Tony Talk: Dissecting ‘The Outsiders’ win for Best Musical, close acting races and musical performances
Welcome to Tony Talk, a column in which Gold Derby contributing theater editors David Buchanan and Sam Eckmann offer Tony Awards analysis. The day after the 2024 Tony Awards, we dissect how “The Outsiders” won Best Musical in this incredibly competitive season, discuss the close musical acting races, our favorite performer wins and size up those musical performances.
David Buchanan: Hey Sam! We have finally crossed the finish line of the 2024 Tony Awards! I thought it was extremely refreshing to watch a ceremony where there were so many categories truly up for grabs, and the winners really reflect just how competitive a year it was with no one juggernaut of a show taking home double-digit prizes like we’ve had in some recent years. In the final stretch, we had both come around to “The Outsiders” winning the top prize of Best Musical, and it did well across the board with two design wins and a huge, deserved upset for director Danya Taymor. Now that we have clear hindsight, do you think this was actually that close of a race? How did “The Outsiders” break away from the pack? And what do you think was No. 2, “Hell’s Kitchen” or “Suffs”?
Sam Eckmann: What a wild season! I was always a bit skeptical of the frontrunner status for “Hell’s Kitchen.” As exciting as the show is, at the end of the day it’s a jukebox musical. And as we have discussed quite a bit this season, Tony voters are determined to lift up musicals with original scores over those that use pre-existing hits from the radio. I also never believed it could win Book or Director, and it feels like a jukebox show would need to claim at least one of those in order to overcome the bias against them. So I backed “Suffs” for most of the season, since I correctly believed that Shaina Taub could take home the trophies for Original Score and Book. Those two prizes are usually enough to carry any tuner to the top award. But the tail end of the race, I sensed waning enthusiasm for “Suffs.” Some voters felt like it was too “traditional” of a choice, while others were left feeling less than excited about the production’s “this show is important” Tony campaign. So when the New York Times survey of Tony voters discovered a late-in-the-game surge for “The Outsiders,” that was more than enough for me to change my Best Musical prediction. “The Outsiders” gave voters a chance to vote for an original musical that has captured the hearts of younger theatergoers, has a unique music identity, and features dynamic, singular staging from Danya Taymor. I warned everyone to watch out for her on many occasions this season because her directorial imprint is so obvious in this show. I wish I had listened to my gut and switched from Maria Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along”) to Danya in Best Director, because I knew “The Outsiders” would need an above-the-line upset somewhere. But it’s hard to pull the trigger on a massive shocker like that. Ultimately, I think “Suffs” and “Hell’s Kitchen” probably scored a similar number of votes and essentially tied for second place, with “The Outsiders” as a clear winner. “Hell’s Kitchen” did manage to pull off two very difficult acting victories though. What did you make of those two actress categories?
SEE Tony Awards: ‘Stereophonic’ wins 5, ‘Merrily’ and ‘The Outsiders’ take 4 each
David Buchanan: Now that we’ve seen how all of the awards were divvied up, I think “Hell’s Kitchen” was perhaps in third place in the tally, even despite many of the voter polls saying it was neck-and-neck with “The Outsiders.” The fact that it only took two acting trophies, had no other “branches” of support, and even lost its most likely design award for sound – Gold Derby had “The Outsiders” in dead last in that race, by the way – indicates to me that there wasn’t as much broad backing for that show as expected, especially with “Suffs” holding onto both score and book. I couldn’t agree with you more on Danya. We both were predicting her for the nomination long before other folks because that show’s support started out slowly this spring, and it was joyous seeing her prevail, despite how much I love what Maria Friedman did with “Merrily.” I think what ultimately carried the day for her was not only that “The Outsiders” is so brilliantly directed, but it’s very “obviously” directed with so many smart, stylistic flourishes. In contrast, Friedman absolutely cracked the code on this infamous Stephen Sondheim flop, but it’s much more subtle, conceptual, nuts-and-bolts work rather than showy work. The two “Hell’s Kitchen” acting prizes for Maleah Joi Moon and Kecia Lewis were not surprises, per se, but I nevertheless had different people winning those races, namely Kelli O’Hara and Lindsay Mendez. There’s no question of Moon and Lewis’ vocal prowess and both are first-time winners, whereas O’Hara and Mendez both have Tonys already. I don’t think voters really care much about how soon they give someone a second trophy, but they had a chance to reward an industry veteran in Lewis, while they already acknowledged Mendez for “Carousel.” Best Actress sounded like a very close contest and I do wonder what would have happened if “Days of Wine and Roses” opened later in the season and ran through Tony voting. Even if it had, Tony voters have liked to acknowledge up-and-coming talents in these top musical races recently, such as Joaquina Kalukango and Myles Frost, so perhaps that also worked in Moon’s favor. Speaking of acting races, what was your favorite win for a performer of the night? There are so many terrific ones to choose from!
Sam Eckmann: I do think the previous wins for Mendez and O’Hara absolutely hurt their chances in some very tight acting races. Most of the acting winners this year had incredibly strong narratives. With Maleah Joi Moon, voters could anoint a fresh young talent who excites them. That enthusiasm won out over giving Maryann Plunkett (“The Notebook”) or O’Hara a second Tony, no matter how complex their character portrayals were. With Kecia Lewis, they had the opportunity to reward an industry veteran (40 years to the day since her Broadway debut!) who had never even been nominated before. Many voters know the kind of life in this business that Lewis has lived, and it just felt better to finally give a veteran her moment in the sun rather than complete the “Merrily” trio with Mendez. I thought many of the acting winners were wonderful choices and gave fantastic speeches. Jonathan Groff (“Merrily”) made me tear up as he accepted Lead Actor in a Musical. He had one of the best speeches of the night and I’m so happy for him. Though my favorite acting win is definitely Kara Young for “Purlie Victorious.” After so many artists from closed productions kept losing, I was overjoyed that she was remembered. An impressive feat considering how incredible Sarah Pidgeon is in “Stereophonic,” which might just be everyone’s favorite show this season. But I still haven’t been able to get Young’s hilarious and heartbreaking turn as Luttiebelle out of my head despite seeing the show way back in September. What win stands out as your favorite?
SEE Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories
David Buchanan: It was incredibly moving to see how emotional Groff was, not only about his own win but also about his costar Daniel Radcliffe‘s, which was so wonderful to watch. What a spectacular moment Kara Young had as well after three consecutive Broadway seasons of excellent work. I loved those cutaways to her father in the audience, especially given that incredible story from years ago that he was able to celebrate her very first Tony nom at the nominees luncheon because he works at the Rainbow Room and has for three decades. For me, the most satisfying acting win of the night was for Jeremy Strong for “An Enemy of the People.” Given the momentum “Purlie Victorious” had during Tony voting, I wasn’t 100% confident he would pull off the victory over Leslie Odom, Jr., but I was so delighted to see him prevail. It’s not necessarily the type of performance that Tony voters always gravitate toward, given how subtle and it is, but I think being at the Circle in the Square Theatre and therefore in such close proximity to him let them really key into the nuances, intensity and commitment he brings to the role. I also love that his passion for the craft and community really came through in his speech, considering how much theatre he had done in New York before “Succession” launched him into the stratosphere. If I broaden the scope of the question to all categories, I have to shine a spotlight on Jonathan Tunick winning for his orchestrations for “Merrily.” He is a Broadway legend who before last night had only won one Tony for “Titanic.” I adored not only seeing him win his second prize, but also that he said in his short-but-sweet acceptance speech that he’s especially excited that he’s finally won for a Sondheim show, considering they collaborated for 50 years. On the topic of musicals, we had many, many performances this year and, as always, they had varying degrees of success translating from stage to TV screen. What shows do you think came across best during the telecast?
Sam Eckmann: Tunick really knows how to keep things brief and to the point! I also forgot to mention my other favorite win for a closed production: Dede Ayite snagging that Costume Design victory for “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.” I switched my prediction to “Stereophonic” at the last second (and I fully blame you for talking me into it during our last conversation), so my score suffered but I’m thrilled she won. For me, “Jaja’s” was easily one of the top five shows of the season. But to your question, I think my favorite performance was “The Who’s Tommy.” They smartly stuck to just one electric number, with a fun guitar intro from Pete Townshend, and the whole cast just seemed on fire. It made me want to make a return trip to the Nederlander, and restarted my rant that it should have scored nominations for lead actor Ali Louis Bourzgui, choreographer Lorin Latarro, and for the thunderous sound design. “Water for Elephants,” another musical that came up empty handed last night, managed to showcase an impressive amount of circus considering the space constraints. It played well on TV and I think probably moved some tickets, which hopefully offsets the sting of their loses. And I loved that “The Outsiders” included part of The Rumble in their performance. They even brought the blood and rain with them to Lincoln Center! “Hell’s Kitchen” started off well, but I thought it was a bizarre choice to position Alicia Keys and Jay-Z out in the lobby for the ending. The Tony Awards are about live theater…so why is everyone in the Ed Koch Theatre watching these two megastars on a screen instead of right before their eyes? (Related Tonys conspiracy: maybe the real reason “Hell’s Kitchen” lost Best Musical is because voters have been sonically assaulted by “Empire State of Mind” every time they leave a Broadway theater, thanks to the obnoxious pedicab drivers who position themselves at the exits and blast that song on repeat, at inhuman volumes. Food for thought). Did you have a favorite performance? Do you think any of the numbers helped move the needle at the box office?
David Buchanan: Dede Ayite is already so incredibly prolific that it’s great to see her win her first of likely many, many Tonys. If only you’d stuck to your guns on that one and listened to me about “Stereophonic” winning in Scenic Design for David Zinn instead, then you would have been golden! I agree with you on the “Tommy” and “Outsiders” performances standing out, especially the latter, which came up with a very ambitious medley. Those usually don’t work for me but I think it did in this case. I actually thought the “Hell’s Kitchen” performance was too long, indeed conspicuously long, for obviously reasons, but that doesn’t necessarily make for a gripping Tony Awards performance. I’m not sure if it sold any tickets, but I thought “Illinoise” did a lovely job communicating what the show is all about to the audience at home and conveyed a heck of a lot of emotion doing so. I’m also partial to “Old Friends” from “Merrily,” because it captured the bond between those three performers and let folks get a glimpse at the revival that is shuttering in only a few weeks.
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