The 2024 Tony Awards ceremony, held at the Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater in New York City on June 16, marked another year of achievement in Broadway theater. The Outsiders, Hell’s Kitchen, and Stereophonic won multiple awards, while Angelina Jolie, who produced The Outsiders, earned her first Tony Award for her involvement with the Best Musical winner. Among the other highlights of the ceremony were Alicia Keys and Jay-Z performing their 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind” with the cast of Hell’s Kitchen, a semi-autobiographical musical about Keys’ New York upbringing, and costume designer Dede Ayite becoming the first Black woman to win Best Costume Design for a Play—and her first Tony after five nominations.
Jolie was far from the only first-time winner at the 2024 Tony Awards. In fact, each of the performers who won Tonys were first-time honorees. Here’s a look at five first-time winners.
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff, known for non-theater projects like Frozen and Glee, won his first Tony Award in his third attempt, receiving the Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Merrily We Roll Along, a revival of a classic Stephen Sondheim production. Groff played Franklin Shepard, a musical composer so obsessed with commercial success that he destroys relationships with his closest friends and relatives. He was previously nominated for performances in Hamilton and Spring Awakening.
Groff delivered an emotional acceptance speech, thanking his parents for their support, the cast and crew of Merrily We Roll Along, and the cast of Spring Awakening, which inspired him to come out as gay at 23 years old. He also performed a number, “Old Friends,” with his Merrily We Roll Along cast mates.
Daniel Radcliffe
One of Groff’s castmates, Daniel Radcliffe, also won his first Tony Award. The veteran actor, best known for portraying Harry Potter, won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of lyricist Charley Kringas. It was the first nomination for Radcliffe, who previously starred in five Broadway productions, including The Lifespan of a Fact and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In his acceptance speech, Radcliffe thanked his parents for inspiring his love of Sondheim and acknowledged his partner Erin Darke and their son, calling them “the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
Radcliffe will always be most remembered as the titular character of the Harry Potter franchise, but has worked hard to build a successful acting career with diverse roles across multiple mediums. He began working with a singing coach before starring in the Broadway musical Equus in 2008.
“When I finished [Harry] Potter,I had no idea what my career was going to be. I had already started doing some stage stuff, but I didn’t know what the future held,” Radcliffe told The New York Times. “To have had the last year with playing Weird Al [in the 2022 movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story] and also doing Merrily We Roll Along, it’s been awesome. And I do think playing a character for a long time builds up in you a desire to sort of do as many things as you possibly can. I’m doing that right now.”
Maleah Joi Moon
One of two Hell’s Kitchen performers to win their first Tony Award, Maleah Joi Moon, in her Broadway debut, won Best Leading Actress in a Musical for playing Ali, a semi-fictional portrayal of Keys in her childhood. The 21-year-old performer thanked her parents, particularly her mother, who immigrated to the United States from Belize when she was 17, the same age as Joi Moon’s character in Hell’s Kitchen.
Kecia Lewis also won her first Tony Award for her performance as Ali’s piano instructor in Hell’s Kitchen. In contrast to Joi Moon, Lewis is a veteran actress who made her Broadway debut more than four decades ago at 18 years old in Dreamgirls.
Kara Young
After coming up short as a nominee in each of the last two Tony Award ceremonies, Kara Young won her first Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play for portraying Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins in Purlie Victorious, a revival of Ossie Davis’ satirical play about a preacher who moves back to his Georgia hometown to save his local church. Young said it was great to win for such an iconic play, particularly in tribute to Davis and Ruby Dee, who played her role in the original production.
Will Brill
Stereophonic, a production about a fictional 1970s rock band in the midst of producing an album, earned distinction as the most-nominated play of all-time with 13 nominations and won five awards, including Best Play. Will Brill also won a performance award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Brill played the bassist in the band despite never holding a bass before landing the role. He learned to play the instrument and credited the production’s writing for inspiring his award-winning performance.
Brill previously appeared in Broadway productions of Oklahoma! (2019) and You Can’t Take It With You (2014).