NEW YORK (AP) – “Hamilton,” the hip-hop stage biography of Alexander Hamilton, won the 2016 Tony Award for best new musical, capping an emotional night in which many in the Broadway community rallied to embrace the LGBT community after a shooting at a gay Florida nightclub.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop-flavored biography about the first U.S. treasury secretary won 11 Tonys, just short of breaking the 12-Tony record held by “The Producers.”
Jeffrey Seller, producer of “Hamilton,” quoted the show’s lyrics when accepting the award. “Look around, look around. How lucky we are to be alive right now,” he said.
“Hamilton” went into the night with 16 nominations and, in addition to taking the musical award, won best score, best book, direction, orchestration, choreography and best featured actor and actress statuettes for Renee Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs.
Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Aaron Burr, won best actor and thanks Miranda for “a new vision of what’s possible.” He thanked his wife, actress Nicolette Robinson and his parents.