Hamilton Scores Near-Record 11 Tonys

It was an emotional night on Broadway
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 13, 2016 12:23 AM CDT
Hamilton Scores Near-Record 11 Tonys
"Hamilton" producer Jeffrey Seller and cast members accept the award for best musical.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Hamilton, the hip-hop stage biography of Alexander Hamilton, won the 2016 Tony Award for best new musical, capping an emotional night in which many in the Broadway community rallied to embrace the LGBT community after a shooting at a gay Florida nightclub, the AP reports. 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. Jeffrey Seller, producer of Hamilton, quoted the show's lyrics when accepting the best musical crown. "Look around, look around. How lucky we are to be alive right now," he said.

Hamilton went into the night with 16 nominations and, in addition to taking the musical award, won best score, best book, direction, orchestration, choreography, and best featured actor and actress statuettes for Renee Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs. Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Aaron Burr, won best actor in a musical. The show earlier won awards for costume and lighting but lost scenic design to She Loves Me, meaning Hamilton couldn't break the record haul by The Producers. Still, few shows get introduced by a sitting president, as Barack and Michelle Obama did for the performance by the show's cast. Host James Corden dedicated the night to celebrating the diversity of Broadway. "Hate will never win. Together we have to make sure of that. Tonight's show stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle," he said. (More Hamilton stories.)

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