And so’s his ‘Old Friend’
Then it was Radcliffe’s turn to cry when Groff was named best actor in a musical (“Merrily” also won best musical revival). Groff — beloved on Broadway and previously nominated for “Spring Awakening” and “Hamilton” — told the crowd that he used to watch the Tonys in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as a kid. He paid tribute to his parents in the audience: “Thank you for letting me dress up like Mary Poppins when I was 3,” he said. “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.”
Thinking of family
Like Groff, Moon was thinking of family when she won best actress in a musical for “Hell’s Kitchen,” in a tight race with veteran Kelli O’Hara. The 21-year-old, who plays a role loosely based on Keys, dedicated her award “to my parents … Dad, you’ve been working all your life. Mom, you came to America at 17 and you’ve been surviving ever since. ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ is about a 17-year-old on the cusp of a dream. I can’t imagine how many dreams deferred, how many sacrifices you made to give me the life I have today. So tonight, all I hope is that you just get to celebrate.”
She knows of what she speaks
Hillary Clinton may have been a U.S. senator, secretary of state and first lady, but she’s also a confirmed theater geek — one of the reasons she was greeted with one of the warmest standing ovations of the night. But she was appearing now as a producer, introducing “Suffs,” Shaina Taub’s historical musical about the early-20th century suffragists. “I know a little bit about how hard it is to make change,” Clinton told the crowd with a bit of a wink. She added: “Now it is an election year, and we need to be reminded how important it is to vote.” Earlier in the evening, Taub, only the second woman in Broadway history to write, compose and star in a musical, won for both best score and best book, and issued a similar call. “If you are inspired by the story of ‘Suffs,’ please make sure you and everyone you know have registered to vote,” she urged.
Speaking of women and history…
Danya Taymor — niece of Julie Taymor, the first woman to win a Tony for directing a musical — became the sixth woman to win the honor, for “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of the classic young adult novel. Taymor, who pulls off an extraordinary fight scene in the show that is part drama, part dance, and all explosive power, was one of a history-making group: Seven of 10 directing nominees were women, including four out of five best musical nominees. She issued a message “to all the young artists out there who want to create,” telling them that “what some may perceive as a weakness or a liability in you might just be your superpower. Don’t be afraid to trust your gut.”