Backstage at the 2024 Tony Awards

The 77th Annual Tony Awards have concluded! While we were glued to our TVs to find out what would happen next onstage, just as much was going on behind the curtain! All night long, Caitlin Hornik shared live updates from backstage at the David H. Koch Theater.

How does it feel to be a Tony winner? What project is up next? Who did they forget to thank? Find out straight from the winners themselves!

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

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[12:21am] That's a wrap from the pool room! It has been an absolute joy and my own dream come true to bring you a behind-the-scenes look at the 77th annual Tony Awards tonight. Caitlin Hornik, signing off for BroadwayWorld!

[12:18am] Maleah Joi Moon says "it feels like a dream come true" to be holding a Tony Award right now. She called her parents "her best friends" and said "they inspire me everyday." When asked to give advice to other artists, she said, "Stay in the present moment, and stay grounded always."

[12:06am] The producing team of "The Outsiders" has entered the pool room! Note: Angelina Jolie is not in the room. "It was a book that touched each of us," the producers said of bringing the story to the stage. I had the chance to ask the team a question about the inter-generational appeal of the show, and they said it's "exhilarating" that "The Outsiders" "inspires conversations" among families.

[11:52pm] It took Jonathan Groff all of 30 seconds before he began crying. He said the "Merrily" matinee today was "lit." When asked what he'd say to his younger self, he said, "If you can believe in it and follow it and harness it and trust it, it can change your life." He spoke also about the need to thank his "Spring Awakening" castmates in his speech and said several of them were gathered at Lea Michele's home watching the ceremony tonight! "That show changed my career, it changed my life, and it felt essential to mention," he said. When asked if there were a show he and Michele would star in, he said he's always looking! "I'd love to go Off-Broadway with her," he said, "and do a fierce Off-Broadway play."

[11:44] Fellow "Merrily" producer David Babani thanked those who are the "backbone" of the work done every day. "It takes all of those people to arrive at a moment like this tonight," he said.

[11:41pm] "Merrily We Roll Along" producer Sonia Friedman has taken the stage in the pool room! "We're just so thrilled that a piece that is so emotionally driven about lives, about our past, about mistakes we've made along the way ... It's such a beautiful work and we're so honored ... to be representing Steve Sondheim, George Furth's work, and my sister's extraordinary vision for it." Friedman also mentioned her sister, Maria, who served as director of the Tony-winning Best Revival. "I feel so proud of her. I'm her younger sister, and everything about 'Merrily' is about love. It was written by Steve and George about love, about friendship. And that's what's carried this whole experience. And I think that's what's on that stage every day." 

[11:26pm] With the CBS broadcast over, things are winding down here in the pool room. We'll see who stops by on their way out to celebrate!

[11:14pm] Will Brill thanked his therapist in his acceptance speech for Best Featured Actor in a Play for "Stereophonic." When asked in the pool room what advice he has for someone struggling as an artist, he didn't hold back. "We sacrifice being honest a lot of the time," he said of being in the industry and of people-pleasing tendencies. "Try to be honest with yourself ... and with the people who love you because they will continue to love you if they see you suffering." Brill also spoke of the four hours of band practice per day plus the week-long music tech process of building "Stereophonic." He shared that the group photo on the cover of the show's Playbill was actually snapped at a gig the band did before the show opened!

[11:10pm] "Appropriate" playwright Branden Jacobs Jenkins has entered the pool room! When asked about what he wants his legacy to be, he got choked up and said, “I just hope people behind me feel freer." He spoke about the "walls and double standards” he experienced when he entered the industry. “I wish I had been warned about that," he said.

[11:06pm] "Oh, I'm so sorry," Sarah Paulson joked about interrupting the moment as the room gasped during the Best Musical winner reveal.

[11:02pm] "I'm not in my body," Sarah Paulson said as she walked into the pool room. When asked how she comes out of character after "Appropriate," she said she said, "The honest truth is that I'm tired a lot. I'm not recuperating. I'm doing what I love. I'm not complaining. But I'm tired." When asked how it feels to be holding the Tony, she said, "I don't know. I just can't believe it. It's a childhood dream for me, without question."

[10:56pm] “I don’t even know where to begin with Playwrights Horizons, because there’s no other theater I wanted to do it with,” a sunglasses-clad David Adjmi said of "Stereophonic." "I'm very curious to see how this will translate," he said of future productions - including a rumored West End transfer.

[10:51pm] “If any element didn't work, it felt like the whole thing could fall apart," Tony-winning director Daniel Aukin said of "Stereophonic." He said many of the actors and design team have began with the show seven or eight years ago before any music was written. “We all believed in David and his idea for the show. As it started to take shape, we all got really excited.”

[10:43pm] Kara Young spoke with us for almost 20 minutes - and the pool room was hanging on her every word. 

[10:24pm] Instant prolonged applause and cheers as soon as Kara Young entered the room! "I was a mime when I was five," Young shared of her early journey to finding theater. "She poured into me, and she really made me love performing," Young said of her teacher. "I became very in love with the act of pretending and the act of being in a space with nothing there." Of winning the Tony this year after being nominated three years in a row, she said, “It feels like everything led up to this moment." As she spoke, Young grew more emotional. "It feels larger than me," she said of holding the trophy while tears were streaming down her face. But then she laughed and said, "It's probably going to go in my parents' house!" Young was then asked who she'd like to spotlight in the Off-Broadway and regional theater scenes, and she immediately said, " NSangou Njikam. I love him and I respect his work." Njikam wrote "Syncing Ink," in which Young starred at The Flea in 2017.

[10:15pm] Jeremy Strong has entered the pool room! He walked onto the stage and tapped each of the microphones before deciding which he'd speak into. "I felt overwhelmed with gratitude," he said of winning the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. "It's been a profound experience. This is a homecoming in a lot of ways," he said of returning to Broadway after a decade and a successful run on the HBO series, "Succession."

[10:04pm] Lots of excited chatter in the pool room about who could take home the Best Musical trophy given the already announced wins this evening. It's still anyone's race! All five productions in that category have nabbed at least one award so far tonight, with the exception of "Water for Elephants."

[9:49pm] Newly minted Tony winner Kecia Lewis has entered the pool room! "It means a lot of work, a lot of tears, a lot of wanting to give up," she said of this moment at nearly 59 years old, having started her Broadway career at age 18. Lewis also spoke of how important her faith is and how it has anchored her. "Over the years when life happens, you come to find out that … faith is literally all you have," she said. "Either you believe or you don’t.”

[9:44pm] I had the chance to ask Daniel Radcliffe about the process of learning and developing his big song in "Merrily We Roll Along," Franklin Shepard, Inc, which is filled with excellent theatricalities and nuances. He spoke beautifully about how the tune is really a love song and he's singing it to Frank because he doesn't want Frank to abandon him for movies, but how it all goes wrong halfway through. It was a really insightful explanation! He also spoke about working with director Maria Friedman. "She made me cry with a note once ... in a positive way!" he said.

[9:37pm] "It's been a really emotionally charged day today," first-time Tony Award winner Daniel Radcliffe said. He entered the room on the heels of Edelman's exit and the two shared a quick embrace.

[9:34] "Oh my god! She won BOTH?!" Edelman said of his best friend, Shaina Taub, who was called to the stage to accept her second Tony of the night for Best Score!

[9:27pm] Special Tony Award recipient Alex Edelman has entered the pool room! "Adam [Brace] would've been blown away by this," an emotional Edelman told us. Brace, a playwright and director, passed away right before Edelman's show, "Just Like Us," began its Broadway bow. "It feels like a nice sort of cap on a thing we did together," Edelman said.

[9:18pm] Loads of cackles and gut laughter at the start of Kecia Lewis' speech as she begged her phone to open and for people to stop texting her. She quickly went from having us in stitches to wiping away tears with her powerful ending, "Never. Give. Up."

[9:14pm] Screams and cheers for Daniel Radcliffe's win for Best Featured Actor in a Musical! And lots of "awwwws" throughout his speech - especially when the camera panned to a very teary Jonathan Groff.

[9:08pm] Another little lull here in the pool room. Lots of chatter around the "Water for Elephants" performance and the acrobatics! And lots of updated predictions floating around on the heels of the last few winners.

[9:00pm] Major gasps and audible reactions from the pool room at the announcement of Danya Taymor's name for Best Direction of a Musical! She takes home the prize for "The Outsiders."

[8:50pm] Audible laughter in the pool room at Lindsay Mendez during the "Merrily We Roll Along" performance. And again, the room applauded and cheered at the end of the number!

[8:42pm] Porter interrupted his speech in the pool room to cheer for Kara Young as she was announced as the recipient of the Best Featured Actress in a Play award. The entire room erupted in cheers and applause!

[8:37pm] Billy Porter has entered the pool room! The 2024 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award recipient was asked about a role he'd love to play in the future. "It's difficult when you have a role like Lola [in "Kinky Boots"] that was one of the greatest artistic moments of my life. It was perfection. I don't know where you go from there, but I'm open to whatever the Universe has in store for me." However, he did say there were some things he couldn't yet talk about ...

[8:21pm] Special Tony Award recipient Nikiya Mathis was asked if she ever runs out of hairstyles! Her response? "O. M. G. Yes." Mathis, a hair and wig designer who received the award for her work on "Jaja's African Hair Braiding," said her job is the same as a costume designer's in many ways and the work should be recognized with individual categories. “I don’t think people understand all that goes into wig design," she said. However, she said receiving the recognition "means so much. To see the universality of people respecting the work and seeing the value of our hair … It means so much to me, and it feels like it’s about more than me.”

[8:18pm] ... except I didn't factor in having to touch up my make-up because this performance has my teary! As a New York-native with her own dream coming true tonight, it made me so emotional!

[8:15pm] We have a short break here - a perfect time to eat a quick sandwich while catching the "Hell's Kitchen" performance!

[8:05pm] Cody Spencer laughed as he was asked if he wanted to pick his speech up where he left off since it was cut off after he used an expletive. "I'm just really excited that I'm here for this," he said.

[7:57pm] Ryan Rumery revealed how he achieved the authentic sound for "Stereophonic." "We used all of the vintage plug-ins that would've been in the studios," he said. "That took a long time to figure out that balance. It was definitely wild to come up with and definitely not easy." Beyond that, he shared: “There’s towels from my house that are on the heads of those drums!" Rumery said he listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac, a band he's loved since he was a kid. He also spoke of his relationship with the rest of the creative team. "I've never had a dialogue before with a playwright, and David [Adjmi] listened," he said.

[7:55pm] Best Lighting Design of a Play winner Jane Cox spoke about achieving the final moments of "Appropriate." "Meticulously, and over an extended period of time with a lot of amazing people," she said.

[7:52pm] Cjay Philip, the 2024 Excellence in Theater Education Tony Award recipient, revealed that her mother was a community activist who participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, fought for voter rights, and "is kind of a rockstar for me." Philip also spoke about working with John O'Brien during her time as a performer in "Hairspray" on Broadway before turning her career to teaching.

[7:51pm] "We're able to help people in the arts between coverage," Tony Honor recipient Jason Kindt with The Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts said of the importance of the work done at the center.

[7:45pm] Justin Peck has entered the pool room! "I think it's one of the great albums of the last 20-30 years," Peck said of the original "Illinoise" album. He commented on the company leading the Tony-nominated Best Musical. "I never call my cast dancers. I think they're so much more than that. They're actors, they're storytellers, they're speaking a language that happens to be dance."

[7:37pm] "If something scares you, do it. That's my big advice," legendary playwright and director George C. Wolfe said. When asked about how he knew the upcoming revival of "Gypsy" was his next project, he spoke about trying to get the timing aligned with Audra McDonald. "I'm thrilled and excited," he said that it's finally happening. Along those lines, when getting involved with a new project, he said, "I give myself permission to not know. I firmly deeply profoundly believe … that an audience can tell when they’re in the presence of a truth that you discovered while working on a project.”

[7:32pm] David Zinn revealed that his husband has been very ill for the last year, but is well enough to be with him at the Tonys tonight. "It was a crazy ping pong game," he said of the last year of professional highs and navigating caring for his husband. "I needed help this year ... and it was a very moving thing to experience from this community."

[7:25pm] Tom Scutt said "Cabaret" was informed by coming out of the pandemic. "There was this burning ... to stand up and be the people that we want to be. So our team, it was very very important that our team was incredibly inclusive." Scutt was then asked about the skyrocketing costs of producing theater. "It already has," he said. "It kind of screwed everything up for us. We have to relearn how to do our job." Scutt was thanked by someone in the pool room for shouting out his associates during his acceptance speech. He then thanked two more of his American associates he forgot to include but who were written on the speech in his pocket he forgot to pull out when he won!

[7:23pm] The team of the Wilma Theatre in Pennsylvania has entered the room! They've received received a 2024 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.

[7:13pm] "I've never done this before! This is still pretty surreal," Shaina Taub said as she began answering questions in the pool room. "Standing here with the award for book blows my mind," due to the changes made to the production from its run at The Public Theatre to its Broadway bow. "I hadn't really thought of myself as a playwright but going through this process gave me that confidence." Taub was later asked about advice she'd give to writers looking to pursue their passion project. "Apply to everything, every grant, every residency, every award," she said. 

[7:08pm] "To be honest, I think I didn't think I was going to win," Dede Ayite laughed when asked about the moment she won after hearing her name called twice in the same category. When asked about designing costumes for Broadway and beyond, she said, "it's all about storytelling."

[7:02pm] The first winner has graced the pool room! When asked what she'd say to other women looking to get started in the field, Linda Cho said, "My advice is to try everything. Do a little math, do a little science, do a little fine art. Keep your mind open." In her acceptance speech, she spoke about the tough love her mother gave her growing up. In the pool room, she described her mother as being a "tiger mom." "Unfortunately she never got to see a single show I designed," Cho revealed. "I'm a mom now, so I get it, all the things you were trying," she said when asked what she'd say to her mom right now.

[6:57pm] Cheers for David Zinn and the first win of the night for "Stereophonic." Zinn nabbed the award for Best Scenic Design of a Play. There was scattered applause at the end of his emotional speech.

[6:45pm] More shock from the pool room as Jonathan Tunick noted this was his first win for a Sondheim musical while accepting the Best Orchestrations award for the revival of "Merrily We Roll Along."

[6:41pm] Multiple cries of "Oh my gosh" for Linda Cho's costume design win for "The Great Gatsby." Some seemed surprised while others saw the win coming thanks to the dazzling and sparkly costumes gracing the stage at the Broadway Theatre.

[6:39pm] More audible gasps and applause for Dede Ayite, who won for her costume design for "Jaja's African Hair Braiding."

[6:37pm] The first award of the night has been given to Shaina Taub! The pool room erupted in cheers and applause as she rushed to the stage to accept the Tony for Best Book of a Musical for "Suffs."

[6:35pm] The Tony Awards: Act One is underway and we are ready to roll here in the pool room! The carpet is set, the microphones have been tested, and the lights are brightly shining. Here we go!

[6:12pm] Members of the media arrived at the pool room to find branded swag bags filled with a notebook and pen, a pamphlet with information about the 2024 Excellence in Theatre Education Award winner Cjay Philip, Good Karmal caramels, a wireless charger, and a fan.

[5:40pm] Hello from the media room! Members of the press are slowly starting to assemble and set up their stations ahead of the 6:30pm start of The Tony Awards: Act One. The excitement is palpable, the dresses are sparkly, and we can't wait to see who becomes the first winner of the night! 

I'll be taking you along for the behind-the-scenes ride all night as winners come through and continue their speeches and thanks. Stay tuned!