Kevin Spacey stepped out of the Netflix world of Frank Underwood and onto the Broadway stage to host the 71st Tony Awards on Sunday night from Radio City Music Hall.
An ode to "Dear Evan Hansen" and "Groundhog Day The Musical," the opening number made fun of Spacey’s severe anxiety taking on the job as host. Seeking advice from Billy Crystal, Whippie Goldberg and a random cameo from Stephen Colbert, there were plenty of running jokes about coming out of the closet, the possibility of low ratings and being panned by the critics.
Dancing his way in a tux with a chorus line of dancers, Spacey may not have the vocals and moves of Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman, but he pulled it off just fine.
As always, the show featured performances from this year's nominated musicals, including “Bandstand,” “Come From Away,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Falsettos,” “Groundhog Day The Musical,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “Miss Saigon,” “Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812” and “War Paint,” with additional performances by Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and the Radio City Rockettes.
Although, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” lead the nominations this year with 12 total, “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Oslo,” and “Hello, Dolly!” were the most popular winners of the evening.
Find the list of original nominees HERE.
And the winners are…
Musical: “Dear Evan Hansen”
Play: “Oslo”
Musical revival: “Hello, Dolly!”
Play revival: “Jitney”
Leading actor, play: Kevin Kline, “Present Laughter”
Leading actress, play: Laurie Metcalf, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Leading actor, musical: Ben Platt, “Dear Evan Hansen”
Leading actress, musical: Bette Midler, “Hello, Dolly!”
Featured actor, play: Michael Aronov, “Oslo”
Featured actress, play: Cynthia Nixon, “The Little Foxes”
Featured actor, musical: Gavin Creel, “Hello, Dolly!”
Featured actress, musical: Rachel Bay Jones, “Dear Evan Hansen”
Book, musical: “Dear Evan Hansen,” Steven Levenson
Original score: “Dear Evan Hansen,” music and lyrics, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Scenic design, play: Nigel Hook, “The Play That Goes Wrong”
Scenic design, musical: Mimi Lien, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
Costume design, play: Jane Greenwood, “The Little Foxes”
Costume design, musical: Santo Loquasto, “Hello, Dolly!”
Lighting design, play: Christopher Akerlind, “Indecent”
Lighting design, musical: Bradley King, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
Direction, play: Rebecca Taichman, “Indecent”
Direction, musical: Christopher Ashley, “Come From Away”
Choreography: Andy Blankenbuehler, “Bandstand”
Orchestrations: Alex Lacamoire, “Dear Evan Hansen”
Special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in the theater: James Earl Jones
Special Tony Award: Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin, sound designers for “The Encounter”
Regional Theater Tony Award: Dallas Theater Center, Dallas
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award: Baayork Lee
Tony Honors for excellence in the theater: Nina Lannan, Alan Wasser
