A Look Inside the Tony Awards

On June 15, Broadway celebrated its biggest night of the season when the 62nd annual Tony Awards were presented at the legendary Radio City Music Hall. Splicing awards and acceptance speeches with 13 musical presentations—the largest in the telecasts’ history—viewers at home got a taste of the diverse sounds on the Great White Way.

The biggest winner of the night, racking up a total of seven Tonys, was Lincoln Center’s consistently sold-out revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. The 1949 musical is set against the backdrop of World War II, and contains the all-too-unfortunate close to home themes of prejudice and racial tensions. Epic three and a half hour domestic drama, Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County—an import from Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company—swept up many awards in the play category.

Earlier this year, Letts received a Pulitzer Prize, and on Sunday night, the same production took home five Tonys. Patti LuPone nabbed an award for her dynamite portrayal of Mama Rose in Gypsy, and her stage daughter-turned-stripper, Laura Benanti, was also showered with accolades. Boyd Gaines, who plays Rose’s counterpart, Herbie, walked away with the historic fourth Tony of his career, but perhaps the real Cinderella story of the evening belonged to 28-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of In The Heights. After what began as a between semesters college project, Miranda’s first ever show managed to garner one of the most coveted awards: best new musical.

Before the ceremony began, I caught up with the stars on the red carpet. The following is a brief account of their hopes, memories, and anticipations as they arrived in their Sunday best ready to honor all things Broadway.