Tony Awards 2015: ‘Fun Home’ gets best musical as women break through with wins
The 69th Tony Awards didn't air live on the West Coast, but we brought you updates and analysis from inside the show. Notable wins included "Curious Incident" with best play, "Fun Home" with best musical, Alex Sharp of "Curious Incident" with lead actor in a play, and Kelli O’Hara of "King and I" with lead actress in a musical.
Tallying up the results
Alex Sharp appears in a scene from the National Theatre production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”
Joan Marcus / Boneau/Bryan-Brown
“Fun Home” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” above, led the pack with five Tony Awards each.
“An American in Paris” and “The King and I” each won four awards.
“The Audience” won two, and “Skylight,” “Something Rotten!,” “Wolf Hall Parts One & Two” and “You Can't Take It With You” each won one.
Larry David presents the last award
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Josh Groban, 100-plus member choir makes Twitter cry
'Fun Home' wins best musical
"Fun Home" wins best musical.
Neil Patrick Harris winks at his Oscars flop
The Tonys fixture, presenting the award for lead actress in a musical, took the opportunity -- his first major awards-show appearance since his rather ignoble performance as Oscars host -- to acknowledge his misstep.
Kelli O'Hara of 'King and I' wins lead actress in a musical
Kelli O'Hara wins actress in a leading role in a musical for her performance in "The King and I."
Phylicia Rashad's 'In Memoriam' intro goes over extremely well
'Fun Home's' Michael Cerveris wins lead actor in a musical
Michael Cerveris wins actor in a leading role in a musical for his performance in "Fun Home."
Backstage with Ruthie Ann Miles: Her advice to her younger self
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Here in the press room at the Tony Awards, the same question is being asked of each winner who stops by: What advice would you give your younger self?
The answers tend toward the general: Be brave; slow down and smell the roses; don't expect success to come overnight. Ruthie Ann Miles, though, gave one of the most surprising answers of the night: “Don't be a dentist!” Miles said without hesitation as she stood on stage with the Tony she had just won for her performance in “The King and I.”
Miles' win was for featured actress in a musical, but the stage was not her first calling. Miles said she was actually studying to be a dentist when she made the switch to acting, a move that has served her well. In addition to the Tony, Miles won a Theatre World Award and a Lucille Lortel Award for portraying Imelda Marcos in “Here Lies Love” in 2013 off-Broadway.
Miles became emotional as she discussed her childhood, growing up the daughter of a single mother in Korea and Hawaii.
Like most girls and young women, she said she often was at odds with her mother.
“In hindsight, my mom is my everything,” Miles said, breaking down in tears as she recalled her mother working three jobs to raise her. “She was sacrificing her life so that I could go to college.”
-- Tina Susman
'Neverland' gets more attention than some actual nominees
The Broadway musical “Finding Neverland” -- with
Carol Rosegg
Of the many shows to earn musical attention during the Tonys telecast, few raised more eyebrows than "Finding Neverland."
The Harvey Weinstein-produced J.M. Barrie tale wasn't nominated for any awards Sunday, but it got plenty of airtime anyway. A cutaway to Weinstein opened the telecast as hosts noted the show's stellar box office, and its fantasy number "Stronger" got a full-blown sequence.
Musicals that are still running tend to get exposure during the telecast, but this wasn't the first time "Neverland" appeared at the Tonys. Last year Jennifer Hudson sang a number as a teaser of sorts for the show's opening.
Weinstein has suggested that the inclusion of a "Neverland" number at last year's Tonys may have worked against him with voters this year.
'Curious Incident's' Alex Sharp wins lead actor in a play
Alex Sharp wins actor in a leading role in a play for his performance in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”
Show highlights in photos
Hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming perform with the cast of “Something Rotten!”
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming perform with the cast of "Something Rotten!"
Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe perform with the cast of “The King and I.”
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe perform with the cast of "The King and I."
Hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming spoof “The King & I” performance.
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming spoof "The King and I" performance.
The cast of “On the Town” performs.
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
The cast of "On the Town" performs.
Host Alan Cumming demonstrates the result of acceptance speeches running too long: getting pulled offstage by dancers.
Charles Sykes / Invision / AP
Host Alan Cumming demonstrates the result of acceptance speeches running too long: getting pulled offstage by dancers.
Hosts Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth stage another stunt.
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Hosts Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth stage another stunt.
And the award goes to ... more women!
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Where the Oscars seem to have stalled somewhere in the “Mad Men” era when it comes to women, the Tonys showed they have at least moved past the 1970s with wins for women in some generally male-dominated categories.
Jeanine Tesori, right, and Lisa Kron, left, won best original score for “Fun Home.” Paule Constable was honored for play lighting for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” and Natasha Katz won the trophy for her lighting of a musical, for “An American in Paris,” among other wins for the women.
But it's still far from enough, said Kron, who joked that “it's statistically 10% better” than it used to be for women on Broadway. “It's unacceptably low, but it seems that perhaps we're making some progress,” she said.
Kron said a major problem is that people are reluctant to take chances on unproven women. “I think people take chances on men based on their potential, and they take chances on women based on their accomplishments,” she said. “Hopefully, if this accomplishes anything, it is that people will look at young women and see potential in them.”
-- Tina Susman
'King and I' wins best musical revival
"The King and I" wins best revival of a musical.
Where is the diversity?
One Twitter account is trying to add a burst of color to the Tonys this year. Known as Broadway Black, the account is live-tweeting the show, dropping various bits of historical knowledge about past African American winners.
As for diversity on stage and within the nominees list, don't hold your breath.
Marianne Elliott on 'Curious Incident' win
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
'Skylight' wins best revival of a play
"Skylight" wins best revival of a play.
Why Christian Borle doesn't 'chase every mouse'
Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
“Something Rotten's” Christian Borle, who won a Tony as featured actor in a musical, made a point in his acceptance speech of thanking Roger Rees for telling him not to “chase every mouse.”
Backstage, Borle explained that was a nod to Rees for urging him to slow down while the two were working together on “Peter and the Starcatcher” on Broadway in 2012. Rees is nearly 30 years older than the 41-year-old Borle.
“He knew I was a little ambitious,” said Borle, recalling that Rees left him a note telling him to tone it down a bit. “It was just a note about restraint, which I wasn't particularly good at that time.”
Borle ended up winning a Tony for his performance in “Peter and the Starcatcher” in 2012, too.
-- Tina Susman
Twitter reacts to Ruthie Ann Miles' win
From GIFs about Ruthie Ann Miles reading her acceptance speech to musings about diversity at the Tonys, Twitter erupted with chatter over the actress' win. Miles' alma mater, New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, even gave her a shout-out.
Who inspired Tony winner Jeanine Tesori?
'Curious Incident' wins best play
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" wins best play.
Kristin Chenoweth for the win
Hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming perform at the 2015 Tony Awards at
Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
As for the NBA score: The Cleveland Cavaliers are beating the Golden State Warriors, 51-49.
Advice, admiration for Taye Diggs
Diggs takes over for Darren Criss in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" July 22.
If Richard McCabe didn't win for 'The Audience' ...
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Richard McCabe just won a Tony for portraying former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in “The Audience,” but he might have been clad in very different costumes if he had taken another role that was dangled in front of him: that of Oliver Cromwell in “Wolf Hall,” another Tony contender this year.
McCabe, speaking after picking up his trophy, said that when the chance arose to portray Cromwell, the English military and political leader from the 1600s, he already was involved in his portrayal of Wilson, whose last term as prime minister ended in 1976.
“Our producers told us to stick with 'The Audience' because it'll be coming to Broadway,” said McCabe. Of course, both plays ended up on Broadway, which McCabe conceded would have been awkward.
“I would've been in direct competition with myself,” he joked.
-- Tina Susman
In the audience: Debra Messing enjoying front row view
Ruthie Ann Miles of 'King and I' wins featured actress in a musical
Ruthie Ann Miles wins actress in a featured role in a musical for her performance in "The King and I."
Backstage with 'The Audience' winners
Remember when Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens were stars of 'High School Musical'?
Before Vanessa Hudgens starred in "Gigi," the actress sang her heart out in Disney's "High School Musical" (one, two and three). Her BFF Ashley Tisdale, who also starred in the Disney musical franchise, introduced Hudgens and others in the "Gigi" cast at this year's Tony Awards.
-- Saba Hamedy
An 'acid-trip comedy' moment
'Fun Home' song stirs emotions
'Curious Incident's' Marianne Elliott wins best director of play
Marianne Elliott wins direction of a play for her work on “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”
'Fun Home' still in race with 'An American in Paris'
Does Sam Gold's win for his direction of “Fun Home” bode well for the musical taking home the night's most lucrative prize? Or will this be a case of the show winning all the lead up awards except the one that really counts when it comes to touring prospects? “Fun Home” is in a tight race with “An American in Paris,” but right now it looks like it might have a slight edge. Stay tuned.
Annaleigh Ashford's charming acceptance speech
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
'Fun Home' writers make history
First-time Tony winner Helen Mirren credits Her Majesty
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Star power took precedence on Sunday with the first award, presented by Bradley Cooper to Helen Mirren for her lead performance as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Audience."
-- David Ng
A harbinger of more 'Fun Home' wins?
'Fun Home's' Sam Gold wins director of a musical
Sam Gold wins direction of a musical for his work on “Fun Home.”
Misty Copeland introduces 'On the Town'
So much for the pants
By the way, this happened.
Annaleigh Ashford wins featured actress in a play
Annaleigh Ashford wins actress in a featured role in a play for her performance in "You Can't Take It with You."
Christian Borle wins featured actor in a musical
Christian Borle wins actor in a featured role in a musical for his performance in "Something Rotten!"
Alan Cumming changed into pants
Just in case you're keeping track.
We like 'The King and I' a lot
McCabe's win shows emphasis on quality, not quantity
Natasha Katz, winner for 'An American in Paris,' offers meme-worthy advice
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Not that she needs another gig now that she's just won a Tony, but Natasha Katz, who won for lighting for “An American in Paris,” offered a bit of a commencement address as she talked to reporters after receiving her trophy.
Asked what advice she would give others striving to make a name for themselves on Broadway, Katz urged youngsters to “live in the moment.”
“Just constantly take in what you can learn from other people,” said Katz, who has done lighting for nearly 50 Broadway plays and musicals.
Katz said she worked as an intern “for years.” “All I really did was watch other people and learn,” said Katz. “On-the-job training.”
"An American in Paris" was expected to pick up multiple awards tonight and was considered a favorite to win best musical.
-- Tina Susman
Richard McCabe wins featured actor in a play
Richard McCabe wins actor for a featured role in a play for his performance in "The Audience."
LGBT humor leads the night
Not even Mirren seemed surprised by her win
What a surprise: 'Finding Neverland' producer Harvey Weinstein gets a cameo in opening bit
This, of course, is a big deal because, as reporter David Ng wrote last week:
"Finding Neverland" came up with a big fat zero when the Tony Award nominations were announced in April, but the blockbuster musical's complete shut-out won't stop producer Harvey Weinstein from making his presence felt on Tony night on Sunday.
Helen Mirren wins lead actress in play
Helen Mirren wins actress in a leading role in a play for her performance in "The Audience."
Chenoweth, Cumming start with a quippy song
Predictions and open questions
For more about the close contests, click "read more," below.
Lifetime achievement winner Tommy Tune on how he made his Texas father proud
Andrew Gombert / European Pressphoto Agency
Tommy Tune is known for Broadway productions such as "Nine," "Grand Hotel" and "The Will Rogers Follies." But when the dancer and musical hyphenate took the stage before the Tony Awards to receive a special prize Sunday, he had something else on his mind
"Right now I'm thinking about Texas in the '50s," Tune said as he accepted the lifetime achievement in theater award handed out before the live telecast.
His career helped his father achieve the dream, he said, that is shared by all Texas fathers.
"They wanted us all to leave Texas, go to New York and dance in the chorus of a Broadway show," he quipped, to loud cheers.
Tune has won nine previous Tonys. Though he hasn't done a Broadway show in some time, Tune, at 76, showed few signs that time had slowed him down: He took the stage and promptly did a robust leg kick in his tuxedo.
He ended his speech on a more serious note. The theater, he said, had "a universal mystique, and I'm proud and humbled by our Broadway universe.
"It's vast and inclusive and I believe all of it is an expression of love. What I did for love. What we do for love."
Joe Manganiello, theater buff?
Yes, yes he is. But the ripped "Magic Mike XXL" star and Carnegie Mellon alum also shared this nugget with Darren Criss on the Tonys red carpet:
"I was theater first, then buff later," he quipped.
Manganiello is presenting the Excellence in Theatre Education Award tonight.
-- Nardine Saad
Honors for Tommy Tune and John Cameron Mitchell
Isn't it unfair that California can't see the Tonys live?
A reader just sent me an email to complain, “Isn't it unfair that California can't see the Tony Awards live?” Yes, but if the telecast were to run live on CBS, fans of “60 Minutes” (a rabble-rousing group, I hear) might storm the network with torches and pitchforks.
It seems that online viewing may be possible here , though you'll need to enlist a millennial to set you up.
Fortunately for this Gen X-er, there's a live feed at the office.
Matthew Morrison on 'living like a saint' after 'Glee'
Matthew Morrison has been performing on Broadway since he was 19, but is probably better known to the masses as the New Directions music instructor from "Glee." He reunited with his cast mate Darren Criss, who played Blaine Anderson, on the red carpet. Both are now on Broadway, a stark difference from TV life.
"There's nothing like [performing] eight shows a week, this muscle is so delicate and it's something that has to be so trained and you get out of your rhythm when you're doing six years on a TV show," Morrison said. "So it's been hard to get back into it and do eight shows a week."
In "Finding Neverland," Morrison sings 14 songs per show and has to keep himself and his voice rested.
"I feel like I'm living in the piazza again, living like a saint, no drinking," he said.
-- Nardine Saad
Why would Sting be nervous?
It was a "wonderful," "big surprise" to be nominated this year, said Sting, whose score for “The Last Ship” is up for a Tony.
He said it felt particularly special because the show is about his hometown and community.
"It was a personal, compelling story to tell, and I'm happy we brought it to Broadway," he said on the red carpet. "I came here for the first time last year and it's just a fun party. People [ask], am I nervous? There's nothing to be nervous about!"
-- Nardine Saad
More on Bryan Cranston's secret fantasy
Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Bryan Cranston has a secret: He wants to sing and dance.
“I'm not a song-and-dance man. I want to pretend that I am,” Cranston said as he arrived for tonight's 69th Tony Award ceremony in New York. “At some point, I am going to be on the Broadway stage doing a musical.”
His fantasy presumably is not the result of Cranston's recollection of attending his first Broadway show decades ago. It was a performance of “Hair,” and it included on-stage nudity.
“People are naked on stage!” Cranston remembered thinking, in shock, as the performers stood in the buff.
-- Tina Susman
The theater is filling up
Half an hour before the awards show begins, Alex Sharp, nominated for his leading role in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” is inside Radio City Music Hall.
Amanda Seyfried 'just jumped into the theater world'
Amanda Seyfried, a presenter at this year's Tony Awards, walked the red carpet in a black-and-gold Oscar de la Renta gown just after completing a matinee performance of her off-Broadway play "The Way We Get By."
"I love celebrating this," she said on the red carpet. "I just jumped into the theater world, so this is my first taste of the Tonys as an actual stage actress."
In the Neil LaBute play, the "Mean Girls" alum plays a woman who had a one-night stand at a wedding. Doing a live stage show is like being in "a completely different realm," Seyfried said.
"It's so satisfying exhausting and exhilarating," she said. "We're out there for 85 minutes nonstop. If you're feeling sick or anything, you have to live through it and focus on the story."
-- Nardine Saad
Overheard on the way into the show
Times reporter Steven Zeitchik is on the scene and eavesdropping on the best conversations:
Bryan Cranston, song-and-dance man?
"Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston won a Tony last year for playing President Lyndon B. Johnson in "All the Way," and this year he has returned to the awards show as a presenter.
"I felt like I was in a different world. I had to keep saying that 'I'm at the Tonys and I'm nominated!'" he said, recalling last year.
Darren Criss joked that Cranston is a "bona fide song-and-dance man" and that he's withholding his skills from the stage.
Actually, Cranston replied, he wants to do a musical. "Even though I'm not a song-and-dance man, I want to pretend that I am," he said with a smile. "At some point I'm going to be on the Broadway stage doing a musical."
-- Nardine Saad
Josh Groban makes appearance before his big number
Josh Groban, who arrived with Kat Dennings, star of the CBS comedy "2 Broke Girls," is scheduled to pull off a huge performance tonight with a cast of more than 175 people. The show has said the performance will make a record by featuring the most performers on stage at a single time in the show's history.
Glamour (and shorts) on the Tonys red carpet: See the pics!
The arrivals for the 2015 Tony Awards held in New York City.
Andrew Gombert / EPA
Tonys hosts Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth on the 2015 Tony Awards red carpet at
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Click the link below for more photos:
'It's just kind of astounding'
“Fun Home” star Michael Cerveris is a favorite to win the Tony for lead actor in a musical, and the play has racked up 11 other Tony nominations. To hear Cerveris tell it, nobody expected things to turn out this way.
“It's just kind of astounding,” Cerveris, who won a Tony in 2004 for playing John Wilkes Booth in “Assassins,” said on the red carpet.
“We just set out to do this simple little play about a family and all its complications,” Cerveris said of “Fun Home.” “All we focused on was trying to make it human and sincere and do something people could relate to.”
-- Tina Susman
Nigel Lythgoe's refreshing honesty on the red carpet
Why Helen Mirren revisited Elizabeth II
Helen Mirren is no stranger to playing Queen Elizabeth II: She has an Oscar for playing the title role in "The Queen" (2006), and she's nominated for a Tony for portraying the monarch in "The Audience."
"I didn't think I had to do it again. I thought the opposite. 'I don't want to do it,'" she told Darren Criss on the red carpet. "The reality was it was a very special play and it was different from the film -- the same writer but a different story.... I go from being 26 to 89, so it's very challenging. I couldn't resist, plus the fact that it had an amazing team of people involved."
"I wanted to come back," she said.
-- Nardine Saad
Annaleigh Ashford already gearing up for 'Sylvia'
"Masters of Sex" actress Annaleigh Ashford, who's up for a Tony for "You Can't Take It With You," is already getting ready for her next Broadway role, the titular dog in A.R. Gurney's comedy "Sylvia."
"I'm preparing to play a dog this summer by going with my dog Grace to a lot of obedience and agility classes," she said on the red carpet, joking that she's trying to figure out the specific motivations that go into being canine and is pulling inspiration from her pup.
"I just really want her to start talking to me now."
The play starts previews at the end of September.
-- Nardine Saad
The surprising thing Elisabeth Moss said on the red carpet
George Takei meets 'most adorable critic' on the red carpet
Elisabeth Moss in Oscar de la Renta
"Mad Men" star Elisabeth Moss, nominated for lead actress in a play for "The Heidi Chronicles," hit the red carpet in a floral Oscar de la Renta gown. She said she was pleased to be honored along with so many heavyweights in theater.
"I don't come from this world, so I feel very honored to be included," the TV star said. "I've always dreamed about being a part of it, so I'm very excited to be here."
Moss said that though she never formally went to drama school, but she's acted for 26 years and got her education from other actors on set: "That was my school."
-- Nardine Saad
Matthew Morrison's excited for the Tonys, impressed by stylish host Alan Cumming
Co-host Alan Cumming dressed and ready
Tonys showcase a British invasion
WINNER: Revival of a play. NOMINATED: Performance by an actress in a leading role in a play: Carey Mulligan | Performance by an actor in a leading role in a play: Bill Nighy | Performance by an actor in a featured role in a play: Matthew Beard | Direction of a play: Stephen Daldry | Scenic design of a play | Lighting design of a play
John Haynes / Associated Press
Of the 10 nominees in the lead actor and actress categories for drama, five are English.
Britain has long been exporting its top-tier thespians to our shores, yet the current wave of British stars stands apart from previous generations. Although comfortable with classic and contemporary stage work, these performers are equally at home in front of the camera. They might not have the same panache of their illustrious theatrical forebears, but they seem more emotionally supple and are capable of crying real tears.
One can discern the generational difference in this year's Tony nominees. Representing the British old guard are Helen Mirren, the front-runner to nab the lead actress award for once again playing Queen Elizabeth II (this time in Peter Morgan's play "The Audience"), and Bill Nighy, who stars opposite Carey Mulligan in the top-notch revival of David Hare's "Skylight," above.
My Tony vote, however, would go to ...
What performances are on tap?
Matthew Morrison, left, and Kelsey Grammer in “Finding Neverland.”
Carol Rosegg / Associated Press
As one might expect of a show honoring theater, there are a lot of performances slated, including one with Josh Groban and a cast of more than 175 that is being touted by the Tonys as having the most performers on stage at one time in the show's history.
And even though the hit musical "Finding Neverland" was shut out in the nominations, it's still making it into the show, with Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer, above, performing the number "Stronger."
'Curious Incident' brings 'autistic perspective to life'
The cast of “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” a National Theatre production.
Joan Marcus / Boneau/Bryan-Brown
Did I feel awe at the spectacular staging, admiration for the performances, or pleased with the subtle intelligence of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"? Absolutely. But first I was filled with gratitude.
I'm the mother of an autistic teenage boy, Benj, who, like Christopher Boone, the play's protagonist, is a math whiz and a Sherlock Holmes fan. Since the publication of my memoir, I've become an advocate for autistic people. There are aspects of "Curious Incident" that fall back on cliche -- that autistic people lack empathy, for example -- but the play, which is nominated for six Tony Awards, wonderfully brings the autistic perspective to life.
--Priscilla Gilman
Red carpet festivities start in about an hour
When the red carpet walk actually gets going, we'll be noting the fashion choices here, and you can also watch a live stream of the fashion parade on the Tonys website.
So, Neil Patrick Harris will be there
Neil Patrick Harris
Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times
He's on the list of presenters, but this will be the first time since 2010 that Neil Patrick Harris won't be a Tonys nominee or host. (Last year, he didn't host but won actor in a musical for “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and also had performed a raucous number from that show.)
It will also be his first major awards-show appearance since his rather ignoble Oscars performance in February. How much will he acknowledge his sputter of an evening? Harris isn't above laughing at himself.
Then again, he also might want to put it as far in the rear-view mirror as possible. The best medicine for a bad memory is forgetting, or a spirited musical number.
Juicy race: Lead actress in a musical
Kristin Chenoweth
Andy Kropa / Invision/Associated Press
Kristin Chenoweth, above, and Kelli O'Hara are running neck and neck. And this contest, which pits supercharged theatrical exuberance against dramatic care, harmony and discretion, has turned out to be an emotional roller coaster.
Chenoweth's spark plug virtuosity is on splendiferous display in "On the Twentieth Century." She plays the glamorously impish Lily Garland, who is being aggressively cajoled by an old paramour, a theater impresario down on his luck, to return to the stage while riding a New York-bound train with her latest boy toy. It's a role Chenoweth was born to play -- and she never lets you forget it.
O'Hara brings a radiant pathos and dignity to her portrayal of Anna Leonowens, the teacher who goes to Bangkok to educate the king's children and ends up channeling his passion for her into compassion for his people and sympathy for democratic fair play. It's a difficult part to make work in the 21st century -- the musical's Orientalism cannot be overlooked -- but O'Hara's gentle soulfulness allows us to appreciate the timeless beauty of this Rodgers and Hammerstein favorite.
Who are the nominees?
Paul Kolnik / Associated Press
In terms of sheer numbers, musicals lead the way. The balletic "An American in Paris" and edgy "Fun Home" each have 12 Tony Award nominations, while "Something Rotten!" has 10. The musical revival "The King and I," pictured above, received nine. Meanwhile, the dramatization of Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" novels was the most nominated play with eight.
Nominations in the acting categories include several names from film and TV such as Elisabeth Moss for "The Heidi Chronicles," Bradley Cooper for "The Elephant Man," Helen Mirren for "The Audience" and Carey Mulligan for "Skylight."
For a complete list of nominees, click "read more," below.
For whom are the Tonys named?
First hint: Not Tony Soprano, Tony Danza or Tony Esposito.
In fact, the Tony Awards are named for Antoinette Perry, who was a founder of the American Theatre Wing. Perry died of a heart attack in 1946 after a career as an actress, stage director and philanthropist.
The first presentation of the Antoinette Perry Awards was April 6, 1947, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.
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