The 2016 Tony Awards: Hamilton, and everything else

By Alyssa Massarella
June 15, 2016

tonys

My favorite time of year was finally here. I had invited my friends and done my research all in preparation for the 70th annual Tony Awards on CBS. This award show airs at the beginning of every summer and honors Broadway’s newest shows and their companies. 2000px-Tony_Award_Icon.svg

My annual Tonys excitement was somewhat distracted this year by the three laptops loaded to Ticketmaster’s home page ready for me to attempt the impossible: purchase tickets to the most popular musical of the century, “Hamilton.”

The show opened in August of 2015 and has been sold out ever since. The only way to see the show is ticket resellers, and they are selling tickets for $1300 at least. Lin Manuel Miranda’s  hip-hop infused musical about our country’s first secretary of the treasury had a record-breaking 16 nominations this year.  

Before I go into my Tony Awards commentary let me say this: I love “Hamilton.” I think it is genius and the greatest show to ever be in New York.tonys

However, I went into watching the Tonys knowing that it was going to be all about Hamilton and I could not help but sympathize for all of the other shows that are closing early due to the Hamilton frenzy, shows I really wanted to see.

The sale for the next block of Hamilton tickets was set to start after the Tonys so I watched with caution.

My friends and I gathered around the television as James Corden entered with a beautiful dedication to Orlando (a video of which is trending on YouTube). I always say that no one can host the Tony’s as well as Neil Patrick Harris, but James’ opening number left me eating my own words. It was spectacular because it featured every nominated show of the season.

https://youtu.be/Nw32-hKb4zI

The distribution of awards began and the presenters were a good mix of well-known Broadway legends (Barbra Streisand and my future husband, Aaron Tviet, being some examples) to up-and-coming stars, who are in shows that will open this fall.

“Hamilton” won 11 awards. My friends and I laughed at the misfortune of their competitors as they shook their heads hearing their own names, knowing they didn’t have a chance.

Aside from the distribution of awards were some of the most brilliant Tony performances I have ever seen. Among the many, my personal favorites were the cast of “She Loves Me,” the cast of “The Color Purple” and the cast of “Waitress.”

Again, these are shows that I really like and really want to see, but “She Loves Me,” a show full of some my favorite singers, closes in two weeks due to the Hamilton craze.

Overall, the awards were given to those who deserved them (one being “leading actress in a musical” given to Cynthia Erivo who has the voice of an angel).

https://youtu.be/Em6WF_hqw2U

James Corden ended the show with a few jokes and the show closed with, of course, the cast of Hamilton. After the Tony’s ended my friends and I dispersed and did the unthinkable; we got the hottest tickets in the world: “Hamilton.”

Without selling any of my vital organs, I managed to find an affordable ticket to the show in March. It was a Tonys night miracle.

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Alyssa Massarella

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