Yahoo News From Jay-Z’s Surprise Performance to Daniel Radcliffe’s Tears, a Look Inside the 2024 Tony Awards
Sunday night, Broadway’s elite — from Daniel Radcliffe to Alicia Keys to host Ariana DeBose — gathered at the Lincoln Center in New York City for the 77th annual Tony Awards.
For many, the great white way brings to mind images of New York City, so it was fitting that Keys, dressed in a matching Gucci set, took to the stage with the “Hell’s Kitchen” cast to sing her iconic song “Empire State of Mind” during the show. But perhaps as a surprise to many in the audience and at home, Jay-Z, who wore Louis Vuitton, joined her…though not on the stage but on a staircase in the lobby of the Lincoln Center.
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The glitz didn’t stop there. Theater icons, like Josh Gad, Idina Menzel, Ben Platt and Cynthia Erivo, who wore a gilded Louis Vuitton gown, took to the stage to present. Famed producers Hillary Clinton, who received a standing ovation, and Angelina Jolie introduced the performances of their respective musicals “Suffs” and “The Outsiders,” which took home the Tony for best musical. Attendees ran the gamut, including Brooke Shields, newly appointed to president of the Actors’ Equity Association, Nick Jonas, Jennifer Hudson and nominee Rachel McAdams, who brought her mom along. Winners included Sarah Paulson, Jeremy Strong and Radcliffe, who took home his first Tony for best actor in a featured role in a musical for “Merrily We Roll Along.”
At the top of his speech, he quipped “I’m going to talk fast and try not to cry.”
But cry he did, when his counterpart Jonathan Groff won the award for best actor in a musical, after three nominations over the years. The show also won the Tony for best revival of a musical.
Celebratory was the mood for many, especially the cast of “Stereophonic,” which received 13 Tony nominations, the most for any play in history, and several wins. At the Tony Awards gala at Lincoln Center, cast members Juliana Canfield, dressed in custom Thom Browne, and Sarah Pidgeon, dressed in Balenciaga, strolled through the party with their families.
Pidgeon and Canfield both told WWD they were most excited to chat with the team from “The Outsiders” as they share an alley and often hear the show’s music. “It feels so good to finally be able to celebrate with everyone,” Pidgeon said. “I’m just excited to dance now.” Canfield, who snagged a pic with Strong during the ceremony, said of the evening: “It was just magical. It was like sprinkled with fairy dust.”
Previously nominated Andrew Rannells and Kara Young, who won for “Purlie Victorious,” were seen eating Shake Shack burgers and mingling, while others sipped on Fiji Water, a sponsor of the Tony Awards.
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