Partying With the Winners After the Tony Awards

Tony night does not end at 11pm, it goes well into the next morning. There is the official Tony party, the parties held by individual shows and also independent community gatherings, like the DKC/O&M party at the Carlyle. And it’s at these places you witness the most candid interactions, so last night that is where I went.

The large onstage and behind-the-scenes team at LEOPOLDSTADT celebrated the show’s four Tonys at Haswell Green’s, where a live band took greatest hits requests. Someone nicely requested “Nobody Does It Better” in dedication to Tom Stoppard. Most requests were more upbeat songs, such as Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” and ABBA’s “Mamma Mia,” and many hit the dance floor. The venue also housed the watch party, so a significant chunk of the crowd had been there since early evening. “When they announced we won Best Play, I started bawling and I could not stop crying for like ten minutes straight,” said cast member Drew Squire, age 14, who was still wide awake at midnight as he posed with director Patrick Marber’s Tony Award. (Marber handed Squire the Tony, but later rested it on the bar, where several attendees picked it up for photos.) I also caught Tony-winning costume designer Brigitte Reiffenstuel, who was one of the only semi-surprises of the night. “I didn’t expect it at all—I’m in a daze,” Reiffenstuel said. “I thought: ‘Well, it’s hard to compete with puppets!’ Everyone’s work was very strong.”

From Haswell Green’s it was over to Tanner Smith’s, where Best Revival of a Play TOPDOG/UNDERDOG and Best Musical KIMBERLY AKIMBO, who share the same lead producer, David Stone, celebrated their big victories. While the restaurants had similar menus, highlighted by sliders and grilled cheese, Tanner Smith's sadly had no dance floor, though it did have a DJ to keep the party going. The casts and creatives headed to the back when they arrived, so they could sit down with each other and reflect on the night that was. “I’m so used to losing, that I was fully prepared to lose again,” said David Lindsay-Abaire, who had previously won a Pulitzer, but was 0/4 in terms of Tony wins prior to last night. Last night he was 2 for 2, netting Best Score with composer Jeanine Tesori and Best Book. “I was pleasantly surprised when I won the first one and completely fine with that being it, so to win the second one was just cream on the cake.” Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire were oddly played off at the start of the awards, so I asked him what he wanted to say. He said he really wanted to thank and praise his wife, which he was thankfully able to do in his second speech.

Then pretty much everyone headed over to the Carlyle, where people start arriving at 11pm and were still arriving at 3am. It’s one of the more unique events of the theatrical season. There is probably nowhere else you’ll ever see Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer approaching Aaron Rodgers. Nor are there many opportunities to witness someone introduce themselves to a Tony nominee and then ask that nominee if he planned on doing more theater or “leaving us for TV again,” an interaction I witnessed a young man have with David Zayas.

Some change prior to hitting this after-after-party--wearing formal, but slightly different formal clothes. (A few commented that the heat inside the United Palace necessitated a wardrobe switch.) My favorite costume change was Lorna Courtney, who swapped her lovely strapless award show dress for a long sparkly pink skirt and an & JULIET t-shirt. SHUCKED book writer Robert Horn was also in pink, still sporting the full pink suit he wore to the awards, despite the lack of air circulation in the crowded venue. Horn was in great spirits as we discussed how well the SHUCKED medley came off both in the United Palace and on TV. I also asked him about his onstage Broadway debut last week--in an impromptu concert version of SHUCKED, he and composer Brandy Clark went on for the character of Maizy in place of Caroline Innerbichler. “It was scary, intimidating, I don’t ever want to do it again, but it was a lot of fun,” he said. He then added a typical Robert Horn quip: “The only one who asked for their money back was my mother!”

The lower level of the party featured Jim Caruso singing accompanied by a piano and harp. For the downstairs closer at 3am, Caruso called on Max von Essen to sing the theme from NEW YORK, NEW YORK in a “higher key.” On the second floor, there was a disco, where one could spot Courtney, Miles Frost, Jerry Mitchell, Jeremy O. Harris and more on the dance floor.

Some of the crowd went to yet another party afterward--Darren Criss and Julianne Hough were hosting their own shindig at Pebble Bar. But most headed home post-Carlyle. While the actors get off today, many of the other people involved in putting on a show had switched out of celebration mode by 3am and were already previewing morning meetings to discuss post-Tony marketing strategy.

Photo Credit: Don Summa