| 70th Tony Awards | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Date | June 12, 2016 |
| Location | Beacon Theatre,Manhattan,New York City |
| Hosted by | James Corden |
| Most wins | Hamilton (11) |
| Most nominations | Hamilton (16) |
| Website | tonyawards |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | CBS |
| Viewership | 8.7 million[1] |
| Produced by | James Corden Ricky Kirshner Glenn Weiss Ben Winston |
| Directed by | Glenn Weiss |
The70th Annual Tony Awards were held on June 12, 2016, to recognize achievement inBroadway productions during the 2015–16 season. The ceremony temporarily returned to theBeacon Theatre in New York City after three years atRadio City Music Hall and was broadcast live byCBS.[2]James Corden served as host.[3]
Hamilton received a record-setting 16 nominations in 13 categories, ultimately winning 11 awards, the second-most for a single production in Tony history.[4] The revival ofThe Color Purple won two awards.The Humans won four awards, and the revival productions of playsLong Day's Journey into Night andA View from the Bridge each won two awards.
The ceremony received positive reviews, with many highlighting the performance of Corden as host. At the69th Primetime Emmy Awards, it won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program, and was nominated forOutstanding Writing for a Variety Special,Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special andOutstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special.[5]
Shows that opened on Broadway during the 2015–2016 season before April 28, 2016, were eligible for consideration.[6]
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The Tony Award nominations were announced on May 3, 2016, byNikki M. James andAndrew Rannells.
Hamilton garnered 16 nominations—the most received by anyBroadway production to date. FollowingHamilton, the season's most-nominated shows includedShuffle Along with 10 nominations and theRoundabout Theatre Company revival ofShe Loves Me with eight. The revival ofLong Day's Journey into Night—also produced byRoundabout—received seven nominations. New playsEclipsed andThe Humans both received six nominations.[4]
The 2015–16 season marked the first time since 1960 and the fourth time in history that five shows had been nominated for Best Musical.[7]
The annual Meet the Nominees Press Reception took place on May 4, 2016, at theParamount Hotel.[8][9][10] The annual Nominees Luncheon took place on May 19, 2016, at theParamount Hotel.[11] A toast honoring the season's Creative Arts nominees was held at theLambs Club on May 24, 2016.[12] A private reception and cocktail party was held on June 6, 2016, at theParamount Hotel's Diamond Horseshoe to honor the recipients of the season's Tony Honors for Excellence.[13]
The ceremony was dedicated in honor of the victims of theOrlando nightclub shooting, which had occurred earlier that morning.[14] Corden addressed the shooting in a speech at the beginning of the telecast, stating "All we can say is that you are not on your own right now, your tragedy is our tragedy. Theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality, and gender is equal, is embraced and is loved. Hate will never win."[15] Winners Lin-Manuel Miranda and Frank Langella also addressed the shooting in their acceptance speeches. Miranda read asonnet that he had written, which included the passage "Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love; Cannot be killed or swept aside."[16] In respect toward the victims of the shooting, the cast ofHamilton dropped the use of muskets from their performance of "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" at the ceremony.[17]
The ceremony's presenters included:[18][19][20][21]
The following shows and performers performed on the ceremony's telecast:[22][23]
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Performances that were introduced by individuals who had a relationship with the show included: Steve Martin andEdie Brickell forBright Star; Oprah Winfrey forThe Color Purple; Josh Groban forFiddler on the Roof; Emilio Estefan forOn Your Feet!; Andrew Lloyd Webber forSchool of Rock; Meg Ryan forShe Loves Me; Marlee Matlin forSpring Awakening; and Keri Russell forWaitress.President Obama andMichelle Obama, in a recorded appearance, spoke of seeing the beginnings ofHamilton at the White House.[24] The ceremony also featured a special tribute performance in honor of the 20-year anniversary of the revival production of the musicalChicago, featuringBebe Neuwirth and company.[25]
The opening number, “That Could Be Me/This Could Be You,” was created by host Corden andGary Barlow, consisting of snippets from many musicals with Corden and the ensemble replicating shows such asLes Misérables,The Lion King, and ending with42nd Street.[24] During the ceremony, outside the Beacon Theatre, cast members of nominated shows and other nominees performed brief performance excerpts of iconic shows in the Broadway canon, ranging fromThe Phantom of the Opera toAnnie toRent.[24] The show closed with the cast ofHamilton performing "The Schuyler Sisters".
The 2016Tony Honors for Excellence were awarded to voice coach Joan Lader, attorney Seth Gelblum, and Sally Ann Parsons, owner of the costume shop Parsons-Meares.[26] LyricistSheldon Harnick andCircle Repertory Company founderMarshall W. Mason receivedSpecial Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement.[27] TheNational Endowment for the Arts and Miles Wilkin, COO and executive vice president of Key Brand Entertainment, received the season'sSpecial Tony Awards.[28]Paper Mill Playhouse inMillburn, New Jersey received theRegional Theatre Tony Award.[29]Brian Stokes Mitchell was named as recipient of theIsabelle Stevenson Award for his work with theActors Fund.[30] The season's Excellence in Theatre Education Award was awarded to drama teacher Marilyn McCormick ofCass Technical High School inDetroit.[31]
Sources: Playbill;[32]The New York Times;[4]The Guardian[33]
‡ The award is presented to the producer(s) of the musical or play.[34]
The show received a positive reception from media publications. Some media outlets received the broadcast more positively with praise for Corden and how he dealt with theOrlando nightclub shooting.The Hollywood Reporter columnist David Rooney remarked, "In terms of Corden's overall performance as host, it was very much in line with hisLate Late Show monologues — sweet and upbeat, if not the least bit risky or cutting-edge. Despite the inevitable longueurs that set in as the evening wore on, for the most part he kept the show moving briskly with affable appearances to paper the gaps."[36] Television critic Robert Lloyd of theLos Angeles Times remarked, "WhereNeil Patrick Harris, who once seemed to have permanent first-refusal rights on the job, is a cool cat, Corden is a ball of energy, a big dog that won't stop licking your face; but it is a style that works for him."[37]The New York Times theatre criticCharles Isherwood commented, "Was a bit jarring moving to comedy, but Mr. Corden is such a genial presence."[38]
In addition, Maureen Ryan fromVariety wrote, "Corden was an energetic host, even if the opening number meant to showcase his lifelong love of theater felt as though it went on a little long. There was also the inevitableCarpool Karaoke number. Corden was an affable host, and his opening remarks on Orlando were short but effective."[39] Frazier Moore of theRolling Stone wrote, "On a night that was marked by tragedy — and occurring mere hours after news broke of the deadly mass shooting in Orlando, Florida — the Tonys provided a much-needed bit of levity. The performers and honorees didn't shy away from speaking about the shocking events of the day, but the overall mood was one of celebration. Part of the credit goes to the master of ceremonies James Corden, best known as the goofy host CBS'sLate Late Show, yet still a dorkytheater kid at heart; his charming, cheerful persona brought an upbeat mood to the proceedings."[40]The Washington Post theatre criticPeter Marks gave high marks toward Corden saying, "Corden served for the first time Sunday night as host of the Tony Awards and, as a result, ushered in a completely pleasurable Era of Good Feeling for an awards ceremony, and an industry, badly in need of one."[41]
The ceremony averaged aNielsen 6.8 ratings/11 share,[42] and was watched by 8.7 million viewers.[43] The ratings was a 33 percent increase fromprevious ceremony's viewership of 6.4 million, becoming the highest rating in over 15 years.[44]
An orchestra was performing in the tribute as images of theatre personalities who died in the past year were shown in the following order.[45]