Stars celebrate backstage at Tony Awards

HOW WE GOT THIS STORY

While in New York to work on a story about Kenny Leon’s new Broadway musical “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” music writer Melissa Ruggieri and videographer Ryon Horne also attended the Tony Awards, to give readers live coverage from the red carpet and behind-the-scenes action. Visit myajc.com for exclusive backstage interviews, including Leon’s reaction to Sophie Okonedo’s win, and from the Palace Theatre, the home of “Holler.”

TONY WINNERS

Play: "All the Way"

Musical: "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Book of a musical: Robert L. Freedman, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Original score: Jason Robert Brown, "The Bridges of Madison County"

Play revival: "A Raisin in the Sun"

Musical revival: "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Actor, play: Bryan Cranston, "All the Way"

Actress, play: Audra McDonald, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill"

Actor, musical: Neil Patrick Harris, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Actress, musical: Jessie Mueller, "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical"

Featured actor, play: Mark Rylance, "Twelfth Night"

Featured actress, play: Sophie Okonedo, "A Raisin in the Sun"

Featured actor, musical: James Monroe Iglehart, "Aladdin"

Featured actress, musical: Lena Hall, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Direction, play: Kenny Leon, "A Raisin in the Sun"

Direction, musical: Darko Tresnjak, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Choreography: Warren Carlyle, "After Midnight"

Orchestrations: Jason Robert Brown, "The Bridges of Madison County"

Scenic design, play: Beowulf Boritt, "Act One"

Scenic design, musical: Christopher Barreca, "Rocky"

Costume design, play: Jenny Tiramani, "Twelfth Night"

Costume design, musical: Linda Cho, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder"

Lighting design, play: Natasha Katz, "The Glass Menagerie"

Lighting design, musical: Kevin Adams, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Sound design, play: Steve Canyon Kennedy, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill"

Sound design, musical: Brian Ronan, "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical"

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater: Jane Greenwood

Regional Theater Award: Signature Theater, New York

Isabelle Stevenson Award: Rosie O'Donnell

Tony Honors for Excellence: Joseph P. Benincasa, Joan Marcus, Charlotte Wilcox

— New York Times

NEW YORK — While Atlanta theater fans had plenty to cheer during the 68th Annual Tony Awards Sunday night thanks to Kenny Leon winning his first nod for best direction of a play for "A Raisin in the Sun" — which also won best revival of a play — other stars popped back to the pressroom for some quick Q&A sessions.

• British actress Sophie Okonedo, who added to the collection of "Raisin" wins with a nod for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play, said backstage that the hardest thing about playing an American was trying to get the dialect correct and that she worked on it for six or seven weeks before coming to the U.S. to start rehearsals.

As for her director, Okonedo briefly teared up as she recalled the freedom that Leon allowed her to develop her character.

“He believed I could come here and make this leap. He just really wanted me to tell the truth. He didn’t want any tricks. Make it simple, make it true. And he let us be really free in rehearsals,” she said. “We didn’t set a lot of things, which is very brave for a director. He just keeps digging for you to tell the truth.”

• Bryan Cranston, who won best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for his portrayal of Lyndon Baines Johnson in "All the Way," carried his 9-inch-tall Tony statue into the pressroom. As soon as he strode up to one of the microphones stationed on a riser, he glanced at the monitor in the room showing the live feed of the show — it was the moment of the "Wicked" anniversary performance — and said with a smile, "This is just like doing a play on Broadway — I miss all the other shows!"

• Audra McDonald, fresh from her emotional win for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play, her sixth career Tony, said that it was about six months into studying the music and life of Billie Holiday that she found the singer's voice.

“I found some rehearsal tapes of her speaking with her band members and her speaking voice was very much like my grandmother’s, and I used to imitate my grandmother to her face,” McDonald said.

This win for “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” marked two major achievements for McDonald: She is the first performer to win a Tony in all four major acting categories and is now the most decorated Tony performer in the history of the awards.

• The jovial James Monroe Iglehart, who reportedly brings the house down every show with his performance as the genie in "Aladdin," said he and his wife would celebrate his win for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical with a low-key post-award show routine — "We're going to McDonald's and then back to the house to kick it with our cats."

• The luminous Jessie Mueller, who scored in a tough category for her portrayal of Carole King in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," came backstage with recent duet partner King at her side.

King said she “learned a lot of new things” about herself from watching Mueller’s portrayal. “At that age, I had no idea of who I was or what was good about me or not good about me. I’ve sort of learned that over the years, but to see that with such clarity …”

When Mueller was asked what she learned from King’s songwriting, she barely hesitated before answering. “It’s the honesty. You learned what you had to say was important, too. It’s your thought, your emotion, your love, your joy.”

“And that’s why I love her!” King, sporting sparkly silver heels, retorted with a hearty laugh.