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TONY AWARDS: He/She Said What?! Relive the Acceptance Speeches!

By: Jun. 10, 2018
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As part of BroadwayWorld's expansive coverage of the 72nd Annual Tony Awards, we are providing the full text of all of the acceptance speeches; from the emotional to the bizarre, and everything in between. Keep up with all of the winners' speeches on our continuously updated list below.

Also make sure to stick with BroadwayWorld throughout the evening, and into the morning, for all of the best videos, pictures, interviews, and commentary from theatre's biggest night!


Andrew Garfield, ANGELS IN AMERICA, Performance by Best Leading Actor In A Play: "This means a great deal. Thank you so much. At a moment in time where maybe the most important thing that we remember right now is the sanctity of the human spirit, it is the profound privilege of my life to play Prior Walter in Angels In America because he represents the purity of humanity. And especially that of the LGBT community. It is a spirit that says no to oppression, it is a spirit that says no to bigotry, no to shame, no to exclusion. It is a spirit that says we were all made perfectly and we all belong. So I dedicate this award to the countless LGBT people who have fought and died to protect that message for the right to live and love as we are created t. Tony Kushner, thank you for being the angel iof America that we all wish we could live in, that we all dream of living in on day. Marian Elliot adore you. You are my queen and all of our queens thank you so much. this incredible company, you are all geniuses in your own right. I bow to you so deeply you inspire me every day. To the crew at the Neil Simon Theater, you are all insane geniuses. To the shadows to Jordan Roth, Tim Levy, our producers, to other people that are escaping my mind. Miranda Cromwell I adore you. To my own personal tribe, to my mom and dad, I share this with you. To Kate Bridon and Greta Seecat. We are all sacred and we all belong, so lets just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked. Thank you so much."

Laurie Metcalf, EDWARD ALBEE'S THREE TALL WOMEN, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role In A Play: "Thank you so much. Thank you to the Tony voters and I'm so proud to be in the same category with these other fabulous actresses. Thank you to our ensemble: Glenda, Allison, Joseph. I'd like to thank Scott Rudin for producing this gorgeous revival of Three Tall Women and I would like to dedicate this to Joe Mantello, our director, who figured out what the script was in the rehearsal room and then taught it to me. Thank you."

Bruce Springsteen, Special Tony Award: "Thank you! Thank you. Thank you this is deeply appreciated, and thanks for making me feel so welcome on your block. Being a part of the Broadway community has been a great thrill and an honor for me. It's been one of the most exciting things that I have ever experienced. I've got to thank Patti Scailfa, my beautiful wife and artistic partner for her love and inspiration every night. I've got to thank Jon Landau, George Travis, Barbara Carr and Jordan Roth for great work getting our show on stage. And last but not least, our wonderful audiences who have made these shows so exciting and fulfilling. Evan, Jess, Sam, Daddy loves you, and thanks you've been wonderful to me this season. Thank you so much, God bless all."

Lindsay Mendez, RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN CAROUSEL, Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: "Oh My God, Thank you so much to the American Theater Wing and the Broadway League for this honor. I want to thank Scott Rudin and all of our amazing producers for being so wonderfully supportive. Jack O'Brian, you are my hero. You held my hand through this whole process and led our company with such passion and we love you for that. Andy Einhorn, thank you for helping me sing in this brand new way. Justin Peck, thanks for letting me dance. And my incredible company, oh man, you are divine artists and I love being on stage with all of you every night, I'm so grateful for that. I want to thank Joe Mantello, my cheerleader and wonderful friend, all my friends and family out there, hey guys, my beautiful husband, Philip, who is so patient and wonderful. I just want to say when I moved to New York I was told to change my last name from Mendez to Mathews or I wouldn't work and I just want to say how proud I am to be part of a community that celebrate diversity and individuality. To all of you artists out there, be your true selves and the world will take note. Thank you so so much."

Itamar Moses, THE BAND'S VISIT Best Book of A Musical: "Hi, um wow. Thank you so much. Oh, God. Musical theater adaptation is probably the most collaborative possible form of art, so there is a number of other people to whom this belongs. Although, I am going to keep it in my apartment. Eran Colirin, the filmmaker who entrusted us with the world he created. Oren Wolf, our producer who had the vision to see that it could be on stage. My collaborator David Yazbeck, the man with the soul of a poet and the sense of humor of a filthy 100 year old man. David Cromer, no other man could have done what you did with this material. Our amazing cast led by Tony Shaloub and Katrina Lenk. Our brilliant designers. Mark Subious and everyone at ETA. Neil Pepe and the Atlantic Theater. My father for convincing my mother for convincing my mother to conceal 80% of her anxiety when I embarked on this career, and my mother for getting my father in the years since to hold back 80% of his notes. And my partner Marika. I don't know what I'm going to complain about tomorrow but as I'm confident I will think of something. Thank you for listening, I love you. Thank you very much."

Nathan Lane, ANGELS IN AMERICA, Best Featured Actor In a Play: "Thank you very much, my heartfelt thanks to the Tony Awards for this tremendous honor and I salute my fellow nominees on their exceptional work this season. Many thanks to Rufis Norris and everyone at the National Theater who helped create this production. To Jordan Roth and Levi and the brave producers who brought it to Broadway. I want to thank everyone who works at the Neil Simon Theater, especially our fantastic stage management, our backstage crew, and my wonderful dresser Ken Brown. I thank all of our brilliant designers and the astonishing group of actors, dancers, and puppeteers let by the magnificent Andrew Garfield, it's an honor to share the stage with you. This production wouldn't be possible the brilliant Maryann Elliot, I thank you for your kindness, your passion, your determination, your inspiration, and your extraordinary vision. I want to thank Tony Kushner for being such an adorable genius, even his emails are Pulitzer-worthy. I'm standing here because Tony wrote one of the greatest plays of the 20th century and it is still speaking to us as powerfully as ever in the mist of such political insanity. I want to send my thanks and love to Tony Lip, Tony Howard, and Simon Halls for taking such good care of me. For Scott Rudin for his incredible friendship and most importantly to my dear husband - oh my I'm a mess - to my dear husband Devlin Elliot, the greatest blessing of my life, about eight years ago I decided I needed to shake things up, I needed to scare myself because I felt I had more to offer and as an actor this performance has been the culmination of a lot of that work and this award is a lovely vode of confidence that I've been on the right path. Thank you very much."

Ari'el Stachel, THE BAND'S VISIT, Featured Actor In A Musical: "Both of my parents are here tonight, and um, I have avoided so many events with them because for so many years of my life I pretended that I was not a Middle Eastern person. And after 9/11, it was very, very difficult for me, and so I concealed and I missed so many special events with them. And they are looking at me right now, and I can't believe it. I am just so thankful to Oren Wolf. John and John for being courageous, for telling a small story about Arabs and Israeli's getting along at a time where we need that more than ever. I am part of a cast of actors who never believed that they would be able to portray their own races, and we are doing that. And not only that, but we are getting messages from kids all over the Middle East thanking us and telling us how transformative our representation is for them. And so I just wanna thank the whole team. Cromer, Yazbeck for writing amazing songs. Itamar, I'm so proud of you. My cast. This is the craziest moment of my life, I never thought I'd be there. I want any kid that's watching to know that your biggest obstacle may turn into your purpose. Thank you very much."

Glenda Jackson, EDWARD ALBEE'S THREE TALL WOMEN, Best Leading Actress In a Play: "Thank you very much indeed. I am one of the oldest people, I think ever to stand on this platform receiving this reward. But what a thrill to be in the same house as those amazing children, weren't they marvelous? I'd like to thank Scott Rudin and his brilliant teams, Mike and Dylan. And I think our director Joe Mantello found me a worthy opponent. And I would also like to thank everybody backstage, under the stage, down the stairs, Van Gellen and Jenna, and Billy and Lisa. But most of all, I'd like to thank you because I was just looking at the lists and there are people in this audience, in the country, in this city, from every other country in the world. And you as always, are welcoming and kind, and generous. And America has never needed that more, but then America is always great. Thank you very much."

David Cromer, THE BAND'S VISIT, Best Direction of a Musical: "It has been the great joy of my life to collaborate with the artists and every department on The Band's Visits and on their behalf I share this and I accept and I thank the Wing for this honor and this compliment. One of the things The Band's Visit concerns itself with is people who, due to loneliness, isolation, may have started to lose hope. And I wish that I had the words or wisdom to say to the people out there whose despair is overwhelming, I wish I had the way to convince them to continue looking to have the patients and courage to keep trying to find hope. I guess I would just say if you are suffering, please please call out and, for those of us who are fortunate enough not to be suffering so deeply, make sure that we answer them. Thank you very much for this. Hi, Mom."

John Tiffany, HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, PARTS ONE AND TWO, Best Direction of a Play: "Oh thank you for this, American Theater Wing and Broadway League thank you so much. And to Joe and George and Patrick, and to the amazing Marianne Elliot. Such an honor to be nominated alongside you. Sonia Collin, thank you for making me do it. Joe, J.K. Rowling, thank you for trusting me and Jack to do this. The most amazing cast, both in London and here, and the most amazing creative team that you have honored tonight as well. But there is one person that I work with that I've known for 33 years now, that I totally share this with and that is Steven Hoggett. We do all this together. We really really do. One more thing before I leave. It's my boyfriend's birthday today. David Nock. And so would you all join me in singing a little song to him. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, David remember, Happy birthday dear David, Happy birthday to you!"

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, PARTS ONE AND TWO, by Jack Thorne, Best Play: "Thank you so much, this is such an extraordinary honor. Thank you to Broadway for welcoming us so openly. When Colin Callender and I first approached J.K. Rowling about producing a new play about the great themes of Harry Potter: pain, love, loss, family, and grief, the one thing we wanted to do was create a community of fans and theater-goers, a new community of theater-goers and fans, and celebrate the power of imagination and thanks to extraordinary imagination of J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, we did that, we created the most wondrous piece. So thank you to J.K. Rowling for in-trusting us with your wizarding world. One of the great joys of producing this play is working with this extraordinary company of actors and craftsman and no one embodies the spirit of that company more than the man who is the beating heart of this play, a man who actually during the course of writing the play became a father, Jack Thorne."

ANGELS IN AMERICA, by Tony Kushner, Best Revival of a Play: "Thank you, thank you. Thank you to everyone involved in the Tony's. For the National Theater to bring this particular American classic back home and to be so honored is a real privilege. Credit must go to Tim Levy and Jordan Roth, our producers. Mark Pega, all our co-producers. An absolutely extraordinary cast, an amazing creative team. The gang at the Neil Simon, the one and only unique Marianne Elliot, who so exquisitely has honored the writing of the greatest Tony in the house, and that is Tony Kushner.

So, um, I want to talk briefly about three dates. Five weeks until July 15, that's five weeks left to see this gloriously alive production, directed by this magnificent director of this play that's half as old as I am. That's the first date. Second date, 21 weeks until November 6th, the mid term elections. 21 weeks to make sure, 21 weeks to make sure that the right of citizens to vote is protected and exercised. 21 weeks to save our democracy, and heal our country and heal our planet. And then, what kind of homosexual would I be if I did not say it is June 10th, happy birthday Judy Garland."

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, Best Revival of a Musical: "Thank you so much. This is not how I expected this night to go at the beginning of this evening. This is a business where you hear and know an awful lot, so this award is dedicated to all of the people that said yes to this production. Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens who said yes who this producer who twenty years ago got their house seats for them. To Paul Libin who said yes when we brought twenty pounds of sand, 100 gallons of water, a goat, and two chickens into his theater. To our designers, Camille Brown our choreographer, to every single one of our co-producers and our investors who put money into this show, people who support the reason we all have a job, thank you so much. To the cast who performs tirelessly on that sand eight times a week. And lastly to all of the people who dream about doing what I do and what everyone else in this room does, do not stop asking your question, it is amazing what can happen, you can get to your yes."

Tony Shaloub, THE BAND'S VISIT, Best Lead Actor In A Musical: "Alright listen, it's late and I know you are all tired, so I am going to make this as long as I possibly can. If you'll indulge me, I want to, I wanna connect this moment to a moment that occurred nearly a century ago, 1920. My father arrived on a boat from Lebanon, and first stepped foot here on Ellis Island. He was then just a boy of 8. Disembarked on Ellis Island just a few short miles from this very spot. And ah, so, tonight I celebrate him and those who, all those in his family who journeyed before him and with him and after him. Ad I feel that this extremely generous gesture of yours honors, honors not only their aspirations, their courage, their resourcefulness and their creativity, and their selflessness. I- I thank the Theater Wing, and may we their descendants never lose sight of what they taught us. Thank you."

Katrina Lenk, THE BAND'S VISIT, Best Actress In A Musical: "Thank you so much to the American Theater Wing for this honor and to the theater community for recognizing this work, our work in this way. I must share this with my incredible cast and dedicated crew, brilliant creative team, our loving producers, our whole Band's Visit family is full of people who are so generous and so supportive with me and with each other. I would like to dedicate this to the great Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz who was the original Dina, to my far-away friend Lishare who showed me how to be in Dina's body, and to the great Umm Kulthum who showed me Dina's heart. Every moment of working on The Band's Visit is a privilege and a thrill and has filled my stupid little heart with so much joy, and this moment ain't so bad either. Thank you very much. Thank you."

THE BAND'S VISIT, Best Musical: "On behalf of John Styles, John Hart, and everyone on this stage, these amazing producers and investors and people that wanted to support this extraordinary team, thank you. Thank you! Thank you! 10 years ago I was captivated by Eran Colirin's deceptively simple film about love and hope and faith and watching David Yazbeck and Itamar Moses and Dave Cromer, and our entire team mount this thing on stage has been one of the greatest and one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. In THE BAND'S VISIT, music gives people hope and makes borders disappear. Although the characters are strangers to each other with great political divides, our show offers a message of unity in a world that more and more seems bent on amplifying our differences. In the end we are all far more alike than different, and I am so proud to be a part of a community that chooses to support that message. I have been blessed with so many great friends in this industry, I have come up in this industry and so many wonderful mentors, but I want to shout out to one special one- Hal Prince who has been dear to my heart and dear to this project. And I want to thank everyone who sacrificed and gave selflessly to make this show a reality. Shiri, Nomi, and Ruben, -incorrigible- Thank you and goodnight!"




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