The 2021 Tony Awards, held on September 26, 2021, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City, honored some of the best plays, musicals, actors, and other creative professionals in the 2019-20 season. Tony and Grammy winner Leslie Odom Jr. and six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald hosted the ceremony, which was delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the pandemic shortened the 2019-20 Broadway season, only 18 productions were eligible for awards. These include A Christmas Carol, The Sound Inside, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and Jagged Little Pill, the latter of which garnered 15 nominations.
The ceremony also marked the reopening of Broadway, which was shut down for more than 560 days, and featured live performances from artists such as John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Josh Groban. Critic Clayton Davis, for Variety, called it “a near flawless and detailed blueprint on how [award show producers] should assemble their future ceremonies to bring forth an inviting place for people of all backgrounds, and an impeccable pace to keep your attention.”
The following is a look at some of the major award winners.
Best Musical: Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Despite its mediocre box office results in 2001, Moulin Rouge, an original film directed by Baz Luhrmann, was certainly part of the broader cultural zeitgeist of the time. The romantic screen musical burlesque wasn’t among the top 20 films in box office sales in 2001, but it garnered mainstream attention due to the success of the single “Lady Marmalade,” in which Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya, and Lil’ Kim put their own spin on Labelle’s 1974 hit.
The 2021 Tony Awards showed there was still significant interest in the story, as Moulin Rouge! The Musical won 10 of the awards for which it was nominated, including Best Musical.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical won the award in favor of Jagged Little Pill and Tina – The Tina Turner Musical. It also won awards for costume, lighting, scenic design, sound design, and orchestrations. Aaron Tveit, who portrayed Christian in the production, earned Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. This was the least surprising award of the night, as he was the only actor nominated.
Danny Burstein, meanwhile, won Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. It was the first victory in seven nominations for the veteran Broadway actor, who thanked the community for its support following the death of his wife, Broadway actor Rebecca Luker, in 2020. Alex Timbers also won Best Direction of a Musical.
Best Play: The Inheritance
The Inheritance, written by Matthew Lopez, won Best Play in favor of Grand Horizons, Sea Wall/A Life, Slave Play, and The Sound Inside. The lengthy two-part play debuted on Broadway on November 17, 2019, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and had its final performance on March 11, 2020.
The Inheritance tells the story of three generations of gay men in Manhattan and how they faced different realities while thematically advocating for universal gay brotherhood. In his acceptance speech, Lopez further promoted Broadway diversity and inclusion by calling for more Latinx representation and stories.
The play received 11 nominations and also won three awards: Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Andrew Burnap, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for Lois Smith, and Best Direction of a Play for Stephen Daldry.
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical: Lauren Patten (Jagged Little Pill)
Lauren Patten won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her depiction of Joanne “Jo” Taylor in Jagged Little Pill, a fearless family drama inspired by the Alanis Morissette album of the same name. Patten, who has had recurring roles in various TV series, won the award ahead of fellow cast members Kathryn Gallagher and Celia Rose Gooding. Robyn Hurder and Myra Lucretia Taylor were also nominated for Moulin Rouge! and Tina, respectively.
Patten’s character Jo is a lovestruck teen grappling with their sexuality, a deteriorating relationship, and religious parents. However, there have been criticisms as to how the producers handled the character’s gender identity. Patten was receptive to those critiques in her acceptance speech and called for further conversation to promote empathy and acceptance in theater and society.
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play: David Alan Grier (A Soldier’s Play)
David Alan Grier is best known for his comedic roles in film and TV, including The Carmichael Show, Damon, and In Living Color. However, the veteran actor is an alum of the Yale School of Drama and has been appearing in Broadway productions since the early 1980s, when he starred as Jackie Robinson in The First. He won his first Tony Award in 2021 for his portrayal of Sergeant Vernon C. Waters in A Soldier’s Play. Ato Blankson-Wood (Slave Play), James Cusati-Moyer (Slave Play), John Benjamin Hickey (The Inheritance), and Paul Hilton (The Inheritance) were also nominated.