The 2024 Tony Awards ceremony had a lot of surefire winners, including “Stereophonic,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” and Daniel Radcliffe. But this year's winners list also featured some unexpected twists. Want some ignored works? Want some surprises? Find out here.
Surprise: Early F-word slips past Pluto TV censors
“I can't believe I'm crying in front of this whole audience,” Cody Spencer (The Outsiders) said in his acceptance speech for Best Musical Sound Design during the “Act One” portion of the ceremony, heard by the entire audience on Pluto TV, the streaming platform that aired “Act One.” That was funny enough, but the real laugh came when Pluto TV went completely black for the next minute, as the censors were slow to react and were too late to cut the rest of Spencer's speech off the air. But not before everyone caught a glimpse of Spencer's “damn it” look on his face.
Ignored: Leslie Odom Jr. misses out on award for 'Pearly Victorious'
Emmy winner Jeremy Strong (Succession) added another trophy to his shelf with a win for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in An Enemy of the People. He was one of the front-runners in the category, but his win removes another actor with a lot of industry support, Leslie Odom Jr., from the list of nominees. At least Odom Jr. can rest easy with his Hamilton trophy until he returns to the Tonys.
Ignored: Maria Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along”) comes home empty-handed.
On the night of the Tony Awards, few nominees were sure of winning in their category, such as Maria Friedman's win for Best Direction of a Musical. Freedman is widely credited with resuscitating the reputation of one of Stephen Sondheim's most notorious flops, and has been praised for directing what was ultimately a production embraced by critics and audiences alike. But in the first big upset of the night, the award went to Danya Taymor, who received widespread praise for her visually striking and occasionally violent direction of “The Outsiders.”
Surprise: Keithia Lewis (Hell's Kitchen) wins best actress in a musical
With all the love “Merrily We Roll Along” received throughout the season, it seemed as though Lindsay Mendez, who was nominated for best supporting actress for her performance in the revival and had already won a Tony for “Carousel,” would win the award that night. But voters instead opted to give the trophy to Keisia Lewis, a veteran theater star who found her way into the spotlight in the long-awaited “Hell's Kitchen,” playing a piano teacher who becomes a mentor to a young artist at the center of Alicia Keys' loosely autobiographical musical.
Surprise: Shaina Taub scores “Suffs”
If there was a front-runner for musical accolades that night, counterintuitively, it wasn't one of the nominated musicals, but a play (“Stereophonic”). But in this season's musical category, Shaina Taub, the popular creator, writer, composer and star of “Saffs,” took home the trophy for the show's musical perfection. She also won best writing.
SNUB: “Hell's Kitchen” misses out on top new musical award
For much of the 2023-24 season, Keys' musical “Hell's Kitchen” looked like the favorite to win, a popular Broadway adaptation of a Downtown hit that was anchored by a breakout lead performance (new Tony Award winner Murray Joy Moon). But later in the season, as “The Outsiders” began to garner industry attention and more Tony Award voters voted for the show, the show became the underdog that might come out on top. Ultimately, “The Outsiders” won the night's biggest award, along with trophies for lighting design, sound design and direction.
