Tony Awards 2013: Here’s What I Thought
On the day the Tony nominations were announced, I wrote in the Financial Times that black actors would have a big awards night — and I was right: three of the four leading actor awards (Patina Miller, Cicely Tyson, Billy Porter) went to African-American performers. It was also a big night for women: for only the second time, both Tonys in direction went to females: Pam MacKinnon for “Virginia Woolf” and Diane Paulus for “Pippin.” And Cyndi Lauper became the first woman to win the Tony for music and lyrics solo; in the past other women have shared the award with male writing partners. It was not such a good night for movie stars: in the evening’s one true upset, Tom Hanks (“Lucky Guy”) lost the Best Actor/Play award to Tracy Letts (“Virginia Woolf”). “Matilda” losing Best Musical to “Kinky Boots” wasn’t a shock: the Brits who brought us that brilliant show didn’t play the awards game as well as their American cousins. My happiest moment of the evening: watching Christopher Durang, who’s been toiling in the theater for four decades, take home Best Play for “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.” Neil Patrick Harris was a fine host.
