The 70th annual Tony Awards is one for the history books. For the first time ever, four musical categories went to actors of color.
Lead Actor: Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton
Lead Actress: Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
Featured Actor: Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Featured Actress: Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
All first time Tony winners. All extremely talented. All incredible storytellers. All black. 😭😭😭😭🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/w887sDxGFM
— Jaz (@_AllThatJaz) June 13, 2016
According to Mic, the Tonys almost made history in 1982 when “Dreamgirls” won lead actor, lead actress and featured actor categories. The lead actor and actress in musical categories weren’t awarded that year.
“The Color Purple” won Best Revival of a Musical and “Hamilton” secured Best Musical. This year’s show featured 14 nominees that were actors of color.
Overall, the biggest wins of the night went to Hamilton.
Hamilton: An American Musical has won 11 @TheTonyAwards including Best Musical. #Ham4Tonys pic.twitter.com/92t4UrBzlN
— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) June 13, 2016
The Obamas even made a special appearance.
.@Potus and .@michelleobama introduce a performance from “Hamilton” at the #TonyAwards 🎭🇺🇸 https://t.co/uS6G6R9kXw
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 13, 2016
Lin Manuel’s speech, honoring the victims of Orlando’s nightclub shooting deserved an award all by itself.
LOVE IS LOVE. 👏 @Lin_Manuel #TonyAwardshttps://t.co/8MF93bDt2N
— Racked (@Racked) June 13, 2016
And the unforgettable spine-tingling performances
.@CynthiaEriVo. That is all. #TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/t56kYbymxU
— Mic (@mic) June 13, 2016
#OscarsSoWhite meet #TonysSoDiverse.
The diversity at the tonys tonight… wow. Proud to have these artists to look up to. #TonysSoDiverse
— Sarah Burpee (@SarahMBurpee) June 13, 2016
Take note @TheAcademy. TAKE NOTE. @TheTonyAwards #TonyAwards #TONYSSODIVERSE pic.twitter.com/NLcRYsSiaj
— Dominic Grijalva (@DominoDeCoco) June 13, 2016
So much representation on this damn stage. #TonysSoDiverse
— Amy McBrayer (@amcbray) June 13, 2016
Every winner for an actor/actress and featured actor/actress in a musical was Black. #TonyAwards > every other award show.
— Jessica Kane (@jessicankane) June 13, 2016
Click here to see the complete list of winners.
