8 Times Women Rocked the Tony Awards
Last night, actual history was made at the Tony Awards. Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori became the first female writing team to win Best Score of a Musical for Fun Home, and the world pretty much rejoiced. This win is absolutely monumental for theater itself, and it only became more and more awesome as Fun Home - the musical based on lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel's life and her relationship with her closeted father who committed suicide - started dominating in many of its nominated categories. But it wasn't only Fun Home that featured several significant triumphs for women. The ceremony, hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming, never went long without a win for a female artist and us getting really happy about it. Now, let's fondly remember 8 of the most powerful moments for women throughout the evening, and hope for many more in the future!
8. Women take charge of the design awards.
Katz, Constablie, Christie, and Zuber (images via Getty)
Natasha Katz won Best Lighting Design of a Musical for American in Paris, Paule Constable won Best Lighting Design of a Play for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Bunny Christie won Best Scenic Design of a play for Curious Incident (along with Finn Ross), and Catherine Zuber won Best Costume Design of a Musical for The King and I. In short: who runs the theater world? Girls!
7. Kelli O'Hara finally wins Best Actress for The King and I.
For those of you unfamiliar with Kelli O'Hara, this tweet nailed it best. Her performance as Anna in The King and I marked her sixth Tony nomination, and this year she finally scored the win. Her acceptance speech was adorable, and her win well-deserved. It's about damn time, Tonys!
6. An 82-year-old Chita Rivera performs 65 years after her Broadway debut.
82 years of being awesome and 65 years of gracing us all with her spectacular talents. Chita receives standing ovations regularly at The Visit, and it was thrilling to see her perform this beautiful from number from this fantastically haunting little show with as much grace as ever.
5. Marianne Elliot wins Best Direction for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.
Marianne picked up her second tony for Curious Incident after winning one with co-director Tom Morris for War Horse in 2011. Curious Incident then went on to win Best Play and sweep in nearly every category in which it was nominated.
4. "Ring of Keys" changes people's lives on national TV.
Are you ready for 11-year-old Tony nominee Sydney Lucas to change your life? In this number, Small Alison Bechdel sees a "old school butch" for the first time, and suddenly finds herself filled with a realization she never knew was possible. There's a good chance catching this performance changed a lot of kids' lives last night, and Sydney's performance is of the highest caliber. Did you ever imagine we'd see a number about a young lesbian coming into her own on national TV? This truly is a beautiful time. We know it's frustrating there's only a short clip available online now, so you can watch Sydney's Drama Desk performance in the meantime too!
3. Lisa Kron wins Best Book for Fun Home.
The (tragically off-camera) string of Fun Home wins included book writer Lisa Kron picking up the Tony for her stellar work on Fun Home's book. This made for Lisa's second award of the night, and filled our hearts with endless joy.
2. Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori make history as they win Best Score for Fun Home.
For the first time ever, an entirely female writing team won Best Score at the Tonys. For the first time. In history. Ever. The emotionally stunning work these spectacular women are doing is changing the face of Broadway, and we're so glad that face belongs to Alison Bechdel and the amazing ladies behind Fun Home. Now, if only the Tonys would actually screen these awards instead of keeping them off-camera.
1. Fun Home wins Best Musical.
While Fun Home won Score, Book, Director, and Best Actor, American in Paris seemed to be sneaking up on it for Best Musical as it won several other creative awards throughout the night. However, ultimately Fun Home came out the winner of the Best Musical Tony Award for 2015 and much audible shrieking with happiness ensued. Let's be clear; this is a musical by a female writing team about a lesbian cartoonist that takes a deep look at growing up queer as well as the serious threat of suicide in the LGBT community. Fun Home is serious, heartfelt, and important. It is something the world needs to see, and now it's guaranteed to be sticking around for a while. Come to the Fun Home. Experience what the theater world is celebrating. You won't regret it.
