The Outsiders may have had the inside track at the Tony Awards after all.
In awarding Best Musical to the $22 million adaptation of the S.E. Hinton novel and Francis Ford Coppola movie about an ill-fated gang of teenagers in 1967 Tulsa, Oklahoma, voters rewarded Danya Taymor’s meticulously staged production over the propulsive glitz of Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen, the presumptive favorite in the category going into the evening.
Although The Outsiders‘ weekly grosses have steadily increased to $1.1 million, it may have needed Best Musical more than Hell’s Kitchen. With an advance sale topping $10 million, HK benefits from Keys’ familiar catalog and, now, its performance early in the CBS broadcast, which included Keys and Jay-Z performing their hit single “Empire State of Mind.” (Jay-Z’s rapping outside the theater appeared to have been taped.)
Suffs, the musical about early 20th-century suffragists, which like Hell’s Kitchen premiered off-Broadway at the Public Theater, won for Shaina Taub’s book and score. The dance musical Illinoise was recognized for Justin Peck’s choreography and Water For Elephants, the musical capitalized for $25 million that received seven nominations, was bageled.
Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate, produced by Second Stage and later transferred by ATG Entertainment to the Belasco Theater, won for best play revival; lead actress Sarah Paulson was also recognized.
It’s the first Broadway musical and Tony win for Taymor, niece of Julie Taymor (The Lion King), who was recognized for her direction. Hell’s Kitchen won for Maleah Joi Moon’s star-making lead role as a rebellious and gifted 17-year-old growing up in the artsy midtown west housing complex Manhattan Plaza; and for Kecia Lewis, the stage veteran playing her musical mentor.
Stereophonic, David Adjmi’s acclaimed $5 million play with music by Will Butler, won for best play, Daniel Aukin’s direction, Ryan Rumery’s sound design, David Zinn’s scenic design and featured actor Will Brill, who thanked his therapist and his bass teacher. Presenter Utkarsh Ambudkar wryly noted that its 13 nominations were not only a record for a play, but “a record for a play about people making a record.”
As expected, the Sonia Friedman-produced Merrily We Roll Along cleaned up, winning for musical revival, Jonathan Tunick’s orchestrations, featured actor Daniel Radcliffe and lead actor Jonathan Groff. The cast performed “Old Friends,” which arguably did double duty promoting their show, which closes July 7, and Old Friends, the Stephen Sondheim revue that transfers from the West End later in 2024-25.
Merrily‘s triumph was particularly sweet after the failure of the original 1981 Harold Prince production and a London revival a decade ago of the Sondheim and George Furth show. Among director Maria Friedman’s Broadway inspirations was casting Groff, whose innate amiability offsets the cynicism of his character, Franklin Shepard. Eight months after it opened at the Hudson Theatre, the production’s as hot as ever, with house seats — reserved for Broadway insiders — going for $299.
In accepting the best revival Tony, Maria Friedman quoted Groff’s character in the show that, “‘We can change the world.'” Looking up, she added: “Steve and George: Merrily’s popular.”
Unlike last year’s Tonys, which host Ariana DeBose impressively winged without a script because of the WGA strike, this ceremony had writers, to questionable effect. Five minutes into the broadcast, DeBose was lecturing that “art is imperative because art reflects society and provides context for the real very situations we find ourselves in today.” Later in the broadcast, Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad did an unfunny routine mocking the Tony rules behind the designation of their show from the fall, Gutenberg! The Musical!, as a musical revival.
But the decision to let winners complete their speeches without getting played offstage gave the ceremony impressive emotional heft. Groff and Kara Young, who was recognized for her performance in the play Purlie Victorious, paid memorable tributes to their parents.
The Tonys are a once-a-year prime-time TV event with the potential to turn on audiences to Broadway’s latest offerings. Simultaneously, Tony organizers turned off various industry constituents this season in attempts to make the evening more exclusive.
The Tonys’ new press agents at R&CPMK denied access to the pre-show red carpet to some of Broadway’s most supportive journalists, citing space constraints. Access was reinstated to some after coverage of the brouhaha on social media and in the New York Post.
And co-producers were initially told that they needed seats in the orchestra to go onstage. Later, Tony organizers said they were barring all co-producers from the stage. Sunday night, co-producers gathered on risers in the lobby of the Koch’s first tier to appear on the broadcast during acceptance speeches.
The stage was otherwise filled by the creative team and casts of the winning shows. For co-producers aspiring to take the stage at future Tonys, assuming the stage is just as packed, there doesn’t appear to be space left.
Correction: Relying on information from The Outsiders‘ press agent, I previously reported that the show marks the Araca Group’s debut as the lead producer of a Broadway musical. Araca’s lead producing credits include Urinetown and SpongeBob SquarePants.
