'EVAN' ESSENCE AT THE TONYS
6 awards, but Bette steals show
‘DEAR Evan Hansen,” an original American musical about a troubled teen caught up in a web of lies on social media, swept the Tonys Sunday night, winning six awards, including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score.
Ben Platt won for his lead performance in the show, beating back a stiff challenge from Broadway veteran Andy Karl, who was up for his role as a the misanthropic weatherman Phil Connors in “Groundhog Day.”
Going into the Tonys, “Evan Hansen” was locked in a battle with “Come From Away,” a musical about a small town in Newfoundland that welcomed thousands of airline passengers stranded there on 9/11. Broadway pundits thought the race was too close to call, but as “Evan Hansen” began picking up awards at Radio City, “Come From Away” faded fast. It went home with just one Tony, for director Christopher Ashley.
Bette Midler, to the surprise of absolutely no one, won the Tony for her performance in the smash revival of “Hello, Dolly!”
Demonstrating her power on the Great White Way — she’s jacked “Dolly!” advance sales to more than $45 million — Midler shouted down the orchestra when it tried to curtail her acceptance speech.
“Shut that crap off,” Midler snapped. The orchestra went silent. She then went on to acknowledge just about everybody who ever had anything to do with “Hello, Dolly!” — from composer Jerry Herman to Carol Channing, the original Dolly, to Pearl Bailey, who famously led an all-black cast in 1967.
The audience loved every minute.
Tony host Kevin Spacey, hamming it up as President Frank Underwood from “House of Cards,” cracked, “I want to get the hell out of here before Bette Midler thanks anyone else!”
Scott Rudin — the powerful producer of “Hello, Dolly!” — flexed his muscles as well, flouting a recent Tony rule that said no more than six producers of a show could appear onstage to accept an award. When “Dolly!” won for Best Revival of Musical, Rudin brought the entire “Dolly” team onstage.
“Get up here you laggards!” he said to his army of investors as they stormed the stage.
But Rudin’s clout could not carry another one of his shows — “A Doll’s House, Part 2” — over the finish line. It lost the Best Play award to “Oslo,” J.T. Rogers’ epic drama about the negotiations that led to the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993.
Kevin Kline won Best Actor for his performance in the revival of Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter.” He looked sublimely bored as he accepted his third Tony.
Laurie Metcalf displayed much more enthusiasm picking up her award for her witty star turn in “A Doll’s House, Part 2.”