No script? No problem!

There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this yearB次元官网网址檚 Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all because of the ongoing Hollywood writerB次元官网网址檚 strike.

But the ceremony went off without a hitch on Sunday night. The event was scriptless, to honor a compromise with striking writers, but chock-full of high-spirited Broadway performances drawing raucous cheers from an audience clearly thrilled just to be there at all.

It was a night of triumph for the small-scale but huge-hearted musical B次元官网网址淜imberly Akimbo,B次元官网网址� about a teenager with a rare aging disease, but also a night notable for inclusion: Two nonbinary performers, Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee, made history by winning their respective acting categories.

The ceremony also touched on the specter of antisemitism in very different places: World War II Europe, with best play winner B次元官网网址淟eopoldstadt,B次元官网网址� and early 20th-century America, with B次元官网网址淧arade,B次元官网网址� winner for best musical revival.

In the end, the lack of scripted banter didnB次元官网网址檛 much dampen the proceedings, and little wonder: Broadway folks are trained in improv. And of course there was more room for singing and dancing B次元官网网址� including from current shows not in competition B次元官网网址� and nobody was complaining about that.

Oh, and the show ended right on time. Oscars, are you listening?

Some key moments of the night:

BROADWAY HEADS UPTOWN

It wasnB次元官网网址檛 just the writers strike that made for a different evening. The venue was new, too. It was on Broadway, yes, but miles from the theater district. The ceremony took place uptown in Washington Heights, in the ornate, gilded United Palace, a former movie theater filled with chandeliers and carpets and majestic columns.

B次元官网网址淭hank you for coming uptown B次元官网网址� never in my wildest dreams,B次元官网网址� quipped Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has helped bring events to the venue in the neighborhood where he set his B次元官网网址淚n the Heights.B次元官网网址� The afterparty was held in tents outside the building instead of the usual festivities in the fancy food halls of the Plaza Hotel near Central Park.

A BLANK PAGE, BUT A FULL NIGHT

Oscar winner and Broadway luminary Ariana DeBose, hosting for the second year running, immediately addressed the elephant in the room. Speaking to the audience before the pre-show telecast began, she explained nothing would be scripted and told winners the only words theyB次元官网网址檇 see on teleprompters would be B次元官网网址渨rap up please.B次元官网网址� When the main telecast began, she appeared on camera reading a Tony script, but the pages were blank.

Instead of words, DeBose and others spoke with their dance moves, doing a brassy number in the theaterB次元官网网址檚 grand lobby, staircases and aisles, complete with gravity-defying leaps. Afterward, DeBose warned anyone who may have thought last year was B次元官网网址渦nhingedB次元官网网址�: B次元官网网址淏uckle up!B次元官网网址�

DeBose, who performed in the original cast of B次元官网网址淗amiltonB次元官网网址� and won an Oscar for B次元官网网址淲est Side Story,B次元官网网址� also passionately explained why the Tonys are so crucial to the economic survival of Broadway, and to touring productions around the country.

A TIMELY REMINDER OF ANTISEMITISM IN EUROPE B次元官网网址�

An early award brought a sobering reminder of the horrors of antisemitism. Brandon Uranowitz of B次元官网网址淟eopoldstadt,B次元官网网址� Tom StoppardB次元官网网址檚 sweeping play about a Jewish family in Vienna, thanked the celebrated playwright B次元官网网址渇or writing a play about Jewish identity and antisemitism and the false promise of assimilation,B次元官网网址� and noted his ancestors, B次元官网网址渕any of whom did not make it out of Poland, also thank you.B次元官网网址�

Uranowitz, who won for featured actor in a play, also joked that the thing he wanted most in life was to repay his parents for the sacrifices they made B次元官网网址� only he couldnB次元官网网址檛, because he works in the theater.

B次元官网网址� AND IN AMERICA

B次元官网网址淟eopoldstadtB次元官网网址� went on to win best play, while best musical revival went to another searing work about antisemitism: B次元官网网址淧arade,B次元官网网址� starring Ben Platt as Leo Frank, a Jewish man lynched in 1915 in Georgia. In his acceptance speech for best director, Michael Arden echoed the playB次元官网网址檚 somber themes: B次元官网网址淲e must battle this. It is so, so important, or else we are doomed to repeat the horrors of our history.B次元官网网址�

He added his own story of how, growing up, he often had been called the B次元官网网址渇-word,B次元官网网址� referring to a homophobic slur. He then earned some of the nightB次元官网网址檚 loudest cheers when he triumphantly reclaimed the slur while pointing out that he now had a Tony.

`I SHOULD NOT BE UP HEREB次元官网网址�

It was an emotional moment when Alex Newell of B次元官网网址淪huckedB次元官网网址� became the first out nonbinary person to win an acting Tony, taking the prize for best featured actor in a musical. Newell, also known for B次元官网网址淭he Glee ProjectB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淕lee,B次元官网网址� thanked close family for their love and support and then addressed the outside world.

B次元官网网址淭hank you for seeing me, Broadway. I should not be up here as a queer, nonbinary, fat, Black, little baby from Massachusetts,B次元官网网址� they said. B次元官网网址淎nd to anyone that thinks that they canB次元官网网址檛 do it, IB次元官网网址檓 going to look you dead in your face and tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to.B次元官网网址�

Like the Oscars, the Tonys have only gendered categories for performers.

`THIS IS FOR YOUB次元官网网址�

J. Harrison Ghee was the second nonbinary actor of the night to make history, winning best actor in a musical for their role in B次元官网网址淪ome Like It Hot,B次元官网网址� based on the classic 1959 film. They play a male musician on the run who disguises as a woman in what becomes a voyage of discovery about gender (the movie role involved disguise, but no discovery). Ghee said they had been raised to use their gifts not for themselves, but to help others.

B次元官网网址淔or every trans, non-gender-conforming, nonbinary human who ever was told you couldnB次元官网网址檛 be seen, this is for you,B次元官网网址� Ghee said, tapping the Tony for emphasis.

LEA MICHELE GETS HER TONY MOMENT

Not to mix show metaphors or anything, but Lea Michele was not about to throw away her shot. The B次元官网网址淔unny GirlB次元官网网址� lead was not eligible for a Tony because she didnB次元官网网址檛 originate the role last year (that would be Beanie Feldstein, who Michele replaced in a matter of months).

But the former B次元官网网址淕leeB次元官网网址� star, who has turned around the fortunes of the revival production, is seen by many as the ultimate Fanny Brice, and her gorgeously belted rendition of B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 Rain On My ParadeB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� 13 years after she first performed it at the Tonys B次元官网网址� definitely did not disappoint.

PARTY TIME

Most Tony attendees spent a good five hours in the United Palace, and the room got pretty warm. So folks were happy to step outside to the afterparty, where guests munched on ceviche, mangoes on sticks and mini-Cuban sandwiches, and sipped specially designed cocktails.

Ghee was a clear star of the party, towering over most guests B次元官网网址� literally and figuratively B次元官网网址� as they clutched their Tony and accepted well wishes or agreed to selfies. Ghee also chatted with last yearB次元官网网址檚 winner of the same award, Myles Frost, who played Michael Jackson in B次元官网网址淢J.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淥ur industry is shifting forward! We are erasing labels and boundaries and limits,B次元官网网址� Ghee said when asked their main takeaway of the night. The actor wore a bright blue custom ensemble by Bronx designer Jerome LaMaar, with a choker of glistening jewels.

B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e getting it custom made, you can really do something,B次元官网网址� they quipped.

B次元官网网址斺赌斺赌�

For more on the 2023 Tony Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/tony-awards

By Jocelyn Noveck

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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