The Complete List Of 2021 Tony Award Winners
Tony winner Adrienne Warren as Tina Turner in TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL
Broadway is back! And its biggest night happened at long last, after 18 months of darkened stages and heroic efforts to revive the $15 billion industry. While excitement around the Tony Awards itself was tempered by the Delta variant and self-inflicted logistical chaos, over a dozen shows have reopened at full capacity, with more to come. As Arthur Miller famously wrote: Attention must be paid.
And it was – if unevenly. Here are the highlights:
- Moulin Rouge! led the pack with ten statuettes, including Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Actor (Aaron Tveit), and Best Featured Actor (Danny Burstein). It also resumed performances this week.
- The Inheritance picked up four: Best Play, Best Direction, Best Actor (Andrew Burnap), and Best Featured Actress (Lois Smith).
- Adrienne Warren picked up her first award for Best Actress in a Musical for her raved-about turn as Tina Turner in Tina. She is reprising the role for three weeks only, starting October 8.
- A Christmas Carol swept the design awards, and picked up Best Original Score, a category in which no musical was nominated.
- Alanis Morisette jukebox Jagged Little Pill picked up two trophies, for Best Book and Featured Actress (Lauren Patten). It resumes performances October 21.
- Two uncategorized shows – David Byrne’s American Utopia and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Freestyle Love Supreme – were awarded special prizes for their hit productions. (Both are returning to Broadway this fall). The Broadway Advocacy Coalition received one as well, for its role as an industry leader in anti-racism work.
The evening was split into two parts. Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald hosted the presentation of the lion’s share of awards, streamed in full on Paramount+. Immediately following, Hamilton icon Leslie Odom Jr. hosted Broadway’s Back! a concert event on CBS featuring performances from Best Musical nominees, as well as long-running hits and a slew of celeb appearances. He also presided over the awarding of the evening’s Big Three categories: Best Play, Best Revival of a Play, and Best Musical.
The awards recognized the truncated 2019-2020 season, which was cut short in March 2020 by the pandemic. 15 shows are nominated in total, some of which opened and closed more than two years ago. Three – Mouling Rouge!, Jagged Little Pill, and Tina – are resuming performances this fall.
Here’s full list of nominees and highlighted winners:
Best Play
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Grand Horizons
*WINNER* The Inheritance
Sea Wall/A Life
Slave Play
The Sound Inside
Best Musical
*WINNER* Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Jagged Little Pill
Best Revival of a Play
Betrayal
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
*WINNER* A Soldier’s Play
Best Book of a Musical
*WINNER* Jagged Little Pill , Diablo Cody
Moulin Rouge! The Musical , John Logan
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
*WINNER* A Christmas Carol, Christopher Nightingale
The Inheritance, Paul Englishby
The Rose Tattoo, Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb
Slave Play, Lindsay Jones
The Sound Inside, Daniel Kluger
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Ian Barford, Linda Vista
*WINNER* Andrew Burnap, The Inheritance
Jake Gyllenhaal, Sea Wall/A Life
Tom Hiddleston, Betrayal
Tom Sturridge, Sea Wall/A Life
Blair Underwood, A Soldier’s Play
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Joaquina Kalukango, Slave Play
Laura Linney, My Name is Lucy Barton
Audra McDonald, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
*WINNER* Mary-Louise Parker, The Sound Inside
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
*WINNER* Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Karen Olivo, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill
*WINNER* Adrienne Warren, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Ato Blankson-Wood, Slave Play
James Cusati-Moyer, Slave Play
*WINNER* David Alan Grier, A Soldier’s Play
John Benjamin Hickey, The Inheritance
Paul Hilton, The Inheritance
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Jane Alexander, Grand Horizons
Chalia La Tour, Slave Play
Annie McNamara, Slave Play
*WINNER* Lois Smith, The Inheritance
Cora Vander Broek, Linda Vista
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
*WINNER* Danny Burstein, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Derek Klena, Jagged Little Pill
Sean Allan Krill, Jagged Little Pill
Sahr Ngaujah, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Daniel J. Watts, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Kathryn Gallagher, Jagged Little Pill
Celia Rose Gooding, Jagged Little Pill
Robyn Hurder, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
*WINNER* Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill
Myra Lucretia Taylor, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Soutra Gilmour, Betrayal
*WINNER* Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Derek McLane, A Soldier’s Play
Clint Ramos, Slave Play
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Riccardo Hernández and Lucy Mackinnon, Jagged Little Pill
*WINNER* Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Costume Design of a Play
Dede Ayite, Slave Play
Dede Ayite, A Soldier’s Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
*WINNER* Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Clint Ramos, The Rose Tattoo
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Emily Rebholz, Jagged Little Pill
Mark Thompson, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
*WINNER* Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
Jon Clark, The Inheritance
Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside
Allen Lee Hughes, A Soldier’s Play
*WINNER* Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Bruno Poet, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Justin Townsend, Jagged Little Pill
*WINNER* Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti & Christopher Reid, The Inheritance
*WINNER* Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
Lindsay Jones, Slave Play
Daniel Kluger, Sea Wall/A Life
Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, Jagged Little Pill
*WINNER* Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Nevin Steinberg, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Direction of a Play
David Cromer, The Sound Inside
*WINNER* Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
Kenny Leon, A Soldier’s Play
Jamie Lloyd, Betrayal
Robert O’Hara, Slave Play
Best Direction of a Musical
Phyllida Lloyd, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Diane Paulus, Jagged Little Pill
*WINNER* Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Choreography
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jagged Little Pill
*WINNER* Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Anthony Van Laast, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Orchestrations
Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill
*WINNER* Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Ethan Popp, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Noncompetitive Awards
Lifetime achievement in the theater
Graciela Daniele (read our profile of Daniele here)
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Julie Halston
Special Tony Awards
The Broadway Advocacy Coalition
Freestyle Love Supreme
David Byrne’s “American Utopia”
Honors for excellence in the theater
New Federal Theatre, Woodie King Jr., founder
Irene Gandy
Fred Gallo
Beverly Jenkins
[Disclosure: Lee Seymour was a co-producer of The Inheritance]
