Harry Potter play wins six Tony Awards
11th June 2018
It was a triumphant night for British theatre at the Tony Awards on Sunday night, with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picking up six awards.
The West End transfer collected 6 gongs, including best play and best direction, at the New York ceremony.
Veteran actress Glenda Jackson won best actress in a play for her performance in Three Tall Women.
British-American star Andrew Garfield won best actor in a play for his turn in a revival of Angels in America.
But the biggest winner of the night was a musical about an Egyptian band visiting an Israeli desert town – The Band’s Visit picked up an impressive 10 prizes, including best musical, best actress (Katrina Lenk) and best actor (Tony Shalhoub).
Beyond the prizes, Oscar-winning actor Robert de Niro pulled no punches when he delivered an expletive-laden denunciation of US President Donald Trump during the live television broadcast.
The expletive was bleeped by the CBS network for millions of television viewers.
De Niro then introduced Bruce Springsteen, who performed and was presented with a special award.
The actor said: “Bruce, you can rock the house like nobody else. And even more important in these perilous times, you rock the vote, always fighting for, in your own words, truth, transparency, and integrity in government. Boy, do we need that now.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber was honoured with a lifetime achievement award.
Other winners included Carousel (best choreography and best featured actress in a musical – Lindsay Mendez).
Angels in America also won best revival of a play, with Broadway stalwart Nathan Lane winning best featured actor in a musical.
But musical Mean Girls, based on the 2004 film, went away empty-handed after receiving 12 nominations.
Source: BBC