The 2024 Tony Awards took place on Sunday, June 16, with LGBTQ+ stars among the night’s big winners. Hosted for the third year by queer American actor Ariana DeBose, the 77th annual ceremony celebrated the best of theatre with a fabulous event at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Following her first-ever nomination, Sarah Paulson collected the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. The 49-year-old was recognised for her work as Toni Lafayette in Appropriate.
Paulson attended the ceremony with her long-term partner and fellow actor Holland Taylor, who she also addressed in her acceptance speech, saying: “Thank you for loving me.”
Sarah Paulson including Holland Taylor in her Emmy & Tony winning speeches, HAPPY PRIDE! pic.twitter.com/9BCHP1bV56
— sarah’s pr (@sarahpaulsbean) June 17, 2024
Appropriate’s Branden Jacobs-Jenkins also won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. The 39-year-old playwright is the mind behind the production, which follows the dysfunctional Lafayette family as they battle over their late father’s inheritance and estate – a former plantation home in Arkansas.
Jacobs-Jenkins is a fellow of both MacArthur and Guggenheim, as well as an Obie winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. He is married to actor and cabaret artist Cheo Bourne, with whom he also has a daughter.
⭐️ WINNER OF THE 2024 TONY AWARD FOR BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY! Congratulations to the entire company of APPROPRIATE by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Lila Neugebauer. On Broadway thru June 30 only. pic.twitter.com/PgDpr2sfeb
— Appropriate on Broadway – Must End June 30 (@Appropriatebway) June 17, 2024
Jonathan Groff was another LGBTQ+ star who won big, receiving the 2024 Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. He was recognised for expertly playing Franklin Shepard in Merrily We Roll Along.
Like Paulson, this was Groff’s first Tony win, which he accepted with an emotional speech. Addressing his parents, he said: “Thank you for letting me dress up like Mary Poppins when I was three. Thank you for letting me act out scenes from I Love Lucy on my 10th birthday.
“Thank you for always allowing my freak flag to fly without ever making me feel weird about it. Even if they didn’t always understand me, my family knew the life-saving power of fanning the flame of a young person’s passions without judgement.”
I’m gonna need every future award winner to take notes from Jonathan Groff’s Tonys speech, because damnnnnnn#TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/7ZtOgfL5iq
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) June 17, 2024
Groff’s co-star and LGBTQ+ ally Daniel Radcliffe was also awarded for his role in Merrily We Roll Along, a production which emerged victorious from a total of four categories on the night.
Maleah Joi Moon similarly won for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for playing Ali in Hell’s Kitchen. She dedicated the award to her parents and thanked Alicia Keys, who is responsible for the show’s music, lyrics and arrangements.
This girl is on fire! ? Let’s hear it for Tony Award WINNER Maleah Joi Moon!!! pic.twitter.com/YEonnIe7Ug
— Hells Kitchen (@HellsKitchenBwy) June 17, 2024
Queer playwright David Adjmi received one of the most prestigious honours of the night, winning Best Play for Stereophonics. The three-hour production premiered Off-Broadway in 2023 before transferring to Broadway’s John Golden Theatre in early 2024. It received nominations in 13 Tony categories – the most of any play in history – and emerged victorious from five.
@stereobway brings home the Tony for Best Play. Congrats! pic.twitter.com/ZpTeNDsnAp
— The Tony Awards (@TheTonyAwards) June 17, 2024
Finally, Tom Scutt was another LGBTQ+ Tony Award winner for 2024, crowned for Best Scenic Design of a Musical. He was recognised for his work on Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, in which he aimed to balance “ferocity of spirit and queer joy”.
Congratulations to Tom Scutt for winning Best Scenic Design of a Musical at tonight’s Tony Awards®. #KitKatClub #TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/sv1ntmAnao
— Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (New York) (@kitkatclubnyc) June 17, 2024
© 2024 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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