Jonathan Groff won his first Tony Award last night, capping off another big night for queer theater lovers on Broadway’s biggest night.
The 39-year-old took home the trophy for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance as Franklin in the latest revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. During his acceptance speech, a visibly moved Groff thanked his parents for their unwavering support.
“Thank you for letting me dress up like Mary Poppins when I was three. Thank you for letting me act out scenes from I Love Lucy on my 10th birthday,” he said. “Thank you for always allowing my freak flag to fly without ever making me feel weird about it. Even if they didn’t always understand me, my family knew the life-saving power of fanning the flame of a young person’s passions without judgment.”
Groff also thanked the cast and crew of Spring Awakening, the musical that granted him his breakout role, for inspiring “me to come out of the closet when I was 23.”
“Even now, musical theater is still saving my soul,” Groff said, going on to call his Merrily co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez his “soulmates.”
The night was marked by other wins for prominent queer stars, including Sarah Paulson, who won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her role in Appropriate. This marked Paulson’s first Tony win, and she took time to give a sweet shout-out to her partner of nine years, Holland Taylor.
“Holland, thank you for loving me,” she said upon accepting her award.
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Bisexual icon Angelina Jolie also won her first Tony Award for producing The Outsiders: The Musical, which won the coveted award for Best Musical. She attended the ceremony alongside her 15-year-old daughter Vivienne Jolie, who she recently told Deadline encouraged her to get involved with the play.
Elsewhere, queer playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins accepted the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for Appropriate, while queer actor Maleah Joi Moon won for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her Broadway debut in Hell's Kitchen. Gay playwright David Adjmi received the Tony Award for Best Play for Stereophonic. And finally, designer Tom Scutt won a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design in a Musical for Cabaret.
In short: There’s never a bad time to be a theater gay!
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