Broadway’s biggest night ended in dramatic fashion when stage legend Barbra Streisand announced that “Hamilton” would indeed win the Tony Award for best musical. That made 11 wins for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking production, just shy of the record of 12 Tonys won by “The Producers.”
And on a night when so many were thinking of the victims of the biggest mass shooting in U.S. history, it’s fitting that Miranda’s “Hamilton” company sang the number “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” to introduce the musical.
First-time Tonys host James Corden began the night with a message for the Orlando victims: “Your tragedy is our tragedy. Theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality, and gender is equal, embraced, and loved. Hate will never win.” A few notable and moving speeches paying tribute to the Orlando victims were given by Miranda, Jessica Lange, Frank Langella and others. Overall, though, the show largely stuck to its original script of laughs and plenty of music. Plus Andrew Lloyd Webber on tambourine.