The enormity of the mass murders in Orlando at a bar frequented by LBGTQ community — “a cornerstone of the theater” as someone described them — cast a shadow over the Tony Awards on Sunday, June 12, which, as expected, was dominated by the mega-hit musical, “Hamilton.”“Something like this happens and all of this seems so silly, so futile,” said Leslie Odom, Jr., who as the best actor in a musical winner took home one of the eleven Tonys awarded “Hamilton,” including Best Musical. “What is this all about, anyway?” He added that the matinee performance of the musical earlier that day “refocused” a purpose to fight against hate. “They can’t win. They can’t have that. The show must go on.”And indeed it did, with host James Corden acknowledging at the outset the burden under which it would do so. Addressing the victims and their mourning friends and relatives, he said, “You are not on your own right now. Your tragedy is our tragedy. Hate will never win. Together we have to make sure of that. Tonight’s show stands as a symbol and celebration of that principle.”The show — which earned the highest ratings in decades on CBS due to the interest in “Hamilton” and a star-studded roster of presenters — was considered one of the strongest in years, with an extraordinary eclecticism among the nominees, especially in the musical categories. Those ranged from “Bright Star,” a bluegrass musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, to George C. Wolfe’s homage to a groundbreaking 1921 black musical, “Shuffle Along,” along with the working-class melodrama of Sara Bareilles’ “Waitress,” and the antic kiddie charms of “School of Rock,“ the musical that has revived Andrew Lloyd Webber’s career.None of those, however, stood a chance against the tsunami known a “Hamilton,” which took almost all the major awards, including best book and best score for its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, best choreographer for Andy Blankenbuehler, best director for Tommy Kail, and, in addition to Odom’s Aaron Burr, acting honors for Renee Elise Goldsberry, who played Elizabeth Schuyler, and Daveed Diggs in the dual roles of the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.A teary-eyed Miranda captured the mood of the evening when he declared from the podium, “Senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised — not one day.” In a sonnet written for the occasion, he concluded, “Love cannot be killed or swept aside.”Holding out against a total sweep that would have bested the record of twelve wins held by “The Producers” were a best actress in a musical Tony that went to Cynthia Erivo in her Broadway debut as Celie in “The Color Purple,” which also won as best revival of a musical; and a Tony to David Rockwell for his stunning evocation of a 1930s Budapest parfumerie in the revival of “She Loves Me.” “I guess the people who said they voted for me actually voted for me,” quipped the famed architect and designer who had finally triumphed on his sixth nomination after designing twenty shows.A notable aspect of this year’s awards was the fact that all four musical categories went to actors of color — Erivo, Odom, Goldsberry, and Diggs. Earlier in the evening, host Corden told the audience, “Think of tonight like the Oscars — except with diversity.” In fact, he added, the Tonys were so diverse that Donald Trump was going to build a wall around the Beacon Theatre.Diggs later observed in a post-Tony press conference that he never expected to be on Broadway. “Growing up I felt that there was no place for me here,” he said. “But this place is so inclusive. Not just culturally but in terms of ability, and in terms of age. I’m happy to see so many kids “nerding" out on these shows. They can find themselves in it.”In the play categories, the producer Scott Rudin was a familiar face at the podium, rising from the audience to claim the prize for best play, award to Stephen Karam’s “The Humans,” which also brought Tonys to veteran actors Reed Birney and Jane Houdyshell. Rudin also claimed the best revival of a play Tony for “A View from the Bridge,” directed by Ivo Van Hove, the experimental Belgian-born director who won as best director of a play against fierce competition.Jessica Lange was finally accepted into the Tony winners circle for her stirring portrayal of Mary Tyrone in the revival of the Eugene O’Neill epic, “Long Day’s Journey into Night.” She had previously starred on Broadway in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “The Glass Menagerie,” but had not even been nominated for those roles. After the telecast, she noted that she had played Blanche in “Streetcar” three times and Amanda in “Glass Menagerie” twice. But the role “nearest and dearest to my heart” is Mary Tyrone. This was, in fact, her second go-around with the role, which she played to acclaim sixteen years before in London. The reprise came as a gift from Ryan Murphy, her producer on TV’s “American Horror Story,” who secured the rights to the play after the actress told him of her desire to assay it once more.Frank Langella won the best actor in a play honor for Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” and in an emotionally charged acceptance speech noted that Andre, an old man frightened by his diminishing mental capacity, had also touched his own family in the person of his brother. “He is very alive in me every time I play Andre,” he said. “I’m not alone in this because there are many people who are also dealing and caring for people with Alzheimer’s.” The actor also said that he’d ripped up his acceptance speech when he heard about the tragic killings in Orlando. Speaking for many in the audience at the Tonys on Sunday night, the 78-year-old actor said, “I urge you Orlando to be strong because I’m standing in a room full of the most generous human beings on earth and we will be with you every step of the way.” Later in the evening, Langella added that he felt “disgust, anger, and tremendous pain” at the news. “The constant violence and sense of madness that is invading this country is terrifying to me.”
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