“Band’s Visit” and “Harry Potter” Crush Tony Awards
By Karen Carter | Posted on June 10, 2018 11:15 PM
The 2018 Tony Awards Took Place This Evening, With The Band’s Visit Winning 10 Awards Including Best Musical, and Harry Potter Winning 6 Awards Including Best Play.
The Band’s Visit Leads with Ten Wins; Harry Potter Earns Six
This evening, June 10, 2018, the 72nd annual Tony Awards took place at Radio City Music Hall. Hosted by Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban, the awards were contentious with no clear winner for the biggest award entering into the ceremony. As it turned out, the winner of Best Musical was The Band’s Visit, which also took home by far the most wins with 10 awards.
Next in line was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, which earned 6 Tony Awards, including that for Best Play. Furthermore, Angels in America earned 3 awards, including Best Revival of a Play, and both the awards for Best Performance by a Leading, and by a Featured, Actor in a Play – for Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane, respectively.
More Tony Award Winners
Three Tall Women earned two awards for both Best Performance by a Leading, and by a Featured, Actress in a Play – for Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf, respectively. The only other show to win more than one award was Carousel, which won the award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress, given to Lindsay Mendez for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge. This is the same role that Audra McDonald played when she earned her first Tony. In addition, Carousel won the award for Best Choreography, given to Justin Peck.
Finally, three shows earned one award each: SpongeBob SquarePants, though nominated for an impressive 12 awards including Best Musical, won just one award: that for Best Scenic Design in a Musical for David Zinn. My Fair Lady earned one award as well, that ofr Best Costume Design in a Musical for Catherine Zuber, winning her seventh Tony. In addition, Once on this Island surprised some by winning the award for Best Revival of a Musical, beating out both My Fair Lady and Carousel for that top honor.
Championing the Smaller Story, Not the Brand Pizzazz
In winning the Tony Award for Best Musical, The Band’s Visit greatly enhanced its chances for longevity. This is a musical that does not have the brand power of Frozen, Mean Girls, or SpongeBob SquarePants, which were its competitors for the coveted top award. While The Band’s Visit is also based on a film, in this case, a 2007 Israeli film, that film is by no means as well known as the others. When the decision was made to adapt it into an English-language stage musical, the creative team poured their all into making it as artful and compelling as could be. Their hard work paid off, as the show took home by far the most Tony Awards of any show this season.
In addition to Best Musical, The Band’s Visit won Best Performance by a Leading Actor for Tony Shalhoub, Best Performance by a Leading Actress for Katrina Lenk and Best Performance by a Featured Actor for Ari'el Stachel. Itamar Moses won for Best Book, and David Yazbek won for Best Original Score. In a very competitive category, the show also won Best Direction, given to David Cromer. In addition, the show was honored in the design categories of Best Lighting for Tyler Micoleau and Best Sound for Kai Harada. To top it off, Jamshied Sharifi was honored with the award for Best Orchestrations.
Mean Girls Among The Shows Going Home Empty-Handed
When the Tony nominations were announced, the headlines were that Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants tied with the most nominations: 12. While SpongeBob only won one award, that for Best Scenic Design of a Musical for David Zinn, Tina Fey and her Mean Girls team went home without a single award. The Iceman Cometh was nominated for eight awards but earned zero. Farinelli and the King earned five nominations but no awards. Travesties also earned none of the four awards for which it was nominated, and Frozen went home with nothing, after its measly three nominations, though one of them was Best Musical.
Lobby Hero also went home empty-handed despite the acting nods in the nominations, and Best Play nominees The Children and Junk earned neither of the two awards for which each was nominated. The other shows that were nominated but failed to earn any awards were Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Children of a Lesser God, Latin History for Morons, Meteor Shower, 1984, and Saint Joan.
Below is the full list of nominees, with the winners bolded up top:
Best Musical
The Band’s Visit
Frozen
Mean Girls
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical
Best Play
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
The Children
Farinelli and the King
Junk
Latin History for Morons
Best Revival of a Musical
Once on This Island
Carousel
My Fair Lady
Best Revival of a Play
Angels in America
Lobby Hero
Three Tall Women
The Iceman Cometh
Travesties
Best Book of a Musical
The Band’s Visit, Itamar Moses
Frozen, Jennifer Lee
Mean Girls, Tina Fey
SpongeBob SquarePants, Kyle Jarrow
Best Original Score
The Band’s Visit, Music and Lyrics: David Yazbek
Angels in America, Adrian Sutton
Frozen, Music and Lyrics: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Mean Girls, Music: Jeff Richmond; Lyrics: Nell Benjamin
