‘A Strange Loop’ Takes Best Musical At Tony Awards: Full Winners List

Greg Evans
·4 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

A Strange Loop was named Best Musical of the 2021-22 Broadway season, and in two of the bigger surprises of the night, Joaquina Kalukango of Paradise Square and newcomer Myles Frost of MJ took best acting honors.

In the first big surprise of the night, Kalukango won the Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award for her performance in Paradise Square, edging out frontrunner Caroline, Or Change star Sharon D Clarke. Frost, who portrays the adult Michael Jackson in MJ, was less of a surprise, though A Strange Loop‘s Jaquel Spivey was generally favored to take the prize.

More from Deadline

75th Annual Tony Awards: Deadline’s Full Coverage

Joaquina Kalukango - Credit: AP Photos
Joaquina Kalukango - Credit: AP Photos

AP Photos

Deirdre O’Connell was named Best Actress is a Play for her riveting performance in Dana H., which used actual recordings of a kidnapping victim and featured O’Connell lip-syncing to the tapes.

“Let me be a little sign to you from the universe,” O’Connell told aspiring theater artists in her acceptance speech. “Make the weird art.”

Tony Awards: See The Best Looks From The Red Carpet – Photo Gallery

The Lehman Trilogy took tonight’s Tony Award for Best Play, with co-author Ben Power thanking director Sam Mendes and everyone else who stuck with the play for the 577 days between the “fourth preview and fifth preview” — referencing the span of time the show was shut down due to the Covid pandemic.

The play also notched a Best Leading Actor for Simon Russell Beale.

‘The Lehman Trilogy’ From Ideas To Sketches To Stage – A Photo Tour With Designer Es Devlin: Deadline Tony Watch Exclusive

Company producer Chris Harper accepted the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival, saying that he was honored to pay Patti LuPone’s salary, after she had noted that onstage earlier in the evening.

The award was the latest in a string of wins for Company. Matt Doyle, whose rapid-fire performance of “Getting Married Today” is a highlight of revival, won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

“You’ll Need To Be Sitting Down For This One”: Emails Between Stephen Sondheim And Marianne Elliott Chronicle The Birth Of A 21st Century ‘Company’

Doyle thanked, among others, Company composer Stephen Sondheim, specifically pointing out the late Broadway genius for reworking, with director Marianne Elliott, the 1970 musical to encompass gay characters.

Myles Frost - Credit: AP Photo
Myles Frost - Credit: AP Photo

AP Photo

The win nicely segued into a tribute to Sondheim, who died in November, which included taped interviews with the composer and a performance of “Children Will Listen” from Into the Woods, performed by the composer’s frequent collaborator and muse, Bernadette Peters.

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

Take Me Out, the revival of the Richard Greenberg play that won widespread critical acclaim — and some unwanted headlines when an audience member recorded and posted on social media some nude scenes — was named the Best Revival of a Play by Tony voters tonight.

Company’s Marianne Elliott and The Lehman Trilogy‘s Sam Mendes won for direction of a musical and play, respectively, while Patti LuPone won the Best Featured Actress/Musical for her performance in Company, and Phylicia Rashad won Best Featured Actress in a Play for Skeleton Crew.

Patti LuPone at the Tonys - Credit: AP Photos
Patti LuPone at the Tonys - Credit: AP Photos

AP Photos

LuPone thanked producer “Chris Harper who pays my salary” and “all of the Covid safety people” in a speech that made reference to the Broadway great’s recent viral moment in which she took to task a non-masked audience member at Company talkback.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Take Me Out.

Tony Awards Host Ariana DeBose Hails Broadway Diversity In High-Energy Show Opening: “‘The Great White Way’ Is Becoming More Of A Nickname Than A How-To Guide”

Hosted by West Side Story Oscar winner and Hamilton original Ariana DeBose, the 75th annual Tony Awards, aired live coast-to-coast from New York’s Radio City Music Hall on CBS and Paramount+.

Tony Awards: Creative Arts Prizes To ‘MJ’ For Choreography, ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ For Set Design, ‘Six’ For Score; More

Here is the full list of winners at the 75th annual Tony Awards, including the “Act One” preshow:

 

MAIN SHOW 

Best Musical
A Strange Loop

Lead Actress/Musical
Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square

Lead Actor/Musical
Myles Frost, MJ

Lead Actress/Play
Deirdre O’Connell, Dana H.

Lead Actor/Play
Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy

Best play
The Lehman Trilogy

Best Revival of a Musical
Company

Best Book of a Musical
A Strange Loop Michael R. Jackson

Featured Actor/Musical
Matt Doyle, Company

Best Revival/Play
Take Me Out

Best Featured Actress/Play
Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew

Best Direction/Musical
Marianne Elliott, Company

Best Direction/Play
Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy

Best Featured Actress/Musical 
Patti LuPone, Company

Best Featured Actor/Play
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out

“ACT ONE” PRE-SHOW WINNERS

Best Choreography
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ

Best Orchestrations
Simon Hale, Girl From The North Country

Best Sound Design of a Play
Mikhail Fiksel, Dana H.

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Gareth Owen, MJ

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Six: The Musical Music and Lyrics: Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss

Best Costume Design of a Play
Montana Levi Blanco, The Skin of Our Teeth

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gabriella Slade, SIX: The Musical

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Es Devlin, The Lehman Trilogy

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bunny Christie, Company

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Natasha Katz, MJ

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.