Moulin Rouge! The Musical triumphed in 10 categories at the 74th Tony Awards, including being named Best Musical, but there was also British success, with Rob Howell and Hugh Vanstone winning awards for their design work on the Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol (5) and Stephen Daldry named Best Director for his staging of Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance (4), originally at London’s Young Vic Theatre before its West End transfer.
The ceremony at the Winter Garden Theater in New York, which recognised shows from the 2019-2020 season before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down Broadway in March 2020, was hosted by previous winners Leslie Odom Jr. and Audra McDonald.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical, the spectacular stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s iconic film which transfers to London’s Piccadilly Theatre in November 2021, won in 10 of the 14 categories in which it was nominated. As well as the Best Musical prize and several design awards, there were wins for actors Aaron Tveit and Danny Burstein, choreographer Sonya Tayeh and director Alex Timbers.
The team behind the Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol also had much to celebrate with five wins during the evening. There was double success for Rob Howell (set and costumes) and prizes too for Hugh Vanstone (lighting), Christopher Nightingale (original score written for the theatre) and Simon Baker (sound).
Stephen Daldry was named Best Director for Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance, also named Best Play, and there were acting awards for Andrew Burnap and Lois Smith. Sonia Friedman Productions brought the Olivier Award-winning play to Broadway in November 2019.
Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play, originally staged Off-Broadway and named Best Revival of a Play, also gave David Alan Grier a Tony for Featured Role in a Play.
Elsewhere in the musical theatre categories, Jagged Little Pill, based on the songs from the hit 1995 album by Alanis Morissette, picked up two awards for writer Diablo Cody (Best Book) and Lauren Patten (Featured Actress in a Musical), while Adrienne Warren won a Tony Award for playing the title role in Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, a part she made her own in the West End.
See below for the list of winners:
Best Musical
Moulin Rouge: The Musical
Best Play
The Inheritance
Best Revival of a Play
A Soldier’s Play
Best Book of a Musical
Jagged Little Pill – Diablo Cody
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
A Christmas Carol – Music: Christopher Nightingale
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Andrew Burnap, The Inheritance
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Mary-Louise Parker, The Sound Inside
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Adrienne Warren, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
David Alan Grier, A Soldier’s Play
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Lois Smith, The Inheritance
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Costume Design of a Play
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Sound Design of a Play
Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Direction of a Play
Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
Best Direction of a Musical
Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Choreography
Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Orchestrations
Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
