Hamilton, the hip-hop stage biography of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, won the 2016 Tony Award for best new musical, capping an emotional night in which many in the Broadway community rallied to offer their sympathy and support to the victims of the shooting at a Florida nightclub.
Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical biography, about the first US treasury secretary, won 11 Tonys, just short of breaking the 12-Tony record held by The Producers.
Broadway’s boast of being more diverse than the Oscars was proved, with black actors winning four top awards in the acting categories – a history-making sweep of the musical categories – and white actors winning the remaining four for plays.
Hamilton started the night with 16 nominations and, in addition to taking the musical award, it won for best score, best book, direction, orchestration, choreography and best featured actor and actress for Renee Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs. Leslie Odom Jr, who plays Aaron Burr, won best actor in a musical and cheered Miranda for "a new vision of what's possible".
The show earlier won awards for costume and lighting but lost scenic design to She Loves Me.
The awards show unspooled with a heavy heart a night after a gunman killed 50 people at a gay club in Florida, prompting a Broadway tribute to the victims at the start of the show and a smattering of references to tolerance throughout it.
Host James Corden dedicated the night to celebrating the diversity of Broadway. “Hate will never win,” he said.
Barbra Streisand returned to the Tony stage for the first time in 46 years and acknowledged the killings. “Tonight our joy is tinged with sorrow but we’re here to celebrate Broadway and the beauty that artistry can bring into this world.” Art, she added, can “at times like these console us”.
Thomas Kail won the Tony for directing Hamilton. British actress Cynthia Erivo won best actress for her Broadway debut in The Color Purple, which also won the best musical revival award.
The Humans, playwright Stephen Karam tale of a fractious family get-together, was the second-most honoured show, with four awards.
The play also earned wins for two mainstays of the New York stage – Jayne Houdyshell and her stage husband, Reed Birney. Both won for featured roles.
Hollywood star Jessica Lange won her first Tony for playing a drug-addled mother in the revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night.
Frank Langella won his fourth Tony for playing a man who has begun a slide into dementia in The Father. He almost teared up when he mentioned his brother's struggle with the condition.
Dutch visionary Ivo Van Hove won his first Tony, for directing an imaginative revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge. The show was also named best play revival.
* Associated Press
