NEW YORK, The highly anticipated Tony Award for best musical went to “The Outsiders,” a musical based on S.E. Hinton’s coming-of-age novel, on Sunday. Other winners included a well-received revival of a Stephen Sondheim classic and a story about a 1970s rock band.

For the third consecutive year, Tony-nominated and Oscar-winning actress Ariana DeBose hosted the inaugural ceremony at Lincoln Centre in New York City. In addition to choreographing the seductive song-and-dance routine that started the programme, DeBose is producing this year.

Danya Taymor defeated Maria Friedman, the favourite actor from “Merrily We Roll Along,” to win the director’s chair for a musical version of “The Outsiders.”

The season’s top story has been “Merrily We Roll Along,” the best revival of a musical award winner that has delighted both critics and audiences with a reimagining of Sondheim’s most well-known flop. The original Broadway run of the show ended after 52 previews and 16 performances in 1981.

The Tony Awards went to “Stereophonic” for best play and Daniel Aukin for best directing. With original music written by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire, and set in the 1970s, David Adjmi’s drama about a rock band recording an album broke the record for most Tony Award nominations ever for a play.

The play “Appropriate,” written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, won best revival of a play. It tells the tale of three adult siblings who, following their father’s death, reunite at their family home only to learn disturbing family secrets.

Maleah Joi Moon won best lead actress in a musical for her performance in “Hell’s Kitchen,” while Jonathan Groff won best lead actor in a musical for “Merrily We Roll Along.”

With an all-female cast, Shaina Taub’s musical “Suffs,” which tells the tale of the suffragette struggle, received best score and best book of a musical.

Best lead actor in a play went to “Succession” actor Jeremy Strong for his performance in Henrik Ibsen’s play “Enemy of the People,” while best featured actor in a musical went to Daniel Radcliffe—well known for his lead in the Harry Potter film series—for “Merrily We Roll Along.”

Best featured actor in a play went to Will Brill, who defeated two other performers in his production of “Stereophonic,” while Sarah Paulson received best lead actress in a play for “Appropriate.”

Kecia Lewis, who debuted on Broadway forty years ago in “Dreamgirls,” received her first nomination this season. Her performance as the mentor who plays the piano in “Hell’s Kitchen” earned her the best featured actress prize in a musical.

Best featured actress in a play, Kara Young, who is the first Black actor, male or female, to receive three consecutive Tony nominations, took up the prize for her performance in “Purlie Victorious.”

For the dance musical “Illinoise,” which used Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 concept album “Illinois,” Justin Peck was awarded the Tony Award for outstanding choreography.

Dancers honoured Broadway icon Chita Rivera, who passed away in January at the age of 91, including DeBose, who reprised her Oscar-winning performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s cinematic adaptation of “West Side Story.”

The majority of the Tony Awards were given out in technical categories during a pre-show event that was aired on Pluto TV, a free channel, and was hosted by actors Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar.

The pre-show featured the Isabelle Stevenson Award, given to Billy Porter in recognition of his work as an activist and spokesman for the LGBTQ communities, and the best regional theatre award, given to Philadelphia’s Wilma Theatre.

For their career achievements in theatre, writer, director, and producer George C. Wolfe and director Jack O’Brien were each awarded the 2024 Special Tony Award.

Additionally, Alex Edelman for his solo production “Just For Us,” Abe Jacob for his sound design, and Nikiya Mathis for her wig design in “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” were given Special Tony Awards.

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