74th Tony Awards: Celebrating Broadway's Reopening

On Saturday, September 26th, the 74th Tony Awards were held honoring the best Broadway productions in 2019 and 2020. The ceremony, which was supposed to take place in June of last year, was postponed because of the pandemic.

This was not the only consequence COVID-19 had on the world of theatres. For a year and a half, Broadway was completely closed. This meant that the number of shows eligible for the awards was severely limited. Some of the nominated productions left the stage two years ago.

Now, the theatres are finally open again. Therefore, the ceremony was an excellent chance to celebrate the return of Broadway and to invite the public to new productions.

As part of the celebration, the function had a different format this year. It began with the award ceremony, which was hosted by Audra McDonald and streamed on Paramount+. Then, a live concert called “The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!,” was broadcasted on CBS and Paramount+ with Leslie Odom Jr. as the presenter.

“Jagged Little Pill”, a musical inspired by Alanis Morissette’s album, received a lot of attention that night. It was the most nominated production, receiving 15, including Best Musical.

Following close behind, “Moulin Rouge! The Musical’’ received 14 nominations. This stage adaptation of the popular movie was another star of the night. Not only did it take home the coveted Best Musical, but it also won in 9 other categories.

During the show, multiple performances were featured, including three of the nominees for Best Musical. Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Tina - The Tina Turner Musical all put up an incredible show. To close the night, Lin-Manuel Miranda and members of Freestyle Love Supreme sang a recap of the ceremony.

Bibliography

Anderson, J. (2021, September 26) The Tony Awards Are Telling You Broadway’s Not Going. [Photograph] The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-tony-awards-are-telling-you-broadways-not-going

Derschowitz, J. (2021, September 26) Tony Awards 2021: See the full list of winners. Entertainment Weekly. https://ew.com/awards/tony-awards/tony-awards-2021-winners-list/

Clark, N. (2021, September 27) Highlights From The Tony Awards. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/09/27/1040858870/highlights-tony-awards-moulin-rouge-updates

Freiman, J. (2021, September 27) 2021 Tony Awards: Complete list of winners and nominees. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tony-awards-2021-winners-nominees-list/

Oleksinski, J. (2021, September 27) Broadway folks bragged about forging COVID tests to go to Tonys parties. [Photograph]. The New York Post. https://nypost.com/2021/09/27/broadway-folks-say-they-forged-covid-tests-to-go-to-tonys-parties/

The Tony Awards Returned. Here Were the Key Moments. [Photograph] New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/09/26/theater/tony-awards