From the Broadway stage to our TV!
Broadway’s biggest stars came out for a night of elegance, exciting performances and stellar fashion at the 68th annual Tony Awards last night at Radio City Music Hall in New York and there were plenty of moments that had us buzzing. Audra McDonald made history, James Monroe Iglehart stole the show, T.I. and LL Cool J found their way to the stage (yes, you read that right) and Jennifer Hudson looked and sounded stunning.
Check out the highlights:
Audra McDonald Won Her Sixth Tony Award
Actress Audra McDonald made history by winning her her sixth Tony award for her portrayal as Billie Holiday in the play “Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill.” With this astounding win, she’s now the only performer to win Tonys in all four acting categories: Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and now, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.
Audra received a standing ovation as she accepted her award. She broke down in tears as she thanked her parents, “I want to thank my mom and my dad, up in heaven, for disobeying the doctors orders and not medicating their hyperactive girl and finding out what she was into instead and pushing her into the theater.” She then paid tribute to the actresses who’ve come before her. “I want to thank all the shoulders of the strong and brave and courageous women that I’m standing on. I am standing on Lena Horne’s shoulders. I am standing on Maya Angelou‘s shoulders. I am standing on Diane Carroll’s and Ruby Dee’s and most of all Billie Holiday’s. You deserve so much more than you were given when you were on this planet.”
The Genie Steals The Show
We can’t think of anyone more perfect for the role of Genie in “Aladdin.” James Monroe Iglehart gave a stellar performance of “Friend Like Me,” owning the stage as he twirled, danced and sang in sparkly blue parachute pants.. Seriously. He tore the house down. (Did you know he can do a toe-touch?). Iglehard transitioned through Disney classics like “A Whole New World,” “Tale As Old As Time,” “Part Of Your World” and “Under The Sea,” ending on “Friend Like Me.” This guy needs his own show!
James Monroe Iglehart took home the Tony award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and if you’ve watched his performance, you know why!
LL Cool J, T.I. & Hugh Jackman Perform “The Music Man”
That awkward moment when Hugh Jackman tried to sing the lyrics to a rap song…yeah, that happened. Rappers LL Cool J and T.I. joined actor and Tony Awards maestro Hugh Jackman for a performance of “The Music Man” that umm… was filled with good intentions. We applaud his efforts, but next year, let’s leave the rapping to the rappers.
Jennifer Hudson Looked & Sounded Like This
Jennifer Hudson looked stunning in a silver gown that hugged her curves in all the right places. When she wasn’t sitting pretty, she commanded the stage with a stellar performance of “Neverland.”
In other highlights, the stage play “A Raisin In The Sun” took home several awards including, Sophie Okonedo, whose debut performance won her Best Featured Actress in a Play honors and Kenny Leon who won both Best Direction in a Play and Best Revival of a Play.
A total of seven Black nominees took home awards. Can we say hell yeah!?
See all the winners and more stars that graced the red carpet in the gallery below.
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