‘Fun Home’ dominates the Tonys

Rightfully, immediate cult classic “Fun Home” dominated the Tony Awards with 5 wins out of a total 12 nominations (matched only by “An American In Paris,” which wound up taking 4). It was a very predictable year, but in a perfectly pleasing way.

“Fun Home,” which won Best Musical, debuted off-Broadway at the Public Theater in 2012 and was an instant hit, selling out quickly and earning Broadway buzz even before its opening night. Much of the same cast was reunited this year when the play was re-staged in the rough at Circle in the Square Theatre.

Four of its actresses were nominated for awards, including three in the Featured Actress in a Musical category – and a groundbreaking three actresses for the same role, playing “Alison” at various ages. The play is based on the best-selling graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel.

While none of the younger ladies went home with the trophy, 11-year-old Sydney Lucas stole the show with her solo “Ring of Keys,” performed a third of a way into the telecast.

However, another young contender, Alex Sharp, took home the Best Actor for a Lead Actor in a Play for portraying a 15-year-old boy on the autism spectrum in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” also an adaptation of a book. He graduated from Juilliard one year ago this month, and this is his Broadway debut.

Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming co-hosted the awards show, the first time for either of them, with minimal fuss and even less real justification for why two hosts were needed (much less those two in particular). Chenoweth also performed a medley from “On the Twentieth Century,” which did not win Best Revival for a Musical, nor did she win Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. It was considered one of the more successful and thrilling musical numbers of the evening, however.

Renowned repeat award ceremony host Neil Patrick Harris made an appearance toward the end of the show, stealing the thunder from both Chenoweth and Cumming in the 11th hour when he announced the winner for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, Kelli O’Hara, who has been nominated five prior times but had not won a Tony Award until tonight.

The complete list of winners, including special honors, is below:

Best Play
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Disgraced
Hand to God
Wolf Hall Parts One & Two

Best Musical
An American in Paris
Fun Home
Something Rotten!
The Visit

Best Revival of a Play
The Elephant Man
Skylight
This Is Our Youth
You Can’t Take It with You

Best Revival of a Musical
The King and I
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century

Best Book of a Musical
An American in Paris(Craig Lucas)
Fun Home(Lisa Kron)
Something Rotten!(Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell)
The Visit
(Terrence McNally)

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Fun Home
Music: Jeanine Tesori
Lyrics: Lisa Kron

The Last Ship
Music & Lyrics: Sting

Something Rotten!
Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick

The Visit
Music: John Kander
Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Steven Boyer,Hand to God
Bradley Cooper,The Elephant Man
Ben Miles,Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Bill Nighy,Skylight
Alex Sharp,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Geneva Carr,Hand to God
Helen Mirren,The Audience
Elisabeth Moss,The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan,Skylight
Ruth Wilson,Constellations

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Michael Cerveris,Fun Home
Robert Fairchild,An American in Paris
Brian d’Arcy James,Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe,The King and I
Tony Yazbeck,On the Town

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Kristin Chenoweth,On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope,An American in Paris
Beth Malone,Fun Home
Kelli O’Hara,The King and I
Chita Rivera,The Visit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Matthew Beard,Skylight
K. Todd Freeman,Airline Highway
Richard McCabe,The Audience
Alessandro Nivola,The Elephant Man
Nathaniel Parker,Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Micah Stock,It’s Only a Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Annaleigh Ashford,You Can’t Take It with You
Patricia Clarkson,The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard,Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Sarah Stiles,Hand to God
Julie White,Airline Highway

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Christian Borle,Something Rotten!
Andy Karl,On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar,Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz,An American in Paris
Max von Essen,An American in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Victoria Clark,Gigi
Judy Kuhn,Fun Home
Sydney Lucas,Fun Home
Ruthie Ann Miles,The King and I
Emily Skeggs,Fun Home

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bunny Christie and Finn Ross,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Bob Crowley,Skylight
Christopher Oram,Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Rockwell,You Can’t Take It with You

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley and 59 Productions,An American in Paris
David Rockwell,On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan,The King and I
David Zinn,Fun Home

Best Costume Design of a Play
Bob Crowley,The Audience
Jane Greenwood,You Can’t Take It with You
Christopher Oram,Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Zinn,Airline Highway

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes,Something Rotten!
Bob Crowley,An American in Paris
William Ivey Long,On the Twentieth Century
Catherine Zuber,The King and I

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Paule Constable and David Plater,Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Natasha Katz,Skylight
Japhy Weideman,Airline Highway

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder,The King and I
Natasha Katz,An American in Paris
Ben Stanton,Fun Home
Japhy Weideman,The Visit

Best Direction of a Play
Stephen Daldry,Skylight
Marianne Elliott,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Scott Ellis,You Can’t Take It with You
Jeremy Herrin,Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel,Hand to God

Best Direction of a Musical
Sam Gold,Fun Home
Casey Nicholaw,Something Rotten!
John Rando,On the Town
Bartlett Sher,The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon,An American in Paris

Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse,On the Town
Christopher Gattelli,The King and I
Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Casey Nicholaw,Something Rotten!
Christopher Wheeldon,An American in Paris

Best Orchestrations
Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott,An American in Paris
John Clancy,Fun Home
Larry Hochman,Something Rotten!
Rob Mathes,The Last Ship

* * *

Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-Competitive Categories

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Tommy Tune

Special Tony Award
John Cameron Mitchell

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Cleveland Play House, Cleveland, Ohio

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Stephen Schwartz

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Arnold Abramson
Adrian Bryan-Brown
Gene O’Donovan