The line between stage and screen was blurred at the 2024 Tony Awards

A-listers like Daniel Radcliffe and Sarah Paulson won big, and a few celebrities made special appearances during last night's broadcast

Aux News Tony Awards
The line between stage and screen was blurred at the 2024 Tony Awards
Daniel Radcliffe; Sarah Paulson; Jeremy Strong Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Becoming an EGOT will always be a stunning achievement, but last night’s Tony Awards ceremony proved that the lines between those letters have become increasingly hazy. While all seasoned stage actors in their own right, a number of performers that non-thespians might know better from their HBO shows and other Hollywood projects took home statues last night. Also, Alicia Keys and Jay Z showed up to perform “Empire State Of Mind” with the cast of Keys’ musical, Hell’s Kitchen, so it was a pretty star-studded affair all around.

The 77th Annual Tony Awards® | Alicia Keys and Jay Z | Hell’s Kitchen Performance | CBS

While Kendall Roy never got to win at, well, pretty much anything, his actor, Jeremy Strong, had a great night. Strong won his first Tony for his work in Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy Of The People, in which he stars as medical officer Thomas Stockmann. “I want to thank the ushers and the front-of-house staff who see me walking in every day looking like I’ve just been run over by a truck, and see me walk out looking somehow even worse with, like, bits of pretzels and Aquavit in my hair,” he said during his speech.

Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff—the men of Best Revival Of A Musical winner Merrily We Roll Along—also had a winning and very emotional night. First up was Radcliffe, securing his first Tony after starring in five Broadway shows for his featured performance in the revival. “Jonathan, Lindsay [Mendez], I will miss you so much,” he said as his co-stars got visibly choked up in the audience. “I don’t really have to act in this show, I just have to look at you and feel everything I want to feel. I will never have it this good again.” Later in the night, it was Groff’s turn to cry again. Even though he’s been a Broadway standby since first debuting in Spring Awakening nearly two decades ago, the veteran actor won his first-ever Tony for Best Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role In A Musical last night. “Thank you for always allowing my freak flag to fly without ever making me feel weird about it,” he said, thanking his family.

The 77th Annual Tony Awards® | Jonathan Groff wins Best Lead Actor in a Musical | CBS

Elsewhere in the broadcast, there were both expected (and deserved) wins and a few exciting surprises. Sarah Paulson—another actor who has made a name for herself on the small screen—took home the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play award for her work in Appropriate, while Stereophonic, the most nominated play in Tony history, naturally won for Best Play. Best Musical was far more surprising, however; the night’s big award went to S.E. Hinton adaptation The Outsiders, rather than a big-name show like Hell’s Kitchen. The Outsiders’ director, Danya Taymor, also made a notable achievement of her own last night. She became only the sixth woman to win for Best Direction Of A Musical, after her aunt, Julie Taymor, became the first for The Lion King in 1998.

The full list of 2024 Tony Award winners and nominees is below:


Best Musical

  • “The Outsiders” — Winner
  • “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • “Illinoise”
  • “Suffs”
  • “Water for Elephants”

Best Play

  • “Stereophonic” — Winner
  • “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”
  • “Mary Jane”
  • “Mother Play”
  • “Prayer for the French Republic”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

  • Maleah Joi Moon, “Hell’s Kitchen” — Winner
  • Eden Espinosa, “Lempicka”
  • Kelli O’Hara, “Days of Wine and Roses”
  • Maryann Plunkett, “The Notebook”
  • Gayle Rankin, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

  • Jonathan Groff, “Merrily We Roll Along” — Winner
  • Brody Grant, “The Outsiders”
  • Dorian Harewood, “The Notebook”
  • Brian d’Arcy James, “Days of Wine and Roses”
  • Eddie Redmayne, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

  • Sarah Paulson, “Appropriate” — Winner
  • Betsy Aidem, “Prayer for the French Republic”
  • Jessica Lange, “Mother Play”
  • Rachel McAdams, “Mary Jane”
  • Amy Ryan, “Doubt: A Parable”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

  • Jeremy Strong, “An Enemy of the People” — Winner
  • William Jackson Harper, “Uncle Vanya”
  • Leslie Odom Jr., “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”
  • Liev Schreiber, “Doubt: A Parable”
  • Michael Stuhlbarg, “Patriots”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

  • Will Brill, “Stereophonic” — Winner
  • Eli Gelb, “Stereophonic”
  • Jim Parsons, “Mother Play”
  • Tom Pecinka, “Stereophonic”
  • Corey Stoll, “Appropriate”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

  • Kara Young, “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch” — Winner
  • Quincy Tyler Bernstine, “Doubt: A Parable”
  • Juliana Canfield, “Stereophonic”
  • Celia Keenan-Bolger, “Mother Play”
  • Sarah Pidgeon, “Stereophonic”

Best Direction of a Play

  • Daniel Aukin, “Stereophonic” — Winner
  • Anne Kauffman, “Mary Jane”
  • Kenny Leon, “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”
  • Lila Neugebauer, “Appropriate”
  • Whitney White, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”

Best Direction of a Musical

  • Danya Taymor, “The Outsiders” — Winner
  • Maria Friedman, “Merrily We Roll Along”
  • Michael Greif, “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • Leigh Silverman, “Suffs”
  • Jessica Stone, “Water for Elephants”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

  • Daniel Radcliffe, “Merrily We Roll Along” — Winner
  • Roger Bart, “Back to the Future: The Musical”
  • Joshua Boone, “The Outsiders”
  • Brandon Victor Dixon, “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • Sky Lakota-Lynch, “The Outsiders”
  • Steven Skybell, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

  • Kecia Lewis, “Hell’s Kitchen” — Winner
  • Shoshana Bean, “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • Amber Iman, “Lempicka”
  • Nikki M. James, “Suffs”
  • Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, “Monty Python’s Spamalot”
  • Lindsay Mendez, “Merrily We Roll Along”
  • Bebe Neuwirth, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

  • “Suffs” — Winner
  • “Days of Wine and Roses”
  • “Here Lies Love”
  • “Stereophonic”
  • “The Outsiders”

Best Revival of a Play

  • “Appropriate” — Winner
  • “An Enemy of the People”
  • “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”

Best Revival of a Musical

  • “Merrily We Roll Along” — Winner
  • “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”
  • “Gutenberg! The Musical!”
  • “The Who’s Tommy”

Best Book of a Musical

  • “Suffs” — Winner
  • “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • “The Notebook”
  • “The Outsiders”
  • “Water for Elephants”

Best Costume Design of a Play

  • “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” — Winner
  • “Appropriate”
  • “An Enemy of the People”
  • “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”
  • “Stereophonic”

Best Costume Design of a Musical

  • “The Great Gatsby” — Winner
  • “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”
  • “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • “Suffs”
  • “Water for Elephants”

Best Orchestrations

  • “Merrily We Roll Along” — Winner
  • “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • “Illinoise”
  • “The Outsiders”
  • “Stereophonic”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

  • “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” — Winner
  • “Back to the Future: The Musical”
  • “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • “Here Lies Love”
  • “Lempicka”
  • “The Outsiders”
  • “Water for Elephants”

Best Scenic Design of a Play

  • “Stereophonic” — Winner
  • “Appropriate”
  • “An Enemy of the People”
  • “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”
  • “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”

Best Choreography

  • “Illinoise” — Winner
  • “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • “Here Lies Love”
  • “The Outsiders”
  • “Water for Elephants”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

  • “The Outsiders” — Winner
  • “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”
  • “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • “Illinoise”
  • “Water for Elephants”

Best Lighting Design of a Play

  • “Appropriate” — Winner
  • “An Enemy of the People”
  • “Grey House”
  • “Prayer for the French Republic”
  • “Stereophonic”

Best Sound Design of a Play

  • “Stereophonic” — Winner
  • “Appropriate”
  • “Grey House”
  • “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”
  • “Mary Jane”

Best Sound Design of a Musical

  • “The Outsiders” — Winner
  • “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”
  • “Hell’s Kitchen”
  • “Here Lies Love”
  • “Merrily We Roll Along”

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