The 69th annual Tony awards were held in New York last night (7th June), with the grand event hosted by Broadway greats, Kristen Chenoweth and Alan Cummings.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time was one of the biggest winners of the night.
A LGBT coming of age musical and a play about a young boy with Asperger’s took the top prizes of the night. Fun House and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time were named best musical and best play respectively, and each picked up five other awards including Best Director of a Musical and Play.
It was also a successful night for British theatre actors, as Dame Helen Mirren won her first Tony award for her acclaimed role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience. Mirren also won the Olivier award for Best Leading Actress in 2013, when she played the role in the West End.
Upon accepting her award at Radio City Musical Hall, Mirren gleefully stated “this is an unbelievable honour, I am so thrilled.” With Tony, Emmy and Oscar wins under her belt, Mirren is only a Grammy win away from becoming a prestigious EGOT winner, joining the ranks of Audrey Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg and Frozen composer Robert Lopez.
The musicals An American in Paris and The King and I, took home four awards each, including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Choreography. Nominees left empty-handed included Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper, who was nominated for his role as John Merrick in The Elephant Man – which has recently opened to acclaim in London’s West End.
Broadway legend, Tommy Tune received his 10th Tony award – a special Lifetime Achievement award, which was presented after a glitzy musical number from the new production, Something Rotten!
The awards show capped a record-breaking season on Broadway in which audience numbers topped 13.1 million and ticket sales rose to $1.36 billion.
A full list of winners and nominees can be read, here.
