The 77th Tony Awards had its biggest emotional beat in Kecia Lewis’s first win, its warmest one in Jeremy Strong’s thanks to theatre staff, and a surprise finish when The Outsiders took Best Musical. The evening also delivered memorable performances from Merrily We Roll Along, Illinoise and Cabaret. The clearest candidate for an awkward moment was the apparent live Alicia Keys–Jay-Z duet that turned out to be pretaped. “Best” and “worst” are judgments, not Tony categories, so the moments below are framed as highlights and a potentially confusing staging choice.
What was the 2024 Tony Awards ceremony?
The 77th Annual Tony Awards took place on June 16, 2024, at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York. Ariana DeBose hosted. In the United States, the ceremony aired on CBS and streamed on Paramount+; the pre-show, “Act One,” was hosted by Julianne Hough and Utkarsh Ambudkar on Pluto TV. The awards recognize achievement on Broadway and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League. (Tony Awards)
The ceremony honored the 2023–24 Broadway season. Its announced musical performances included Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Hell’s Kitchen, Illinoise, Merrily We Roll Along, Suffs, The Outsiders, The Who’s Tommy and Water for Elephants. The highlights below span speeches, stage performances and the final award result.
What were the best moments from the 2024 Tony Awards?
Kecia Lewis turned a first Tony into an encouragement to keep going
Kecia Lewis won Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for Hell’s Kitchen, her first Tony after four decades in the business. The Associated Press reported that she tried to read her speech from her phone while congratulatory texts distracted her. She then spoke about wanting to quit and the people who encouraged her to continue, ending with a direct message: “Don’t. Give. Up!” (Associated Press, June 17, 2024)
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Jeremy Strong remembered the people who make a theatre night work
After winning Best Actor in a Play for An Enemy of the People, Strong thanked ushers and front-of-house staff. He joked that they saw him arrive looking as if he had been “run over by a truck,” and leave looking “somehow, even worse.” It was a grounded, affectionate speech moment amid the ceremony’s star appearances. (Associated Press, June 17, 2024; TIME, June 17, 2024)
“Old Friends” made the Merrily We Roll Along cast’s bond part of the show
Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe performed “Old Friends” from Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. TIME described the number as reflecting the trio’s close friendship. Groff and Radcliffe both won their first Tony Awards that evening; accepting Best Actor in a Musical, Groff told his castmates: “Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez, you are more than old friends, you are soul mates, and I’m looking forward to watching each other change for the rest of our lives.” (TIME, June 17, 2024)
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Illinoise and Cabaret offered contrasting theatrical spectacle
The ceremony put very different stage worlds on display. TIME’s Moises Mendez singled out the dance number from Illinoise as emotional, while describing Eddie Redmayne-led Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club performing “Wilkommen” as wacky. Those are critical reactions rather than objective ratings, but they capture the contrast between a dance-driven piece and the deliberately unruly cabaret presentation. (TIME, June 17, 2024)
Maleah Joi Moon’s first professional production brought a major win
Moon won Best Actress in a Musical for Hell’s Kitchen. TIME and CBS noted that it was her first professional production, making the award a notable newcomer story in a ceremony that also recognized long careers. (TIME, June 17, 2024; CBS News, June 16, 2024)
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What was the most awkward moment at the 2024 Tonys?
The Alicia Keys–Jay-Z moment looked live, but was pretaped
The opening Hell’s Kitchen medley included Alicia Keys singing “Empire State of Mind” with Maleah Joi Moon. The staging then seemed to bring Jay-Z into the theatre lobby for his rap verse. The Associated Press reported that the duet shown on the video screen had been pretaped, although it was arranged to look live to the audience. That reveal could confuse or surprise viewers; it is a clearer example of an awkward production beat than evidence of an objectively bad performance. Keys introduced the choice by saying, “Had to do something crazy. It’s my hometown!” (Associated Press, June 17, 2024)
Did Jay-Z perform live at the 2024 Tony Awards?
According to the Associated Press, the Jay-Z segment shown on the screen was pretaped, even though the lobby staging made it appear live. The available account establishes the nature of the video segment, not that Jay-Z appeared in person in the theatre during the ceremony. (Associated Press, June 17, 2024)
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Who won Best Musical, and why was the result a surprise?
The Outsiders won Best Musical in the final award of the evening, beating Hell’s Kitchen. The Associated Press described the result as an upset and reported audience surprise. Both shows had entered with 13 nominations apiece, according to CBS. That makes the finish a dramatic competitive moment, not proof that the winner was undeserving. (Associated Press, June 17, 2024; CBS News, June 16, 2024)
Other top awards included Best Play for Stereophonic, Best Revival of a Musical for Merrily We Roll Along and Best Revival of a Play for Appropriate. Sarah Paulson won Best Actress in a Play for Appropriate, while Daniel Radcliffe won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Merrily We Roll Along.
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What else stood out in the awards?
The Associated Press reported that women received seven of the ten directing nominations, including four of the five Best Musical nominees. Danya Taymor won Best Direction of a Musical for The Outsiders. Those figures describe the reported nomination categories and result; they should not be read as a broader measure of representation across the entire season. (Associated Press, June 17, 2024)
Was there an agreed-upon worst moment?
No universal or audience-wide “worst moment” is established by the cited coverage. The pretaped Keys–Jay-Z reveal is the strongest sourced candidate for a potentially confusing beat because the production made it look live. Whether that staging worked is a matter of taste; the speeches, performances and final award surprise offer more clearly identifiable highlights.
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