I'm Gay, So I'm Legally Obligated To Talk About the 2024 Tonys

‘Spring Awakening’ hive: We won!

To start, no, Lil Mama did not seize on the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever and crash… [checks notes] Alicia Keys and Jay-Z’s performance of “Empire State of Mind” at [checks notes again] the 77th annual Tony Awards. Nonetheless, the show went on, and there’s plenty to discuss. To quote Jeremy Strong during his speech for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: “This is crazy.”

There’s much to celebrate. For starters, Jonathan Groff got his Tony… finally. 18 years after making his Broadway debut in Spring Awakening, the Broadway favorite (and a rare entity who has maintained a theater presence when he could have gone “full Hollywood,” so to speak) took home his first Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre for his performance as Franklin Shepard in the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along. Other worthy celebrations: All eight winners in the acting categories took home their first-ever Tony Awards, host Ariana DeBose made a necessary (but hopefully last) reference to her BAFTA rap, Jeremy Strong and Sarah Paulson (who won for Best Lead Actress in a Play) graciously thanked the ushers, front of house and back of house crews, the speeches were mostly short and sweet and Hillary Clinton wore a caftan.

Below, I’ve partnered with my friends at TodayTix (legit the only way I buy my tickets) to unpack (as I did last year) some of the biggest, most bizarre and most meme-worthy moments from the 77th outing of the Tony Awards. Will I be addressing “This Party’s for You,” the Tom Kitt/Amanda Green-penned number that opened the show instead of Cabaret’s “Willkommen,” which was performed mid-way? I think it best to appease today’s sponsor by opting out on that one. Onward!

1. Ariana DeBose did the thing

Putting a well-earned but necessary cap on the BAFTA rap that single-handedly reinvigorated the genre of award show rap made famous by Lin-Manuel Miranda, DeBose told the crowd that she was so inspired by the night’s nominees that she was going to pen her own musical. “Three hours. No intermission. And it’s based on my BAFTA rap.”

Though the crowd was rather lukewarm (a bit of a chronically-online joke for such a stuffy crowd), she got a laugh from Cynthia Erivo, which, to me, is the biggest co-sign of all.

2. Groff’s speech

Jonathan Groff is that rarefied musical theater kid who’s blatant and verbose “pick me” energy reads as endearing rather than cloying. It was put on full display when he picked up his win and immediately started talking through tears. He covered a lot of ground in his speech, starting with a nod to his parents (on Father’s Day, no less).

“Thank you for letting me dress up as Mary Poppins when I was 3. Thank you for letting me act out scenes from I Love Lucy on my 10th birthday. Thank you for always allowing my freak flag to fly without ever making me feel weird about it. Even if they didn't always understand me, my family knew the lifesaving power of fanning the flame of a young person's passions without judgment. I walk through life with an open heart because you let me know that I could. Thank you, I love you.” 

He went on to give a nod to his time waiting tables and volunteering for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, his Merrily co-stars and even gave a shout-out to everyone involved in Spring Awakening, “who not only made that dream come true, but also inspired me to come out of the closet when I was 23. I'm now 39, and musical theater is still saving my soul.” He capped it all off with this:

“I just want to say, when I was a kid in Pennsylvania, I used to record the Tony Awards on a VHS tape and watch the performances over and over again. And to actually be able to be a part of making theater in this city, and just as much to be able to watch the work of this incredible, incredible community has been the greatest gift and pleasure of my life, and I thank you. And thank you so much for this honor.”

3. Will Brill snubs God for his therapist

Will Brill, winning for Best Featured Actor in a Play, didn’t fall into the trap of saying things one should deliberately avoid according to Jessica Lange and instead thanked his therapist. “He’s so real for that,” became the recurring sentiment online, and I don’t disagree.

4. Kecia Lewis has had it with the texts 

Kecia Lewis, winning Featured Actress in a Musical, capped a 40-year career that began with her Broadway debut in Dreamgirls. In that sense, this was a win both for her work in Hell’s Kitchen and for her myriad contributions including Big River, Once on This Island and more. She got one of the biggest laughs of the night when she placed her glasses on her face and began looking at her phone to read out her speech. Immediately flooded with congratulatory texts, she began her speech by uttering: “People stop texting me, Jesus.” Immediate queen.

5. Kelli O’Hara reacting to Hillary Clinton’s caftan

Okay, maybe she was reacting more to the presence of the first woman to win the popular vote for U.S. president, but I’d like to believe this is an appropriate caftan-centric response.

6. Billy Porter does a last-minute pit check

In a night that didn’t give us too many audience reaction shots (save for Groff’s obligatory tears), the camera catching Billy Porter (who won the Isabelle Stevenson Award for philanthropic contributions to the theater community that aired during the pre-show) giving himself a quick pit sniff to make sure all was well.

7. Ben Platt’s half-measured “yaasss queen”

Ben Platt self-corrected after saying “yes” and let out the only “yas” of the night, which I think is a win for us all.

8. Brooke Shields’s crocs 

“The feet pics are about to level up … Double foot toe surgery,” she promised us on Instagram the day before. And she delivered big, wearing bright yellow Crocs to match her dress. “I got my Crocs! I couldn't do this in heels!" she told People. It’s very Luann de Lesseps “We got the yacht” energy. Good for her!

9. Jay-Z Is “here”

“Had to do something crazy; it’s my hometown!” Alicia Keys, nominated for writing the music and lyrics to Hell’s Kitchen, told the crowd mid-performance. Something crazy, in her vernacular, means trotting out Jay-Z. Well, sort-of. Jay-Z wasn’t actually on-stage, but instead in the lobby of the building, according to Variety. My favorite review of the performance? “Jay-Z appeared in a logomaniacal Louis Vuitton coat, which power clashed with Keys’ Gucci set,” Vulture noted.

10. Anna Wintour’s glasses stayed on.

Unlike 2015’s outing, where during a performance from the cast of On the Town, Anna Wintour removed her sunglasses to accept flowers from a sailor, for this go-round, much like they did during a recent round of Condé Nast layoffs, the sunglasses stayed on.

And there you have it. Support Broadway. Support local theater. Buy tickets.