Tony Awards 2012: winners
The musical “Once” (which tells the story of the love between a musician and an immigrant singer and pianist) was the big winner at this year’s Tony awards ceremony, scooping eight prizes.
“Clybourne Park” by Bruce Norris won the Tony for best play, and Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” won the awards for best revival play and best director of a play for Mike Nichols.
Tony awards are given for excellence in theater and are considered to be the Broadway equivalent of the Oscars, which recognize the best performances in the movie industry. The ceremony Sunday night was held for the second consecutive year at the Beacon Theatre in New York.
“Once”, which went into the contest with eleven nominations, gained some of the most important awards – best musical, best director of a musical for John Tiffany, and best actor for Steve Kazee.
In addition, it gained the prizes for best screenplay, sound, instrumentation, lighting and scenery.
“Once” is based on an Irish musical film, which in 2007 won the Oscar for best original song for “Falling Slowly”.
The controversial musical “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” which features a shorter version of the legendary opera by George Gershwin, won the awards for best musical revival and best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical. The leading role of Bess in this production was played by Audra McDonald.
Other winners included “Peter and the Starcatcher,” which took home five awards. The play (which recounts the early adventures of Peter Pan) is based on a children’s novel by the same name published in 2006 by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
It won the Tonys for best supporting actor for Christian Borle, best costume, best sound, best scenery and best lighting.
Tony Awards 2012.
Who’s ready to go Fifty Shades of Gay?!
Neil Patrick Harris’ words, not ours, at the 2012 Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre in New York, where performances from the cast of Once, Hairspray and Newsies had our theater loving-eyes glued to the boob tube all night. Add a special award for Hugh Jackman and a Best Actor in a Play shocker and you’ve got one terrific theatrical tribute!
Read on for a full list of all the winners at the 66th annual award show!
Once stole the theatrical spotlight, raking in eight Tony Awards on Sunday – including Best Musical Direction, Best Lead Actor in a Musical and the top award for Best Musical overall. Clybourne Park took home the highly coveted award for Best Play.
If you’re keeping a Tony tally, then Peter and the Starcatcher came in second with five awards including Christian Borle’s win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role.
Other notable winners? Audra McDonald took home the award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and Nina Arianda surprised us all when she won Best Leading Actress in a play for Venus in Fur. “You were my first crush” – Arianda exclaimed to Christopher Plummer as she accepted her award.
Steve Kazee also aided Once in its Tony domination, nabbing the award for Best Actor in a Musical and broke down thinking of his mother, who died on Easter Sunday, as he accepted the award on stage. Eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken took home his first Tony for Best Original Score for Newsies. The win was particularly exciting for Menken since the 1992 film Newsies took home a Razzie when he originally penned the tunes. Talk about a comeback!
British comedian James Corden upset Philip Seymour Hoffman to win best actor in a play for his comic turn in the London transplant spoof, One Man, Two Guvnors, while Nina Arianda won best actress in a play for her sexy performance in Venus In Fur.
Esteemed film and stage director Mike Nichols was an early winner for his direction of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Nichols has won a record-setting six Tony Awards for best direction of a play. He also has been honoured twice as a producer.
“You see before you a happy man” – Nichols (80) said, thanking Miller’s daughter, Rebecca Miller, for permission to stage the play that also won best revival of a play.
Nichols also thanked Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield as “a cast straight from heaven” and said the play, which premiered in 1949, “gets truer as time goes by.”
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, a reinvention of the 1935 opera and comedy, won best revival of a musical and Audra McDonald won best actress in a musical for her stirring performance as Bess.
The awards show kicked off with host Neil Patrick Harris welcoming the audience to the 66th Tony Awards, “or as we like to call it, ‘Fifty Shades of Gay,’” referencing Broadway’s campy reputation and the popular erotic fiction novel, “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
Judith Light of Other Desert Cities was an early winner for best actress in a featured role in a play.
“I feel like I am the luckiest girl in New York tonight” – said Light, who first found fame in 1980s TV sitcom Who’s The Boss.
Other winners included Judy Kaye and Michael McGrath for their featured roles in the comedy musical Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Christian Borle for his hilarious turn in the Peter Pan prequel, “Peter and the Starcatcher.”
“Once,”, which features the Oscar-winning song, “Falling Slowly,” received a total of eight Tonys. “Peter and the Starcatcher” captured five trophies.
The Disney production “Newsies,” based on a 1899 New York newsboys strike, won best original score.
The awards show featured star-packed performances from this season’s musicals, plays and revivals. Presenters included Paul Rudd, Ch ristopher Plummer an d Angela Lansbury.