Recap and List of Winners for 72nd Annual Tony Awards

Posted on | By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels (Updated on Feb 20, 2019)

Broadway's finest shows were honoured last night at the 72nd Annual Tony Awards, which was held at Radio City Music Hall. The biggest winner of the night was The Band's Visit, which took home seven Tonies, including Best Musical, Best Actor and Actress in a Musical, and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. Angels in America was another big winner of the night, taking home three Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play, Best Lead Actor in a Play and Best Supporting Actor in a Play. Broadway star Chita Rivera and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber also both received the Tony Lifetime Achievement Award for their outstanding contributions to theatre.

The awards ceremony was co-hosted by Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban, who opened the event with a piano duet that intentionally made fun of the fact that they both have never won a Grammy or Tony Award. Bareilles made her Broadway debut in 2017's Waitress while Groban debuted in 2016's Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.  

As is common with most American awards shows, many stars involved in the business used the Tony Awards as a platform to share their political views. When accepting the award for Best Actor, Andrew Garfield referenced a recent Supreme Court decision that ruled in favour of a Colorado baker that refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple based on their religious beliefs. Garfield called on everyone to simply bake a cake for anyone who wants a cake to be baked, as we are equal.

Robert DeNiro also brought politics into the ceremony when he introduced Bruce Springsteen's performance by saying, "First, I wanna say, 'f**k Trump.' It's no longer 'Down with Trump,' it's 'f**k Trump.'"

Drama students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which made headlines in February for a school shooting on campus that killed 17 people, took to stage with an emotional performance of 'Seasons of Love' from Rent, which left many in the audience in tears.

Here is the complete list of winners for the 72nd Annual Tony Awards.


Best Play
"The Children"
"Farinelli and The King"
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two" *WINNER
"Junk"
"Latin History for Morons"

Best Revival of a Play
"Angels in America" *WINNER
Edward Albee's, "Three Tall Women"
Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh"
"Lobby Hero"
"Travesties"

Best Musical
"The Band's Visit" *WINNER
"Frozen"
"Mean Girls"
"SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Andrew Garfield, "Angels in America" *WINNER
Tom Hollander, "Travesties"
Jamie Parker, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two"
Mark Rylance, "Farinelli and The King"
Denzel Washington, "Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Glenda Jackson, "Edward Albee's Three Tall Women" *WINNER
Condola Rashad, "Saint Joan"
Lauren Ridloff, "Children of a Lesser God"
Amy Schumer, "Meteor Shower"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Harry Hadden-Paton, "My Fair Lady"
Joshua Henry, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel"
Tony Shalhoub, "The Band's Visit" *WINNER
Ethan Slater, "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Lauren Ambrose, "My Fair Lady"
Hailey Kilgore, "Once On This Island"
LaChanze, Summer: "The Donna Summer Musical"
Katrina Lenk, "The Band's Visit" *WINNER
Taylor Louderman, "Mean Girls"
Jessie Mueller, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Anthony Boyle, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two"
Michael Cera, "Lobby Hero"Brian Tyree Henry, "Lobby Hero"
Nathan Lane, "Angels in America" *WINNER
David Morse, Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Susan Brown, "Angels in America"
Noma Dumezweni, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two"
Deborah Findlay, "The Children"
Denise Gough, "Angels in America"
Laurie Metcalf, Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women" *WINNER

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Norbert Leo Butz, "My Fair Lady"
Alexander Gemignani, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel"
Grey Henson, "Mean Girls"
Gavin Lee, "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical"
Ari'el Stachel, "The Band's Visit" *WINNER

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ariana DeBose, "Summer: The Donna Summer Musical"
Renée Fleming, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel"
Lindsay Mendez, "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel" *WINNER
Ashley Park, "Mean Girls Diana Rigg, My Fair Lady"

Best Direction of a Play
Angels in America
Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Travesties
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two *WINNER
Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh

Best Direction of a Musical
Once On This Island
The Band's Visit *WINNER
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Mean Girls
My Fair Lady

Best Book of a Musical
"The Band's Visit *WINNER
"Frozen"
"Mean Girls"
"SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical"

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
"Angels in America"
"The Band's Visit" *WINNER
"Frozen"
"Mean Girls"
"SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical"


By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels

Ephram is a jack of all trades and enjoys attending theatre, classical music concerts and the opera.