The 78th Tony Awards was a groundbreaking evening, particularly for artists with Bay Area roots who made an indelible mark upon the nation's premier theatre honors. A trio of Bay Area talents took home Tony statues during the Sunday festivities at New York's Radio City Music Hall, as reported by the SF Chronicle.
Representing San Francisco’s theater scene, Francis Jue and Darren Criss each snagged acting awards. With his turn in "Yellow Face," Jue won best performance by a featured actor in a play, while Criss garnered the best performance by a leading actor in a play title for his role in the musical "Maybe Happy Ending." Criss also nailed down a producer's credit for the same show, which took home the best new musical award on a night that shone for its diverse representation and wins. "Maybe Happy Ending," as ABC7 News highlighted, led the evening with six Tonys.
Meanwhile, playwright Jonathan Spector secured an award for best revival of a play with "Eureka Day," a piece commissioned by Berkeley's Aurora Theatre Company and premiered in 2018. In his acceptance speech, Spector emphasized the relevance of local arts communities and thanked his Bay Area theater comrades "who gave me space to find my voice as a writer," according to the SF Chronicle. His Tony Awards triumph marks an exceptional win for a current Bay Area resident.
Nicole Scherzinger's portrayal in "Sunset Boulevard" secured her win for best actress in a musical, contributing to a historic night that saw Asian American actors doubling the number of Tony recipients of Asian heritage. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins celebrated deeper into the ceremony, notable wins for best new play with "Purpose," and back-to-back Tonys for Kara Young. Jacobs-Jenkins' win marks a significant moment as he becomes the first Black playwright to clinch the category since August Wilson's "Fences" ride to victory in 1987.
