Tap-dancing host Kevin Spacey steals the show at Tony Awards
Dear Evan Hansen was the heaviest hitter at the 71st annual awards on Sunday when it won six accolades.
Kevin Spacey stole the show as he sang, danced and impersonated his way throughout hosting the Tony Awards, where Dear Evan Hansen romped home with six accolades.
The House Of Cards star, himself a Tony and double Oscar winner, tap-danced in a tuxedo, performed homages to top nominations and closed the show with a powerful duet.
He also mimicked Bill Clinton during the 71st annual Broadway awards at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on Sunday.
Award presenter Stephen Colbert got political too, taking on Donald Trump by likening his presidency to a revival of a 1980s off-Broadway show with “huge production values”.
“A couple of problems: main character is totally unbelievable and the hair and make-up – yeesh, no,” the host of The Late Show said.
“This DC productions is supposed to have a four-year run but reviews have not been kind – could close early, we don’t know.”
Dear Evan Hansen, a show that centres on a lonely teenager who fabricates a former friendship with a classmate who killed himself, won best musical as well as best musical actor with Ben Platt and Rachel Bay Jones, who scooped best actress in a featured role.
It also won best score when the song-writing duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul added the Tony to their trophy cabinet which contains their recent Oscar for the City Of Stars song from La La Land.
Veteran Bette Midler won her second Tony with best actress in a musical for her role in Hello, Dolly!, which won four prizes.
The producers made an attempt to cut her lengthy speech off by drowning her out with music. But she persisted and outlived the track.
Then Spacey, returning to the stage as House Of Cards character Frank Underwood, told his on-screen wife Robin Wright that they should go.
“I want to get the hell out of here before Bette Midler thanks anyone else,” he quipped.
Best play went to Oslo, a three-hour show about diplomatic meetings between Israel and Palestine which will head to London in September.
The top prizes for leading actor and actress in a play went to Present Laughter actor Kevin Kline and A Doll’s House, Part 2′s Laurie Metcalf, who beat Cate Blanchett.
Britons were awarded with some of the smaller prizes on the night with Nigel Hook winning best scenic designer and Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin winning a special award for sound design.
UK star Cynthia Erivo, who won the Tony for best performance by a lead actress last year, returned to present an award alongside John Legend.
