The Tony Awards on Sunday spread the wealth, with the musical "Dear Evan Hansen" winning six, including best musical, while 11 other shows were also recognized as winners and Bette Midler stole the show.
Last year "Hamilton" dominated the awards show that honors the best on Broadway by winning 11 awards.
"Dear Evan Hansen" won awards for best actor in a musical Ben Platt, book writer, Steven Levenson, and composer-lyricists, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, according to The Washington Post.
(Earlier this year, Pasek and Paul won the Academy Award for best original song for "City of Stars," in the musical "La La Land.")
"In an era when Broadway often means big, 'Dear Evan Hansen' is intentionally, insistently intimate — the show has just eight roles and an eight-piece orchestra, and it is being staged in a cozy 984-seat theater," said The New York Times’ Michael Paulson.
"Directed by Michael Greif, 'Dear Evan Hansen' is also wholly original — not based on a film, a book or a song catalog — and is one of the first shows on Broadway to integrate social media into its depiction of communication and community."
Bette Midler won her first non-special Tony Award, capturing best actress in a musical for "Hello, Dolly!" Midler's rambling speech included bleeped out words on the live CBS telecast before shouting to the orchestra that attempted to play her off stage to "shut that crap off," said People magazine.
"I'm so privileged, I'm so honored," Midler said in her speech. "I hope I don't cry. Thank you to the Tony voters, many of whom I've actually dated … I'm so grateful for the outpouring of love and affection — I can't remember the last time I had so much smoke blown up my a**, but there's no more room."
Apparently, Midler was not finished, taking to Twitter overnight to thank her "Hello Dolly" cast.
Along with "Dear Evan Hansen," "Oslo" won the Tony for best play, "Hello, Dolly!" for best musical revival, and "August Wilson's Jitney" for best play revival.
Other winners, according to Variety, included:
*Best Book of a Musical: "Dear Evan Hansen," Steven Levenson
*Best Original Score: "Dear Evan Hansen, "Music & Lyrics: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
*Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Kevin Kline, "Present Laughter"
*Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Laurie Metcalf, "A Doll’s House, Part 2"
*Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Michael Aronov, "Oslo"
*Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Cynthia Nixon, "Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes"
*Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Gavin Creel, "Hello, Dolly!"
*Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Rachel Bay Jones, "Dear Evan Hansen"
*Best Scenic Design of a Play: Nigel Hook, "The Play That Goes Wrong"
*Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Mimi Lien, "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812"
*Best Costume Design of a Play: Jane Greenwood, "Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes"
*Best Costume Design of a Musical: Santo Loquasto, "Hello, Dolly!"
*Best Lighting Design of a Play: Christopher Akerlind, "Indecent"
*Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Bradley King, "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812"
*Best Direction of a Play: Rebecca Taichman, "Indecent"
*Best Direction of a Musical: Christopher Ashley, "Come From Away"
*Best Choreography: Andy Blankenbuehler, "Bandstand"
*Best Orchestrations: Alex Lacamoire, "Dear Evan Hansen"
*Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: James Earl Jones
*Special Tony Award: Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin, sound designers for "The Encounter"
*Regional Theatre Tony Award: Dallas Theater Center in Dallas, Texas
*Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award: Baayork Lee
*Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre: Nina Lannan and Alan Wasser
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