, 2020, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and televised by CBS, the ceremony was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[5] Nominations were originally scheduled to be announced on April 28, 2020. Various receptions were scheduled to be held, including the Meet the Nominees Press reception (April 30) and Tony Nominees luncheon (May 19). At the Tony Honors reception, the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre award was to be presented.^[6] On March 25, 2020, it was announced that the ceremony and all associated events had been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. New York had ordered the closure of all Broadway theatres on March 12 due to restrictions on gatherings.^[7] The ceremony's broadcaster CBS aired a sing-along version of the film adaptation of Grease on the Tony Awards' originally-scheduled night.^[8][9]

On August 21, 2020, it was announced that the ceremony would be held virtually later in the year, with further details to be announced at a later date.^[5] No subsequent date in the year was ever set. The nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, by James Monroe Iglehart.^[10][11][12] Voting for the Tony Awards was held from March 1–15, 2021, and the ceremony was announced to be held in conjunction with the reopening of Broadway.^[13] Jagged Little Pill led the nominations with fifteen, and Slave Play's twelve nominations broke the record for most nominations for a non-musical play (11) set by Angels in America at the 2018 ceremony.^[14]

Ceremony information

On May 26, 2021, it was announced that the ceremony would be held on September 26 of that year in a format that differed from previous years. Paramount+ first streamed a two-hour ceremony at 7:00 p.m. ET with presentations of the awards for individual categories. CBS then aired a two-hour primetime special, The Tony Awards Present: Broadway's Back!, presented as a concert to "celebrate the joy and magic of live theatre". The special included performances of "beloved classics" and the three Best Musical nominees, and the presentation of the awards for Best Musical, Best Revival of a Play, and Best Play.^[15][16] On September 13, Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. were announced as hosts of the Tony Awards ceremony and Broadway's Back! special respectively.^[2]

In explaining the decision to split the ceremony between two platforms, producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss said that allowed for a four-hour ceremony in total, as opposed to the typical three-hour limit imposed on a television-exclusive broadcast. Kirshner said that this also gave the chance to air complete acceptance speeches for winners in all categories, saying "In the past, a lot of these awards have been in a pre-show where they got a 10 second blurb on the air. Now they get their full award on the air."^[17]

Performances

Tony Awards "You Can't Stop the Beat" (from Hairspray) – Marissa Jaret Winokur, Matthew Morrison, Kerry Butler, Chester Gregory & Darlene Love^[18] "What I Did for Love" (from A Chorus Line) – Ali Stroker "Anyone Can Whistle" (from the musical of the same name) – Jennifer Nettles^[17] "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (from Dreamgirls) – Jennifer Holliday^[19]

Broadway's Back! Source:^[20] "Broadway's Back Tonight!" (opening number) – Leslie Odom Jr.^[18] "Burning Down the House" – American Utopia "My Girl" / "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" – John Legend and the cast of Ain't Too Proud "Lady Marmalade" / "Because We Can" – Moulin Rouge! Broadway Advocacy Coalition "Move On" (from Sunday in the Park with George) – Ben Platt & Anika Noni Rose "Ironic" / "All I Really Want" – Jagged Little Pill "Beautiful City" (from Godspell) – Josh Groban & Odom "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" (from Man of La Mancha) – Brian Stokes Mitchell "Somewhere" (from West Side Story) – Norm Lewis & Kelli O'Hara "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" / "The Best" / "Proud Mary" – Tina "It Takes Two" (from Into the Woods) – Tituss Burgess & Andrew Rannells "You Matter to Me" (from Waitress) – Odom & Nicolette Robinson "For Good" (from Wicked) – Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel "What You Own" (from Rent) – Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp "Wheels of a Dream" (from Ragtime) – Audra McDonald & Mitchell Freestyle Love Supreme

Eligibility

The official eligibility cut-off date for Broadway productions opening in the 2019–20 season was originally to have been April 23, 2020.^[21][22][23] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic cutting the 2019–20 theatre season short, on August 21, 2020, it was announced that only the 18 shows that opened before February 19, 2020, would be considered eligible.^[24][25] A revival of West Side Story that opened February 20, 2020 and the new musical Girl from the North Country, which opened March 5, 2020, were thus not considered eligible because too few nominators and voters saw them before Broadway shut down on March 12, 2020.^[24] This meant that for the first time since 1993, there was no award for Best Revival of a Musical given out, as there were no eligible productions. Girl From the North Country was nominated the following year.

Original Plays A Christmas Carol Grand Horizons The Great Society The Height of the Storm The Inheritance Linda Vista My Name Is Lucy Barton Sea Wall/A Life Slave Play The Sound Inside

Original Musicals Jagged Little Pill The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical Moulin Rouge! Tina

Play Revivals Betrayal Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune The Rose Tattoo A Soldier's Play

Non-competitive awards

Special Tony Awards were given to the following:^[26]

• The Broadway Advocacy Coalition
• David Byrne's American Utopia
• Freestyle Love Supreme

The award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre was given to Graciela Daniele.^[27] Julie Halston received the Isabelle Stevenson Award.^[28]

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first, and are highlighted in boldface:^[29]

Best Play ‡	Best Musical ‡
The Inheritance – Matthew López Grand Horizons – Bess Wohl Sea Wall/A Life – Simon Stephens and Nick Payne Slave Play – Jeremy O. Harris The Sound Inside – Adam Rapp	Moulin Rouge! Jagged Little Pill Tina
Best Revival of a Play ‡	Best Book of a Musical
A Soldier's Play Betrayal Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune	Diablo Cody – Jagged Little Pill John Logan – Moulin Rouge! Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins – Tina
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Andrew Burnap – The Inheritance as Toby Darling Ian Barford – Linda Vista as Wheeler Jake Gyllenhaal – Sea Wall/A Life as Abe Tom Hiddleston – Betrayal as Robert Tom Sturridge – Sea Wall/A Life as Alex Blair Underwood – A Soldier's Play as Captain Richard Davenport	Mary-Louise Parker – The Sound Inside as Bella Joaquina Kalukango – Slave Play as Kaneisha Laura Linney – My Name Is Lucy Barton as Lucy Barton Audra McDonald – Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune as Frankie
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Aaron Tveit – Moulin Rouge! as Christian	Adrienne Warren – Tina as Tina Turner Karen Olivo – Moulin Rouge! as Satine Elizabeth Stanley – Jagged Little Pill as Mary Jane "M.J." Healy
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
David Alan Grier – A Soldier's Play as Sergeant Vernon C. Waters Ato Blankson-Wood – Slave Play as Gary James Cusati-Moyer – Slave Play as Dustin John Benjamin Hickey – The Inheritance as Henry Wilcox Paul Hilton – The Inheritance as Morgan/Walter Poole	Lois Smith – The Inheritance as Margaret Jane Alexander – Grand Horizons as Nancy Chalia La Tour – Slave Play as Teá Annie McNamara – Slave Play as Alana Cora Vander Broek – Linda Vista as Jules
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical	Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Danny Burstein – Moulin Rouge! as Harold Zidler Derek Klena – Jagged Little Pill as Nicholas "Nick" Healy Sean Allan Krill – Jagged Little Pill as Steve Healy Sahr Ngaujah – Moulin Rouge! as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Daniel J. Watts – Tina as Ike Turner	Lauren Patten – Jagged Little Pill as Joanne "Jo" Taylor Kathryn Gallagher – Jagged Little Pill as Bella Fox Celia Rose Gooding – Jagged Little Pill as Mary Frances "Frankie" Healy Robyn Hurder – Moulin Rouge! as Nini Myra Lucretia Taylor – Tina as Gran Georgeanna
Best Direction of a Play	Best Direction of a Musical
Stephen Daldry – The Inheritance David Cromer – The Sound Inside Kenny Leon – A Soldier's Play Jamie Lloyd – Betrayal Robert O'Hara – Slave Play	Alex Timbers – Moulin Rouge! Phyllida Lloyd – Tina Diane Paulus – Jagged Little Pill
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre)	Best Choreography
Christopher Nightingale (music) – A Christmas Carol Paul Englishby (music) – The Inheritance Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb (music) – The Rose Tattoo Lindsay Jones (music) – Slave Play Daniel Kluger (music) – The Sound Inside	Sonya Tayeh – Moulin Rouge! Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui – Jagged Little Pill Anthony Van Laast – Tina
Best Scenic Design in a Play	Best Scenic Design in a Musical
Rob Howell – A Christmas Carol Bob Crowley – The Inheritance Soutra Gilmour – Betrayal Derek McLane – A Soldier's Play Clint Ramos – Slave Play	Derek McLane – Moulin Rouge! Riccardo Hernández and Lucy MacKinnon – Jagged Little Pill Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg – Tina
Best Costume Design in a Play	Best Costume Design in a Musical
Rob Howell – A Christmas Carol Dede Ayite – Slave Play Dede Ayite – A Soldier's Play Bob Crowley – The Inheritance Clint Ramos – The Rose Tattoo	Catherine Zuber – Moulin Rouge! Emily Rebholz – Jagged Little Pill Mark Thompson – Tina
Best Lighting Design in a Play	Best Lighting Design in a Musical
Hugh Vanstone – A Christmas Carol Jiyoun Chang – Slave Play Jon Clark – The Inheritance Heather Gilbert – The Sound Inside Allen Lee Hughes – A Soldier's Play	Justin Townsend – Moulin Rouge! Bruno Poet – Tina Justin Townsend – Jagged Little Pill
Best Sound Design of a Play	Best Sound Design of a Musical
Simon Baker – A Christmas Carol Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid – The Inheritance Lindsay Jones – Slave Play Daniel Kluger – Sea Wall/A Life Daniel Kluger – The Sound Inside	Peter Hylenski – Moulin Rouge! Jonathan Deans – Jagged Little Pill Nevin Steinberg – Tina
Best Orchestrations
Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine – Moulin Rouge! Tom Kitt – Jagged Little Pill Ethan Popp – Tina

‡ The award is presented to the producer(s) of the musical or play.

Productions with multiple nominations and awards

Productions with multiple nominations Nominations Production 15 Jagged Little Pill 14 Moulin Rouge! 12 Slave Play Tina 11 The Inheritance 7 A Soldier's Play 6 The Sound Inside 5 A Christmas Carol 4 Betrayal Sea Wall/A Life 2 Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune Grand Horizons Linda Vista The Rose Tattoo

Productions with multiple wins Awards Production 10 Moulin Rouge! 5 A Christmas Carol 4 The Inheritance 2 Jagged Little Pill A Soldier's Play

Reception

Critical reviews

Greg Evans of Deadline Hollywood called the show "truly excellent television", and praised the two-part format, writing "The no-nonsense presentation of award announcements and acceptance speeches was followed by a lively special that impressively showcased contemporary Broadway musicals on their home turfs and classic reunions that felt fresh and welcome." However, he criticized the program's emphasis on musicals, commenting, "the non-musical plays got unforgivably short shrift."^[30] In Variety, Clayton Davis praised it as "a sensational awards ceremony" and described the show as "a near flawless and detailed blueprint on how [other awards ceremonies] should assemble their future ceremonies to bring forth an inviting place for people of all backgrounds, and an impeccable pace to keep your attention." He also commended the show's tone, concluding, "The Tonys were pure, not shy about the times we were in — and they sent a signal of hope for our futures."^[3]

Conversely, however, Tim Teeman of The Daily Beast dismissed the Broadway's Back! portion of the show as "a purely commercial exercise based on telling people who kind of like theater that Broadway was back, and needs their financial support" and accused the ceremony at large of sending "mixed messages" about its industry, contrasting calls for diversity from winners and presenters with Slave Play, a work which addresses racism as a central theme, failing to win a single award. He also criticized the decision to present the vast majority of awards on the Paramount+ livestream, instead of on the CBS telecast, writing "A Tonys-themed song and dance show may suit ratings-counters at the network [...] But if you're going to show an awards show, show an awards show."^[31]

Ratings

The Broadway's Back! special received 2.8 million viewers during its CBS telecast, an approximate 50% decline in viewership from the 73rd Tony Awards in 2019. Rick Porter of The Hollywood Reporter said that the loss may have been attributable to certain mitigating factors, such as most awards being handed out during the Paramount+ portion of the program, and the ceremony taking place in September, as opposed to its usual June date, putting it in conflict with the fall television season.^[4]

See also

• Drama Desk Awards
• 2020 Laurence Olivier Awards – equivalent awards for West End theatre productions
• Obie Award
• New York Drama Critics' Circle
• Theatre World Award
• Lucille Lortel Awards

References

1. Alexa Criscitiello (August 11, 2021). "74th Annual Tony Awards to Be Held Live at the Winter Garden Theatre". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
2. Greg Evans (September 13, 2021). "Tony Awards Names Hosts Of Sept. 26 Ceremony & Special Concert Celebration". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
3. Davis, Clayton (September 27, 2021). "Tonys Review: Broadway's Back (Finally!) With a Pitch Perfect, Inclusive Celebration of Theater". Variety. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
4. Porter, Rick (September 27, 2021). "TV Ratings: CBS' 'Broadway's Back' Tony Awards Special Struggles". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
5. Patrick Hipes (October 8, 2020). "Tony Awards Nominations Coming Next Week". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
6. Andrew Gans (February 18, 2020). "Tony Awards Reveal 2020 Calendar of Events". Playbill. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
7. Ryan McPhee (March 25, 2020). "2020 Tony Awards Put on Hold as Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Broadway Shutdown". Playbill. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
8. Nellie Andreeva (May 14, 2020). "CBS Adds Grease Sing-A-Long To Its Sunday Night Movies Schedule; Watch The Trailer – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
9. Joey Nolfi (May 15, 2020). "Grease singalong to replace Tony Awards broadcast on CBS". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
10. "The 74th Annual Tony Awards Nominations to Be Announced on Thursday, October 15th". Tony Awards. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
11. Ryan McPhee (August 21, 2020). "The 2020 Tony Awards to Be Held Digitally This Fall". Playbill. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
12. Patrick Hipes (August 21, 2020). "Tony Awards Will Go Virtual In Fall; No Date Set Yet". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
13. Ryan McPhee (January 29, 2021). "Tony Awards Voting Will Begin in March, Though Still No Date for Ceremony". Playbill. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
14. Buchanan, David (October 15, 2020). "'Slave Play' breaks Tony nominations record for a play with a staggering 12 bids". Gold Derby. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
15. Greg Evans (May 26, 2021). "Tony Awards Sets Date To Stream On Paramount+ Followed By Two-Hour Concert Event On CBS". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
16. ""The Tony Awards(R) Present: Broadway's Back!" A Multi-Platform Celebration of the Best of Broadway, Sunday, Sept. 26 on CBS and Paramount+" (Press release). CBS. May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
17. Schneider, Michael (September 24, 2021). "As CBS and Paramount Plus Expand and Split This Year's Tony Awards, Execs and Producers Explain Why". Variety. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
18. Meyer, Dan; Culwell-Block, Logan (September 27, 2021). "9 Memorable Moments From the 74th Annual Tony Awards Celebration". Playbill. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
19. Delbyck, Cole (September 26, 2021). "Jennifer Holliday Brings Tonys To Its Feet With Powerhouse 'Dreamgirls' Performance". HuffPost. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
20. "Watch All of the Performances From THE TONY AWARDS PRESENT: BROADWAY'S BACK!". Broadway World. September 26, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
21. "Date Set for 2020 Tony Awards – June 7 on CBS". Tony Awards. September 19, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
22. "Tony Awards Eligibility for 2020 – Part 1". Tony Awards. October 24, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
23. "Tony Awards Eligibility for 2020 – Part 2". Tony Awards. January 30, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
24. Michael Paulson (August 21, 2020). "Tony Awards Ceremony Will Go Ahead, Online". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
25. Greg Evans (August 28, 2020). "Tony Awards Committee Confirms 18 Broadway Productions Eligible For 2020 Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
26. Ryan McPhee (June 22, 2021). "Special Tony Award Honors Will Go to Broadway Advocacy Coalition, American Utopia, Freestyle Love Supreme". Playbill. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
27. Andrew Gans (July 29, 2021). "Graciela Daniele to Receive Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre". Playbill. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
28. Andrew Gans (July 28, 2021). "Julie Halston to Receive 2020 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award". Playbill. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
29. Garvey, Marianne (September 26, 2021). "See who won at the Tony Awards". CNN. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
30. Evans, Greg (September 27, 2021). "Tony Awards Review: Broadway Teaches TV A Lesson With Livestream-Broadcast Hybrid". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
31. Teeman, Tim (September 27, 2021). "The Tony Awards Was a Night of Extremely Mixed Messages About Broadway". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 27, 2021.

External links

• Official website