Tony Awards 2009: full list of winners
The three child stars who share the role of Billy Elliot on Broadway danced away with joint awards for Best Actor in a Musical at the American Tony Awards where British imports dominated.
The teenagers — Canadian-born David Àlvarez and the Americans Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish — offered an inspiring message to youngsters who yearn to dance. After thanking their families and teachers, Kulish declared: “We want to say to all the kids out there who might want to dance — never give up.”
Billy Elliot, the Musical, adapted from the hit 2000 film about a coalminer’s son who wants to become a ballet dancer, took ten Tony awards including Best Musical at the ceremony in Radio City Music Hall, New York, on Sunday night. This is the highest number of Tony awards for a single production since The Producers won 12 categories in 2001.
Stephen Daldry, who directed the Billy Elliot film, was named Best Director and Lee Hall, who wrote the original script, won Best Book of a Musical.
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“I have been blessed in my life to spend the majority of the last ten years working on the story of Billy Elliot,” Daldry said before praising Àlvarez, Kowalik and Kulish as “three great gifts of Broadway — our three little Billys”.
Billy Elliot won the Featured Actor prize for Gregory Jbara as Billy’s father, as well as awards for choreography, set, lighting, sound and a shared award for best orchestration.
Sir Elton John, nominated for best score, missed out on an individual statuette but said, on collecting his award: “Thank you for accepting us so beautifully on Broadway.
“We came here at a hard time economically. You opened up your wallets and you opened up your hearts to us. And we love you for it, thank you.”
Broadway is celebrating an unexpectedly successful season with 43 new shows — the highest since 50 opened in the 1982-83 season — and record box office takings of around $943.3 million.
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The success of Billy Elliot capped a tremendous night for British imports such as as Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage which premiered in London’s West End, and Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests, an Old Vic production. Of the 27 Tony Awards, 18 went to productions originating in Britain or to British talent.
God of Carnage, a savage comedy of manners about middle-class marital strife, was named best play. It also earned a Best Director award for Matthew Warchus and best actress in a play for Marcia Gay Harden.
Both thanked their spouses. Mr Warchus praised his wife, the American actress Lauren Ward, who stayed in London, saying: “Because she has maintained calm and harmony at home, I have been able to manufacture marital mayhem onstage here in New York”.
Ms Harden jokingly thanked her husband in the audience for the “many dress rehearsals”. The Norman Conquests Ayckbourn’s 1973 trilogy about a character called Norman and his wife and family, won the Tony for Best Revival of a Play.
Angela Lansbury, the veteran British actress won her fifth Tony at the age of 83, taking home the award for Featured Actress for her performance in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. “Who would have thought?” Lansbury said to a standing ovation. “Who knew that at this time in my life I should be presented with this lovely, lovely award? I feel deeply grateful.”
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Equus, another British import, took the Tony for Best Sound Design of a play. Gregory Clarke quipped, when picking up his prize, that he would now have to tell his mother he does not work in a bank. Briton Tim Hatley won Best Costume Design for the musical of Shrek.
The Australian actor Geoffrey Rush was named best actor in a play for his role as the dying monarch in Eugene Ionesco’s Exit the King. “I want to thank Manhattan audiences for proving that French existential absurdist tragicomedy rocks,” Rush said.
The only American production to win one of the top categories was the Public Theatre’s exuberant Hair, named Best Revival of a Musical.