Tonys 2024 Best and Worst Moments

Ariana DeBose Tells Nominees “This Party’s for You” With Opening Number

Ariana DeBose kicked off the show with a dance-heavy opening number in which she celebrated this year’s nominees and the struggles and “journey” that led them to the Broadway awards. “This party’s for you,” DeBose told the nominees during the performance, which she choreographed with Julius Anthony Rubio. DeBose also produces this year’s ceremony. Wearing a gold, striped sparkly dress with matching gold hairpiece, DeBose asked this year’s first-time nominees to “make some noise.” The number opened with a close-up on a “Broadway Times” newspaper blaring the headline “SHE’S BACK!!!” over a picture of DeBose, with the paper passed around until it reached DeBose. She ended her performance on a tall, round riser with a backdrop that resembled the Tony award, and then fell backward off of it. Read more. — Hilary Lewis

Alicia Keys and Jay-Z Perform “Empire State of Mind”

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed their hit “Empire State of Mind” as part of a colorful and energetic number showcasing Keys’ best musical contender, Hell’s Kitchen. Keys was wheeled out on stage playing piano and kicked off singing the song, before trading verses with Maleah Joi Moon, a Tony nominee who stars in the musical loosely based on Keys’ life growing up in New York. Keys raised a first in the air and got the crowd on its feet singing before throwing it over to Jay-Z. “Had to do something crazy, it’s my home town,” Keys yelled. Jay-Z then appeared on a video screen, shown standing on a set of stairs and rapping his lyrics from the song, before Keys joined him. The two have performed the song together multiple times since it was first released in 2009. Read more. — Caitlin Huston

Dede Ayite Becomes First Black Woman to Win Best Costume Design of a Play

Dede Ayite has become the first Black woman to win a Tony for best costume design of a play. Though nominated for her work on a few shows, Ayite won for her work on the now-closed Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. The show, which opened in October 2023 and closed the following month, is set in a bustling Harlem salon where West African immigrant hair braiders create masterpiece hairstyles for local women amid uncertain circumstances that ultimately face the community to confront being an outsider in a place they call home. During her acceptance speech, Ayite, who was also nominated in the same category for her work on Appropriate and in the best costume design of a musical category for Hell’s Kitchen, thanked her family, including her brother cheering her on from Ghana, and her collaborators. She also thanked Bioh, “who wrote such a beautiful piece” as well as the costume shops and makers, saying of the latter, “without them I would not be here and the show would not look as amazing as it does.” Read more. — Hilary Lewis

First-Time Winners Sweep Acting Categories

Among the stars who won their first Tonys on Sunday night: Daniel Radcliffe took home the Tony for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical for Merrily We Roll Along. Sarah Paulson won best performance by actress in a leading role in a play for Appropriate. And Jeremy Strong won the award for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for An Enemy of the People. 

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The other acting categories also boasted all first-timers: Jonathan Groff (Merrily We Roll Along) for best lead actor in a musical; Maleah Joi Moon (Hell’s Kitchen) for best lead actress in a musical; Kara Young (Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch) for best featured actress in a play; Will Brill (Stereophonic) for best featured actor in a play; Kecia Lewis (Hell’s Kitchen) for best featured actress in a musical. — Kimberly Nordyke

Brooke Shields Wears Crocs Shoes to Tony Awards

Brooke Shields chose to forgo the standard red carpet shoe attire — for a good reason. Ditching the typical high-heeled attire associated with such high-profile events, the actress wore clogs-style Crocs under her yellow dress. The shoes were the same color as her sequined gown. She showed off the shoes to photographers on Sunday night. “I got my Crocs! I couldn’t do this in heels!” she said in a red carpet interview with People. The reason for the comfort attire? A day before the Tonys, Shields noted on Instagram that she was recovering from “double foot toe surgery.” Read more. — Kimberly Nordyke