And in the most amusing – and “Late Late Show”-like – segment of the evening, Corden poked fun at how numerous nominees had played roles on the “Law and Order”, the reliable, long-lived New York-based employers of stage actors”. As a sort-of one-man show, Corden sang through all of theater’s most iconic songs, including Dreamgirls’ “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” and “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” from Evita, while surrounded by many of this year’s nominated actors and actresses. “We’re listening and we heard you and we’re responding to that”. “Theatre is a place where every race, creed, sexuality, and gender is equal, is embraced, and is loved”. “Hate will never win”.
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“If art is what fights tragedy, if art is what fights the void, if art is what helps us make sense of violence and random acts of cowardice and killing, then tonight’s important, it’s important for us to celebrate those things”, he added.
He said “tonight’s show stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle”.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star and creator of “Hamilton”, won for best score and book, and read from onstage a sonnet, referencing tragedy and urging “love and love and love”.
Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love can not be killed or swept aside/ I sing Vanessa’s symphony.
Best Play recipient The Humans, written by Stephen Karam, also had a strong showing with four wins, including two performance awards for its featured actors Reed Birney and Jayne Houdyshell.
The season also was rich in diversity among actors: Fourteen of the 40 Tony nominees for acting in plays and musicals – or 35 percent – are actors of color. “We can let it define us, we can let it destroy us or we can let it strengthen us”.
“Today in Orlando, we had a ugly dose of reality, and I urge you, Orlando, to be strong”, he continued. He also had a message for the people of Orlando: “We will be with you every step of the way”.
“Hamilton“, the hip-hop stage biography of Alexander Hamilton, was, as expected, vacuuming up Tony Awards on the telecast on Sunday, but it will not break the record for the most Tonys. Some attendees wore silver ribbons to commemorate the terror attack. Already, “Hamilton” has said it will drop the use of muskets from its production number, and many performers and presenters have been expressing sadness and anger over the massacre on social media.
Miranda, as Hamilton, is vying for Best Actor in a Musical but faces stiff competition from co-star Leslie Odom Jr.as nemesis Aaron Burr.
Other likely winners on Sunday include Jessica Lange, poised to win her first Tony as morphine-addicted Mary Tyrone in “Long Day’s Journey into Night”, Frank Langella, playing an Alzheimer’s-afflicted patriarch in “The Father”, and Cynthia Erivo, star of “The Color Purple”, also favored to win Best Musical Revival.
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“Hamilton”, meanwhile, lived up to all that was promised on its big night, falling one short of the record set by “The Producers”.
