Tony Awards' historic night
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Michael R. Jackson and Jennifer Hudson at the 75th annual Tony Awards in New York City on Sunday. Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Sunday's Tony Awards marked Broadway's most racially diverse season — with Michael R. Jackson's "A Strange Loop," about a gay, Black theater artist, winning the best new musical crown, per AP.
The big picture: Jennifer Hudson co-produced the show, meaning she's now the 17th person to achieve EGOT status, adding a Tony to the collection of Emmy, Grammy and Oscar awards that the singer and actress already won.
- The event, now in its 75th year, saw "MJ," a bio-musical about Michael Jackson, win four awards — including Myles Frost's for Best Lead Actor.
- Frost paid tribute to his mother in his acceptance speech, saying she "taught me and showed me what a strong Black woman is and what it means to raise a strong Black man."
Of note: British composer Toby Marlow became the Tony Awards' first openly nonbinary winner, taking home Best Original Score alongside writer Lucy Moss for "Six: The Musical," the Press Association reports.
- Marianne Elliott achieved the feat of being the only woman to have won three Tonys for directing, after winning for "Company" on Sunday, according to AP.
Meanwhile, L Morgan Lee was the first openly transgender artist to be nominated in the theater awards, now in their 75th year, in the actress category, for "A Strange Loop," Variety notes. The award went to Patti LuPone for "Company."
For the record: Other big wins went to "The Lehman Trilogy" for best play, "Company" for best musical revival and "Take Me Out" for best revival of a play.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
