Overall, the 2019 Tony Awards Ceremony broadcast on June 9 by CBS was rather listless. Unlike his Tony hosting stint 2 years ago, I did not think James Corden made for a good host. For the most part his comedic and musical bits seemed unoriginal and lacking in wit, with the exception of the "James in the Bathroom" number. But the night was not a total loss. I was glad to see "The Ferryman" win as Best Play, and "Oklahoma" justly won for Best Musical Revival. In addition, I found the following 5 moments to be the highlights of the evening:
1. Elaine May's win and eloquent acceptance speech for Best Leading Actress in a Play for her role in "The Waverly Gallery." I will never forget Ms. May's astonishing performance in this play and was thrilled to see her win and hear her lovely speech.
2. Ali Stroker's win and inspiring acceptance speech for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Ms. Stroker lights up any stage she graces, and the Radio City Musical Hall stage during the Tony ceremony was no exception.
3. Rachel Chavkin's call to action acceptance speech after she won as Best Director of a Musical for "Hadestown." She is right, the amount of untapped Broadway exposure by supremely talented women and people of color is shameful and needs to be corrected.
4. The "Oklahoma" musical segment, which for me was the best musical performance of the evening and gave a hint of the absolute genius that is this revival.
5. The "Prom" number, like the show itself, put a huge smile on my face and had me dancing in my seat, and was my runner up for best musical performance of the night.
