"Leopoldstadt," a play by Tom Stoppard, and the intimate tragicomic musical "Kimberly Akimbo" emerged as the top winners at the Tony Awards, which are considered the most prestigious honors in American theater. Both productions delve into themes of anti-Semitism, loss, and the resilience of a Jewish family.
Winners, performers and presenters alike at the United Palace Theater in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood also offered their full support to striking writers in Hollywood.
The 85-year-old Stoppard, who won his fifth Tony for best play with "Leopoldstadt," a work inspired partly by his own family history, called out artificial intelligence, saying he was "teeming with emotions a chat box wouldn't begin to understand."
In the 55 years since his first Tony for best play for "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," Stoppard said, "I have witnessed the theater writer getting progressively devalued in the food chain. It's just something I thought I'd mention."
The play won four awards overall, including best director and best-featured Actor.
"Kimberly Akimbo" – about a high school student suffering from a genetic disorder that causes her to age prematurely – won five Tonys, including best musical and best lead actress for Victoria Clark.
Britain's Jodie Comer, known to TV fans as the assassin Villanelle on "Killing Eve," won for best actress in a play for her searing one-woman show "Prima Facie," about a lawyer who defends men accused of sexual assault, until she is attacked.
Sean Hayes, who starred in TV's "Will and Grace," won the best actor in a Play for "Good Night Oscar."
The Tonys almost didn't happen, as a strike by the Writers Guild of America, which began in early May, called into question how to produce the live nationally televised event.
Eventually, the union said it would not picket the ceremony after Tonys organizers made some concessions about the show's format – the show was unscripted, a fact made clear by host Ariana DeBose, who opened the show by looking at blank pages.
"Our siblings over at the WGA are currently on strike in pursuit of a fair deal," she said after an elaborate opening dance number.
"I'm live and unscripted ... buckle up."
Staging the Tonys gala was seen as key for Broadway productions. The event is an annual American theater showcase and a live ad encouraging tourists to buy tickets.
Broadway took a serious hit during the COVID-19 lockdown, which shuttered theaters and left travelers skittish about returning to crowded venues.
But the Broadway League, the industry's national trade association, released data last month indicating that theatergoers were returning to Manhattan.
During the 2022-23 season, the first full one since the pandemic, 88.4% of seats were filled – "comparable to pre-pandemic levels," the league said in a statement. Total attendance was at over 12.2 million.
But the season was not without its victims, including some shows up for awards on Sunday.
In addition, "Phantom of the Opera," the longest-running show in Broadway history, closed in April after 35 years, partly because it struggled to rebound from Broadway's 18-month closure.
