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Key highlights
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Alicia Keys' “Hell's Kitchen” missed out on Best Musical and only won two awards. -
Maria Friedman was expected to win Best Director for Merrily We Roll Along, but lost to Dana Taymor.
The 2024 Tony Awards had its usual mix of surprises and anticipated moments, but also some results that left fans and industry experts baffled, according to The Hollywood Reporter. From surprising losses to long-awaited wins, here are the notable misses and upsets of the night.
Hell's Kitchen: Leading in nominations, lagging in awards
“Hell's Kitchen” was nominated for 13 Tony Awards in 2024 and was highly anticipated, but ultimately did not win the top prize.
The semi-autobiographical musical, which Alicia Keys played a major role in writing and producing, only won two of its nine nominations. Despite standout performances from Keys and Jay-Z in “Empire State of Mind,” the musical lost the coveted Best Musical award to The Outsiders, which won the night's top prize.
Maria Freedman, who was the front-runner for Best Direction of a Musical for “Merrily We Roll Along,” suffered a surprising defeat. Freedman, known for her groundbreaking revival of the 1981 production, was the favorite to win, but the award went to Dana Taymor for her performance in “The Outsiders.” Taymor's direction, praised for its cinematic flair and dynamic fight scenes, clearly resonated with Tony voters, resulting in a surprising upset in the category.
David Byrne's Here Lies Love: A disappointing performance
Despite its innovative immersive elements, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's Here Lies Love, which recreated a Broadway disco dance floor, was widely expected to win best scenic design.
Meanwhile, “Cabaret” continues to dazzle audiences with its immersive theatrical experience at the Kit Kat Club. The timing may have been important, since “Here Lies Love” ended its run in November and was likely to fade from Tony voters' memories compared to “Cabaret's” continuing appeal.
There were several other big upsets that night, with critics surprised when Jeremy Strong won Best Actor in a Motion Picture, over the expected win for Leslie Odom Jr. Similarly, Will Brill's unexpected win for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in Stereophonic added another to the night's list of surprises.
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