NEW YORK (AP) – Neil Patrick Harris was just a presenter this time, but he sure looked glad to be back from the Oscars. And why wouldn’t he be?
Even when uneven, the Tonys are the most reliably entertaining of the awards shows, and often the most warmhearted and uplifting, too. That was the case Sunday, as the intimate, poignant, lesbian coming-of-age story “Fun Home” took best musical over more conventional fare, and longtime stage sweetheart Kelli O’Hara finally won a trophy after six nominations, charming the crowd with a goofy mix of bliss and relief.
Here are 10 memorable moments, including some you didn’t see on TV:
A YEAR FOR WOMEN:
An early award – best score – signaled it was going to be a good night for “Fun Home,” but it was doubly important because composer Jeanine Tesori and playwright Lisa Kron are the first all-female team to win the award. “We stand on the shoulders of other women who came before us,” Tesori said. Kron also won best book of a musical, and one of the night’s two directing prizes went to Marianne Elliott for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-time.”