Game Changers: Everytime The Tony Awards Got It Right

The nominations for the 73rd annual Tony Awards were announced by Gayle King, Brandon Victor Dixon and Bebe Neuwirth on Tuesday morning, and though fans are upset that w To Kill A Mockingbird was snubbed in the Best Play category, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre (a.k.a.) the Tony’s, still made history with this year’s nominees.

Actress Ali Stoker is the first actress in a wheelchair to be nominated for a Tony. In 2015, she made history as the first performer ever to use a wheelchair for mobility on the Broadway stage.

@ALISTROKER is the… fucking best person. She is responsible for SO MANY completely positive and joyous moments in SO MANY peoples’ lives. She is a trailblazer and a star, and most importantly, IS THE BEST PERSON. BYE.- Alex boniello

Hey Broadway fans, is Ali Stroker the first wheelchair user nominated for a Tony award? Also, how accessible is Radio City Music Hall, particularly for someone who might need to go from auditorium to stage to accept an award, asking for a friend?- @Weez

Unlike many other awards shows, the Tony’s have been known to be be much more inclusive, and have grown much more diverse over the years. Remember the 70th Annual Tony Awards, which took place in 2016 in the wake of the devastating Orlando tragedy? The show made a huge impact on the LGBT community and communities of color and when all four musical acting awards went to people of color.

Broadway’s history was transformed thanks to three Hamilton cast members and one star from The Color Purple who cemented their names in American culture forever that year. Even the show’s host James Corden opened the night with a little humor by describing the award show as “the Oscars, but with diversity.”

Actor Jeremy Pope is another one of this year’s hot topics. The actor has been deemed the breakout star of the 2019 Broadway season. Pope made his Broadway play debut in Choir Boy as Pharus and in March, he made his Broadway musical debut in Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations as Eddie Kendricks. Needless to say, folks are feeling the young newcomer.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE INCREDIBLE HUMANS NOMINATED FOR TONY AWARDS I LOVE TO SEE MY BEAUTIFUL POC BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND FELLOW PEOPLE GETTING NOMINATED HOLY MOLY JEREMY POPE EVA NOBLEZADA AND AMBER GRAY AND LILLI COOPER AND SO ON AND SO FORTH GOODBYE IM CRYING IN A TAXI- @RachelZegler

Congrats to all of the Tony award winners and game changers. Hit the fllip for all the times the Tony Awards actually got it right.

In 1962, Diahann Carroll became the first black woman to win a Tony for best actress in a lead role of a musical.

In 2016, Leslie Odom Jr. earned the best actor in a leading role in a musical award for his performance in Hamilton.

In 1950, hen Juanita Hall became the first black person to win a Tony Award for her role as Bloody Mary in the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific.

James Earl Jones has actually won the Tony for best lead actor in a play twice. He earned the first for his performance in The Great White Hope in 1969, then a second in 1987, for August Wilson’s Fences.

When Harry Belafonte became the first black man ever to win a Tony Award for John Murray Anderson’s Almanac in 1954.

Cynthia Erivo received the best actress in a leading role in a musical award for The Color Purple.

Daveed Diggs scored best actor in a featured role in a musical for Hamilton; Renée Elise Goldsberry took home best actress in a featured role in a musical for Hamilton in 2016.

Source: Huffington Post|PHOTOCREDIT: Twitter, Getty