Tony Awards 2018: Andrew Garfield Wins for ‘Angels in America’
By Brent Lang
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Andrew Garfield won the Tony Award for best leading actor in a play for his work as Prior Walter, the AIDS-stricken prophet at the center of “Angels in America.”
In an emotional speech, Garfield said playing Walter was the biggest honor of his life.
“He represents the purest spirit of humanity and especially that of the LGBTQ community,” he said. “It is a spirit that says no to oppression. It is a spirit that says no to bigorty, no to shame, no to exclusion. It is a spirit that says we are all made perfectly and we all belong.”
“Let’s just bake a cake for every one who wants a cake,” Garfield added, in a dig against the cake makers who refused to serve a gay couple.
This year’s Tony Awards are pitting several high-profile revivals and new shows against one another. “Mean Girls” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” enter the evening with a leading 12 nominations apiece. They are followed closely behind by “The Band’s Visit” and “Angels in America,” with 11 nominations each, and the two-part play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” with 10 nods. “My Fair Lady,” “Carousel,” and “The Iceman Cometh” are other prominent contenders.
The telecast won’t lack star power. Nathan Lane, Denzel Washington, Michael Cera, Tina Fey, and Amy Schumer are all nominated and Bruce Springsteen, currently packing them in with his Broadway show, is expected to perform.
Co-hosts Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban kicked off the ceremony with a spirited opening number that poked fun at their combined lack of awards recognition. Noting that 90% of people in the audience would go home losers, they sang, “in a world that is scary and hard to endure if you make are at all you’re part of the cure.”
Bareilles and Groban are better known for their musical talents than they are celebrated for their wit. In addition to keeping the show moving, they will be tasked with banishing all memories of last year’s emcee, Kevin Spacey, whose career has imploded in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.
The shows with greatest number of Tony nominations aren’t necessarily favored to win the top prizes. “The Band’s Visit” is believed to have best new musical honors in the bag, while “Harry Potter” looks like the play to beat for best play.
The show is being broadcast on CBS