Inside Cynthia Erivo's Tonys Afterparty: 'I Think We Should All Dance Now'
After hosting the Tony Awards, Cynthia Erivo and crew headed to the Russian Tea Room in New York, where award winners and celebrities decided to shed the formalities of the evening and skip to the celebration.
'I'm sick of talking. I think we should all dance now,' Erivo announced to the starry crowd, after being handed a mic while sitting on top of a banquette in a short black taffeta dress.
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At the party, aptly named Cyn City, the Wicked star led a crowd up to the second floor of the famed New York venue, where a dance circle formed around her as ABBA's 'Gimme Gimme' played. Dancers included Julianne Hough; Danielle Brooks, who starred in The Color Purple on Broadway with Erivo; Adrienne Warren, currently starring in The Last Five Years on Broadway; Dylan Mulvaney; and Lena Waithe, as the music transitioned to Beyoncé tunes and other pop hits. (See photos from inside the event.)
Nearby, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins clutched his Tony Award, won earlier that night for his play Purpose, as he was congratulated by guests, including Sarah Paulson, who starred in his play Appropriate last season. Both Paulson and Jacobs-Jenkins also won Tonys that year.
Erivo, who arrived to the party around 12:30 a.m., was coming off of several hours leading the Tonys telecast, where she had sung an opening number with a gospel choir, poked fun at nominees including George Clooney and joked with Oprah Winfrey, as well as the release of her second album Friday. She was still dancing at 3 a.m. and at one point led the dance circle to Drake's song 'Rich Baby Daddy,' where she was twerking and dropping to the floor.
She spent much of the party dancing underneath the Russian Tea Room's tree, which has branches filled with Fabergé-inspired glass eggs.
Earlier that evening, between passed small bites, which included small burgers, tuna tartare and shrimp, and specialty drinks that included Cyn City (a mocktail including mint, lemon and raspberry zinger), attendees weighed in on the big winners of the evening.
'I'm so happy for Cole and Sam,' one attendee was overheard saying, referring to Oh, Mary! star Cole Escola and director Sam Pinkleton, who both won for their roles in the campy play about a reimagined Mary Todd Lincoln.
Phylicia Rashad, who directed Purpose on Broadway, sat in a circular booth chatting with Victoria Clark, a 2023 Tony winner for Kimberly Akimbo, and press agent Irene Gandy.
Fresh off the Hamilton performance at the Tonys telecast, which saw the reunion of the original Broadway cast, cast members Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs entered the party after midnight, walking into the first-floor bar, with Raver-Lampman noting, 'Oh, much more our speed.'
The downstairs area included a roped-off section, for those with reserved tables (aka celebrities) and a piano in the middle where Sara Bareilles and Broadway stars Alex Newell and Kecia Lewis, who has recently been at the center of industry chatter after Patti LuPone's interview, talked and took a photo.
Other attendees throughout the night included Matthew Broderick; Adam Lambert; Elsbeth's Carrie Preston; Conrad Ricamora, a Tony nominee for Oh, Mary!; Ben Stiller, who was a presenter at the Tony Awards; and Harry Potter alum Tom Felton, who recently announced he'll be reprising his role as Draco Malfoy on Broadway.
The party was hosted by Entertainment 360 and UTA, with Listerine as a sponsor. The Hollywood Reporter was the exclusive media partner.
Lexi Carson contributed to this report.
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