Jonathan Groff delivered a heartfelt speech at the Tony Awards on Monday after he named Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his role in the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along.
Groff thanked his family, who were in the audience, noting that they always let he be himself. It’s the actor’s first Tony Award.
“Thank you for letting me dress up as Mary Poppins when I was three, thank you for letting me act out scenes from I Love Lucy on my 105h birthday. Thank you for always allowing my freak flag to fly without ever making me feel weird about it” the actor said.
Groff said his family had always encouraged him, and also noted the importance of the cast of Spring Awakenings who encouraged him to publicly come out when his career was getting started.
Earlier in the show Groff had performed a number from the show alongside cast mates Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe. In his speech he said they were more than ‘old friends’ they were soul mates.
“Old Friend’, the song the trio performed is one of the best known songs from the musical that wasn’t a huge hit with audiences when it made it’s debut in 1981. The revival production from director Maria Friedman has been highly acclaimed and a pulled in huge audiences.
Daniel Radcliffe also picked up the award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his part in Merrily We Roll Along saying the show had been one of the best experiences of his life.
He also had high praise for Groff and Mendez saying “I’ll never have it this good again.”
The awards were hosted by Ariana DeBose, whop opened proceedings with a big musical number.
Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad appeared as presenters with a comic reference to their roles in Guttenberg! The Musical.
On the red carpet Rannells revealed that he’s not going to be appearing the upcoming production of the Elton John – Jake Shears musical Tammy Faye, despite originating the role of Jim Baker in the West End debut of the show.
Eddie Redmayne entertained the crowd with Wilkommen, a number from the classic musical Cabaret.
Redmayne headed the latest innovative production of the show which transforms a theatre into a cabaret venue and is performed in the round. After staring in the London production in 2021, Redmayne reprised the role when the show opened on Broadway earlier this year.
Jim Parsons was one of the presenters, handing out the award for Best Revival of a Play.
Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ariana DeBose, Audra McDonald, and Bebe Neuwirth presented a tribute to Broadway legend Chita Rivera who passed away earlier this year at the age of 91. Together they restaged some of the numbers Rivera was famous for across her long career including songs from Chicago and West Side Story in their tribute.
Sean Hayes, best known for his role of Jack McFarland in TV’s Will and Grace was on hand to present the award for Best Actress in a play. Sarah Paulson took home the trophy for her role in Appropriate by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who presented one of the evening’s many awards was captured catching up with actor Sarah Paulson. Paulson attended with her partner Holland Taylor.
Actor and writer Harvey Fierstein was also at the event. He presented the Lifetime Achievement award to theatre director Jack O’Brien.
During his career O’Brien has taken on everything from Shakespeare and Tom Stoppard plays to operas and musicals like Hairspray, and The Full Monty.
Billy Porter was the 2024 recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Award for his activism in the LGBTIQA+ community, particularly with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and the Entertainment Community Fund.
Stereophonic, David Adjmi’s play about the a rock band struggling to record their first album was named Best Play. The music for the production was created by Will Butler from indie band Arcade Fire.
The Best Musical was Outsiders. An adaptation of the S.E. Hinton novel which counts actor Angelina Jolie among its producers. The music for the production was written by Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance who are members of the folk rock band Jamestown Revival.
Appropriate was the winner in the Best Revival of a Play category, while Merrily We Roll Along succeeded over the revivals of Cabaret, Gutenberg! The Musical, and The Who’s Tommy.
Succession star Jeremy Strong won Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Doctor Thomas Stockman in the a production of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People. Maleah Joi Moon won the Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her work in Hell’s Kitchen.
