2024 Tony Awards Live Blog: Daniel Radcliffe (‘Merrily We Roll Along’) finally has a Tony Award [UPDATING LIVE]
The 77th Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, June 16 in a two-part telecast staged at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Nominations were announced on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Of the 36 eligible productions from the 2023-2024 Broadway season, 28 reaped bids across 26 competitive categories.
15 of the 21 eligible musicals and musical revivals earned at least one nomination. Alicia Keys‘ “Hell’s Kitchen” leads all productions with 13 nominations. Its tally includes a nomination for the top honor of Best Musical and four bids for its performers. “The Outsiders,” a musical adaptation of the classic S. E. Hinton novel, is right behind with 12, including bids for Best Musical and for three of its actors. Other original shows that performed well with nominations include “Water for Elephants” with seven noms, “Suffs” with six, “Here Lies Love” and “Illinoise” with four, “Days of Wine and Roses,” “Lempicka” and “The Notebook” with three and “Back to the Future: The Musical” with two. Of the six eligible Musical Revivals, John Kander and Fred Ebb‘s “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” and Stephen Sondheim‘s “Merrily We Roll Along” lead with nine and seven nominations, respectively.
On the play side, David Adjmi’s “Stereophonic” made Tony Awards history with 13 nominations, including bids for Best Play and for five of its performers. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins‘ “Appropriate” leads all play revivals with eight. Other productions that received multiple nominations include the revival of “Purlie Victorious,” new plays “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” and “Mary Jane,” Amy Herzog‘s new adaptation of “An Enemy of the People,” Paula Vogel‘s “Mother Play” and a remounting of “Doubt.”
Below, follow along with our 2024 Tony Awards live blog with updates throughout the four-plus-hour show, including all the winners.
SEE 2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories
6:30pm Welcome to the 77th annual Tony Awards! Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar host “The Tony Awards: Act One,” beginning right now.
6:37pm BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL – Shaina Taub, “Suffs”
The race for Best Musical Book may tell a lot of the story of which musical will end up with the top prize tonight and this extremely important category goes to Shaina Taub for “Suffs.” This is Taub’s Broadway debut though she has been working on this musical about the suffragists who won the right for women to vote for many years. She is a two-time nominee this year for the score and the book of “Suffs.” She used her speech to encourage folks to vote this fall.
6:40pm BEST COSTUME DESIGN (PLAY) — Dede Ayite, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”
The award for Costume Design of a Play goes to Dede Ayite for “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.” This is her fifth career nomination and first win, and she has three nominations this season alone in this category for “Jaja’s” and for “Appropriate” and for her costumes for “Hell’s Kitchen.” She was previously a double nominee in 2020 for “A Soldier’s Play” and “Slave Play.” In the past 10 years, Ayite has worked on a whopping 17 shows. She has already lined up for next Broadway season, too, with “Home,” which is now in performances, and the upcoming revival of “Our Town.”
6:42 BEST COSTUME DESIGN (MUSICAL) – Linda Cho, “The Great Gatsby”
In a surprise victory, Linda Cho wins for “The Great Gatsby” over category frontrunners “Cabaret” and “Suffs.” Only 97 of our users predicted Cho’s victory. This is her third nomination and second win; she previously won in 2014 for “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” and earned a nomination for the musical “Anastasia.”
6:45pm BEST ORCHESTRATIONS – Jonathan Tunick, “Merrily We Roll Along”
Stephen Sondheim’s longtime orchestrator Jonathan Tunick has won for Best Orchestrations for the revival of the composer’s “Merrily We Roll Along.” The legendary orchestrator won his one and only Tony on his first nomination for “Titanic,” though he has had 10 other nominations in between that victory and this one. The 86 year old stage great said in his acceptance speech that he’s especially happy to be winning “my first Tony Award for a Sondheim musical.” This is the first win for “Merrily” of the night as it aims for the Best Musical Revival trophy.
6:48pm REGIONAL THEATRE AWARD – Wilma Theatre
6:55pm BEST SCENIC DESIGN (MUSICAL) – Tom Scutt, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”
The Tony for Scenic Design of a Musical goes to Tom Scutt for “Cabaret.” He is a two-time nominee this year, receiving recognition for his costume design for “Cabaret,” too. He has one previous nomination for this costumes for play “King Charles III.” He wins in this category for his transformative work converting the August Wilson Theatre into the Kit Kat Club, including making it an in-the-round space and making new performance spaces throughout the house for the lengthy pre-show.
6:58pm BEST SCENIC DESIGN (PLAY) – David Zinn, “Stereophonic”
The trophy for Scenic Design of a Play goes to David Zinn for “Stereophonic.” This prolific multi-hyphenate has three Tony nominations this year including two in this category for “Stereophonic” and “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.” He is also a nominee for costume design for “An Enemy of the People.” This Broadway legend now has 10 Tony nominations and three victories; his past wins are for scenic design for “The Humans” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.” This is the first win of the night for “Stereophonic.”
7:01pm LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – George C. Wolfe
Audra McDonald presents “ultimate visionary” George C. Wolfe with the lifetime achievement award. He remembers seeing “West Side Story,” which inspired his move to New York City and his subsequent career.
7:06pm BEST CHOREOGRAPHY – Justin Peck, “Illinoise”
The trophy for Best Choreography goes to Justin Peck for “Illinoise.” His win comes as no surprise given that this Sufjan Stevens musical is entirely a dance show. This is Peck’s second overall nomination and second Tony win, having previously been nominated and won for his choreo for the “Carousel” revival in 2018. Although he was not nominated for it, he also served as the director and one of the book writers on “Illinoise.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Tony winner Justin Peck.
7:09pm EXCELLENCE IN THEATRE EDUCATION AWARD – Cjay Philip
7:18pm LIGHTING DESIGN (MUSICAL) – Brian Macdevitt and Hana S. Kim, “The Outsiders”
The Tony for Best Lighting Design of a Musical goes to Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim for “The Outsiders.” This is the impressive 14th Tony nomination for MacDevitt and sixth win. His previous Tonys are for “Into the Woods” in 2002, “The Pillowman,” “The Coast of Utopia,” “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and “The Book of Mormon.” He shares the award with Kim, who did the projection design for the musical. This is her first Tony nom and win and her fourth Broadway credit overall. They both gave incredibly emotional speeches, especially Kim, who said “this community is blowing my mind” after coming to New York City 15 years ago.
7:23pm LIGHTING DESIGN (PLAY) – Jane Cox, “Appropriate”
This is Jane Cox’s first Tony Award after three previous nominations. She previously received noms for “Machinal,” “Jitney” and “Macbeth.”
7:25pm LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Jack O’Brien
Harvey Fierstein presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to director Jack O’Brien for his “astonishing career.” In his acceptance speech, he says he hopes that winning this award doesn’t mean that he and George C. Wolfe are getting “the hook” off the New York stage tonight.
7:33pm BEST SOUND DESIGN (PLAY) — Ryan Rumery, “Stereophonic”
The Tony for Sound Design of a Play goes to Ryan Rumery for “Stereophonic.” This is his first Tony nomination and win. This is his lucky 13th Broadway production, previously working on shows including “Be More Chill,” “The Lighting Thief” and last season’s “Between Riverside and Crazy.” This is the second Tony win for “Stereophonic” tonight on its likely steamroll to Best Play.
7:36pm BEST SOUND DESIGN (MUSICAL) — Cody Spencer, “The Outsiders”
This is the first Tony Award for Cody Spencer, who is a double-nominee this year in this category for “The Outsiders” and “Here Lies Love.” “The Outsiders” picks up its second Tony of the night in a category where the frontrunner was “Hell’s Kitchen,” which has so far not won an award yet.
7:40pm ISABELLE STEVENSON AWARD — Billy Porter
Brian Stokes Mitchell, who costarred with Billy Porter in the musical “Shuffle Along,” presents Porter with the Isabelle Stevenson Award. In his acceptance speech, Porter dedicates the award and moment to his mother, who just passed in February.
At the end of “The Tony Awards: Act One,” play “Stereophonic” and musical “The Outsiders” are the top winners with two trophies apiece. All other winners so far have picked up a single prize, including “Appropriate,” “Cabaret,” “Illinoise,” “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Suffs” and “The Great Gatsby.”
8:00pm Welcome to the official ceremony of the 77th annual Tony Awards with host Ariana DeBose. Her opening number emphasizes that “this party’s for you” and then called out first-time nominees. She quips that even though TV and film will make you rich, Broadway makes you “better.”
8:08pm BEST LEAD ACTOR (PLAY) — Jeremy Strong, “An Enemy of the People”
Taraji P. Henson presents the award to Jeremy Strong. The nail-biter of a race for Best Actor in a Play came down on the side of Jeremy Strong for “An Enemy of the People,” upsetting the favorite in our odds, Leslie Odom Jr. for “Purlie Victorious.” Strong gives a nuanced and emotional performance in this revival of the Henrik Ibsen classic. This is his first Tony nomination and win, having previously appeared on Broadway only one time before in a revival of “A Man for All Seasons.” “This is crazy!,” declares the actor during his acceptance speech.
8:13pm Danai Gurira introduces the musical performance from “Hell’s Kitchen”
8:26pm BEST FEATURED ACTOR (PLAY) — Will Brill, “Stereophonic”
The Best Featured Actor in a Play race had to be one of the closest of the whole evening and the trophy goes to Will Brill for “Stereophonic.” Brill has been in second place in our odds behind Corey Stoll for “Appropriate,” but managed to pull off the victory over his “Stereophonic” costars Eli Gelb and Tom Pecinka in part for his hilarious, 10-minute houseboats monologue that is a standout moment in the three-plus hour play. This is Brill’s first Tony nomination and win though he has appeared in three prior productions, including “Act One,” “You Can’t Take It With You” and the recent revival of “Oklahoma!” In his acceptance speech, Brill asked the other six performers in “Stereophonic” to stand and receive recognition for their work. Watch our exclusive video interview with Tony winner Will Brill.
8:30pm Pete Townshend introduces a performance from “The Who’s Tommy”
8:41pm BEST FEATURED ACTRESS (PLAY) — Kara Young, “Purlie Victorious”
Wendell Pierce and Taylor Tomlinson present the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play to Kara Young for “Purlie Victorious.” Young made Tony Awards history with her nomination as the first Black performer to earn three consecutive nominations in any category; she has been nominated for each and every role she’s ever played on Broadway, including “Clyde’s,” “Cost of Living” and now “Purlie Victorious.” This was a hotly contested race between Young and “Stereophonic” performer Sarah Pidgeon. In her acceptance speech, Young thanked her ancestors, including her late grandmother and her parents. Watch our exclusive video interview with Tony winner Kara Young.
8:48pm “Merrily We Roll Along” performs
8:57pm BEST DIRECTOR (PLAY) — Daniel Aukin, “Stereophonic”
Ashley Park and Renée Elise Goldsberry present the award for Best Director of a Play to Daniel Aukin for “Stereophonic.” This was really a race between Aukin and Lila Neugebauer for “Appropriate,” which are the leading contenders for Best Play and Best Play Revival, respectively. This is only the second Broadway credit for Aukin, who made his debut as director of the 2015 revival of Sam Shepard’s “Fool for Love.” This is his first Tony nom and victory. This is the fourth win for “Stereophonic” tonight and a major one on its path to Best Play at that.
9:00pm BEST DIRECTOR (MUSICAL) — Danya Taymor, “The Outsiders”
Park and Goldsberry are on hand to present the next award to Danya Taymor in an upset over Maria Friedman of “Merrily We Roll Along.” Only 18 Gold Derby users predicted her to win. This is her first Tony nomination and first win. She has worked on two past Broadway productions. In her acceptance speech, Taymor shares that “artistic risk yields rewards.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Tony winner Danya Taymor.
9:04pm Patrick Wilson introduces the performance of “Water for Elephants”
9:14pm BEST FEATURED ACTOR (MUSICAL) — Daniel Radcliffe, “Merrily We Roll Along”
This year, after many confounding snubs, Daniel Radcliffe earned his first Tony Award nomination for “Merrily We Roll Along” and now he is a Tony winner. The Sondheim revival was his fifth Broadway credit, having previously appeared in “Equus,” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “The Cripple of Inishmaan” and “The Lifespan of a Fact.” He takes home the Tony tonight in part for his ravishing performance of “Franklin Shepherd, Inc.,” a tongue-twister, tour-de-force of a number that he pulls off with aplomb. “I will never have it this good again,” shares the actor about working with his costars. This is the second “Merrily” victory of the evening.
9:18pm BEST FEATURED ACTRESS (MUSICAL) — Kecia Lewis, “Hell’s Kitchen”
In a small upset, Ben Platt and Anthony Ramos present the Tony for Featured Actress in a Musical to Kecia Lewis for “Hell’s Kitchen,” besting category frontrunner Lindsay Mendez for “Merrily We Roll Along.” She is absolutely no stranger to Broadway, making her debut in the original production of “Dreamgirls” and appearing in a total of 10 shows over the years. This is the first Tony nomination and win of her career. She has amazed audiences with her performance of the song “Perfect Way to Die.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Tony winner Kecia Lewis.