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Their homes and school burned in the Eaton fire. But these theater kids rise from the ashes

Their homes and school burned in the Eaton fire. But these theater kids rise from the ashes

Yahoo22-04-2025

This is a story about 60 kids who lost their homes, their theater, their whole neighborhoods to the Eaton fire as it raged through Altadena on a ferociously windy night one week into the new year.
For the students of Altadena Arts Magnet and Eliot Arts Magnet schools, however, the story does not end there. Because in a remarkable display of community spirit, these kids became the characters of a different drama — this one about young survivors who, determined to carry on their spring musical, channel their loss into a one-night-only, sold-out performance of "Shrek the Musical Jr." on one of L.A.'s most prestigious stages, the 2,100-seat Ahmanson Theatre.
At 7:01 p.m., a minute after the show is set to begin, the cast huddles backstage around their director, Mollie Lief, and their choreographer, Billy Rugh. The mood is quiet, anticipatory — reverential.
"Whatever happens on that stage, it will be brilliant," Lief tells her students, before holding up a small charm. "In my hand is a phoenix rising from the ashes, with a green 'Shrek' background. All of you are truly phoenixes rising from the ashes, making something beautiful that will last forever."
Rugh then rallies the kids, telling them, "Reach for the entire audience and be super, super freaks," a reference to one of the musical's biggest numbers.
"Energy, energy, energy, energy," the group chants together, breathing as one, readying to storm the stage and wow the excited guests, many of whom are from burn-scarred Altadena and Pasadena. With that, the kids scatter to their places, the house lights go down, the stage lights come up and the show begins.
"Once upon a time, there was a little Ogre named Shrek, who lived with his parents in a bog by a tree," reads 13-year-old Dakota Bradley, from an oversize storybook, beginning "Shrek the Musical Jr.," about displaced fairy tale characters who are saved from the evil machinations of a callous overlord by an improbable hero who finds true love in a totally unexpected way. There are farts and burps for laughs, but mostly the show is about self-love and acceptance — about how goodness can and will prevail, even in the darkest of circumstances.
Ninety minutes later the theater erupts in cheers and an effusive standing ovation for the ecstatic young thespians.
"I'm sooooo happy," says a breathless 11-year old named Journee Everly, who played Donkey, as she rushes offstage after an encore bow.
"I'm sooooo sad," says 12-year-old Monahmi Ruiz, who played Dragon.
The girls look at each other and laugh giddily, an unspoken acknowledgment that they meant the same thing. Joy and sorrow are intermingled because this grand experience — involving professional sets, costumes, lighting and sound, as well as videos of personal encouragement made for the kids by Broadway superstars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs and the casts of "The Lion King" and "Aladdin" — is over.
Tuesday, Jan. 7, was a good day for the newly minted cast of "Shrek the Musical Jr." They gathered after school for their first table read and headed home with their scripts, brimming with excitement about the musical. Lief remembers that when someone opened a door to the outside, it looked a bit like the tornado scene from "The Wizard of Oz." It was scary but also dramatic and entertaining for the kids who had no way of knowing what the intense Santa Ana winds were capable of.
Less than two hours later, Altadena erupted in flames.
Rugh, an accomplished choreographer with film and TV credits — observed what he believes may have been the beginning of the fire from his home near the Pasadena Rose Bowl. He was sitting in his living room watching the wind make a tangle of his backyard when he saw "a little fire start" in the distance.
The kids he taught would spend that night and the following day fleeing. Almost half of the school's population lost homes, and many more would be displaced, including more than three-quarters of the cast of "Shrek the Musical Jr."
Lief woke at 6 a.m. that Wednesday to a house filled with smoke. She lived near Altadena, and like many in that position, including Rugh, was forced to leave not because of a mandatory evacuation order but because of the overwhelming smoke that smothered the area like a toxic blanket.
As she was driving to San Diego with her family, Lief saw her faculty group chat light up with the unfolding terror: colleagues who lost homes, whole families displaced, parents in need of a place to go — and then a video of Eliot Arts burning, followed by photos of the destroyed theater.
"I was in the car with two little kids, and I didn't want to scare them, but I was just stifling sobs," Lief says.
Thirteen-year-old Jolie Simmons, who played Princess Fiona, also saw the video of her burning school. That was after her house burned down. She was staying with her mother, father, four siblings and grandmother — affectionately known as Nema — at the Pasadena Convention Center, which had been transformed into an emergency relief facility.
Jolie's Nema had lived in their family's home since 1977 and didn't want to leave. Jolie's father and Nema spent the night of the fire hosing down the house in an attempt to ward off the flames. When the mulch in the backyard caught fire, they finally left.
Tears spring to the girl's eyes as she recalls how much she loved her neighborhood, the many hours she spent in her friends' houses — and how the community felt like a big family.
"Eliot really was my second home, because I've played so many different roles there," says Jolie, whose family has yet to find permanent housing.
Lief recalls an email Jolie sent about four days after the fire. It read something to the effect of, "Hey Ms. Lief, my house burned down, but should I be getting off book?"
It was this email, along with another from young Journee that drove home what Lief and Rugh already felt in their bones: The show absolutely must go on.
"They had already lost so much and were disconnected so much, that this could be one thing that we control them not losing," Rugh says.
Center Theatre Group and Pasadena Playhouse, two institutions that had a long history of collaboration with students from Pasadena Unified School District, soon marshaled resources to help the kids stage their production.
The month before the fire, CTG brought district kids to the Ahmanson to see "Once Upon a Mattress" starring Sutton Foster. Dylan Hunt, 13, who played Shrek, remembers watching with his mother.
"My mom, she likes making these really annoying comments," Dylan says, smiling, adding by way of explanation, "Because she's a mom."
The comments were about how nice the show was — how good the day was — and Dylan decided to add his own thoughts to the mix.
"I looked at her, and I said, 'You know what else would be nice? Seeing your kid perform on this stage.'"
And then, "under the worst circumstances," Dylan says, it happened.
"We are there for our community when our community has always been there for us," says Pasadena Playhouse Artistic Director Danny Feldman. "It's a very natural thing. It was about lifting everyone up — those kids and their families — in a moment they need it."
The theater leaders brought professional vocal coaches onboard for rehearsals and welcomed the kids to the Ahmanson for a full day of talks and interactions with their professional staff, including CTG's stage and production managers, technical and shop directors, carpenters, electricians, and hair and makeup supervisors.
Those same staffers helped to stage the final shows — one matinee and the grand evening performance, both on Friday. Scenery, props and half the costumes were donated by the Anaheim-based, family-run stage company 3D Theatricals, and the designers waived their fees. Rugh provided the other half of the costumes from his professional collection. The lighting package was donated by Volt Lites. A giant QR code on the back of the glossy program featuring headshots of the young actors invited audience members to donate toward rebuilding the arts programs at the two schools.
Unfortunately, that money might not be enough. In February, Lief learned that she was one of nearly 150 Pasadena teachers being laid off as the district deals with a reported $37-million budget deficit.
She kept that difficult information to herself during rehearsals, not wanting to add tumult or disruption to her students' lives. Then, on Monday, she finally told them.
The kids, Lief says, are talking about making a May school board meeting their next stage, so they can tell district leaders just how much their theater teacher means to them.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Door County theater season is about to raise its curtain for 2025. Here's your guide
Door County theater season is about to raise its curtain for 2025. Here's your guide

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Door County theater season is about to raise its curtain for 2025. Here's your guide

The curtain is raising on Door County's vibrant summer theater season for 2025. A couple of the Peninsula's companies have held offseason shows, others have held play readings and other outreach programs over the winter. But now that the middle of June is approaching, the county's four professional theater companies and a community theater company are heading into the starts of their seasons. Here's what these five companies are putting on stage this summer and fall. America's oldest professional resident summer theater – 2025 marks its 90th season – offers five shows in a season running from June 17 through Oct. 19 in the company's all-weather, 600-plus-seat pavilion near the shore of the bay of Green Bay. Patrons can relax and picnic on the grounds while watching the setting sun over the waters of the bay and enjoy the ambiance of the beer garden and other gardens before performances. The lineup includes a popular comedy about relationships by one of the best-known and most popular playwrights in American theater, a stage adaptation of a haunting Stephen King thriller, a stage musical version of a classic novel, a warmhearted romantic comedy by a writer known to Players patrons mostly for his madcap comedies, and a hugely popular comedy-drama about female friendships. The season is: 'Barefoot in the Park,' June 17 to July 6 It's the second year in a row a comedy by Neil Simon, who's responsible for writing some of America's most popular stage and movie comedies ("The Odd Couple," "The Sunshine Boys"), finds its way onto the Players stage, after last year's "I Ought to Be in Pictures." 'Barefoot in the Park' also is one of Simon's best-known works, running on Broadway for more than 3½ years and 1,530 shows in its first run, and also was adapted into a hit movie starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. The story features carefree Corie and pragmatic Paul, newlyweds who are trying to navigate life in their first quirky apartment while also dealing with an anxious mother-in-law and an eccentric neighbor. 'Misery,' July 9 to July 27 William Goldman, a two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter (both original and adapted) and novelist whose credits include 'Marathon Man,' 'The Princess Bride,' 'All the President's Men' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' adapted mystery writer Stephen King's chilling tale for both stage and screen, the latter becoming a hit movie starring James Caan and Kathy Bates. The plot of "Misery" features a famous novelist who wakes up in the home of his 'No. 1 fan' after a car accident, but the fan learns the novelist has killed off her favorite character and tries to coax him into writing a new novel to bring her back, with continuously increasing mental and physical coercion and tension. 'Little Women: The Broadway Musical,' July 30 to Aug. 17 This year's musical at Pen Players features Louisa May Alcott's beloved (and probably autobiographical) novel about the four plucky March sisters during the Civil War, which was adapted into a stage musical by Allan Knee (book), Mindi Dickstein (lyrics) and Jason Howland (music). The story is told through the eyes of Jo, the aspiring writer among the sisters, and shows how she, Meg, Beth and Amy care for one another despite their differing personalities while finding their own voices and charting their own paths among their loves, losses, discoveries and hope. 'Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise,' Aug. 20 to 31 Ludwig is a prolific playwright whose fast-paced, madcap comedies such as 'Lend Me a Tenor' (a two-time Tony Award winner), 'The Fox on the Fairway' and most recently 2023's "Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery" have graced the Players stage. Here. though, Ludwig goes for something closer to the heart, penning an amusing and heartwarming story based on the real-life, long-distance courtship of his parents during World War II. The plot has shy and steady Jack, a military doctor stationed far from home, striking up a correspondence with outgoing Louise, an aspiring singer and dancer, and follows how their connection blossoms through their deeply personal letters despite the miles between them and the ongoing war. 'Steel Magnolias,' Sept. 3 to Oct. 19 Pen Players' fall show for 2025 is Robert Harling's moving comedy, based on his family experiences, about the lives and friendships of six women who support each other through their triumphs and tragedies, gathering at a beauty shop in Louisiana to ponder life and death, husbands, men and children. Harling adapted his play into a hit film with an all-star cast that included Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton and Sally Field, and a made-for-TV movie with an all-Black cast including Queen Latifah, Jill Scott and Phylicia Rashad was produced in 2012 for the Lifetime cable network. Peninsula Players Theatre is at 4351 Peninsula Players Road, Fish Creek. Curtain times are at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Sundays except for a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee to close each show, except for "Steel Magnolias," which takes the stage at 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Individual tickets are $51 to $56 except for the "Little Women" musical, which is $54 to $59; discounts are available for ages 18 and younger or groups of 15 or more, and season subscriptions and gift certificates are available. For tickets and more information, call 920-868-3287 or visit Northern Sky Theater's 35th season of original musical comedies in 2025 features a world premiere and two recent favorites running in repertory for its outdoor summer shows from June 11 to Aug. 23 in the amphitheater in Peninsula State Park and the 25th anniversary run of one of the company's classics for its indoor fall show from Aug. 29 to Oct. 25 in the Gould Theater on the Northern Sky creative campus in Fish Creek. Shows will be held every day except Sundays. It also features a transition for the company as Jeff Herbst, a company member since 1991 and artistic director for the past 32 years, steps aside and turns the Northern Sky reins over to Molly Rhode, herself a company member for 17 years, the last 11 as associate artistic director to Herbst. The season on the outdoor stage is: The world premiere of "Something in the Water," the fourth Northern Sky musical written by Matt Zembrowski ("Dad's Season Tickets," "Doctor! Doctor!" and "Whatever Happened to Karl Janko"), is a madcap, vaudevillian musical farce in which the Grand Waukesha Springs Resort has seen better days, but its dedicated staff and a few zany guests try to save the hotel from closing amid mayhem and mistaken identities. It runs at 7:30 p.m. June 11 and June 14, then 6 p.m. Mondays, 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 8:30 p.m. Thursdays from June 16 to Aug. 21. "Dairy Heirs," by Joel Kopischke and veteran Northern Sky members Eva Nimmer and Alissa Rhode, centers on a passionate farmer trying to continue her family's longstanding tradition of farming but, after her father dies unexpectedly, having to deal with her estranged older brother and his ideas about what to do with the family business. The show premiered at Northern Sky in 2018 and ran again in 2019. It's on stage at 6 p.m. June 12 and 13, then 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and Tuesdays and 6 p.m. Thursdays from June 17 to Aug. 23. "No Bones About It" by Paul Libman (music) and Dave Hudson (book and lyrics), one of the most prolific writing teams in Northern Sky's history ("Muskie Love," "Main-Travelled Roads" among others) and two-time Richard Rodgers Award winners for new musical theater, sets the story of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" – loosely – at the Verona National Ribfest, where the families of lovers Ronny and Julie are competing for the top prize in the barbecue contest. It previously played at Northern Sky in 2015 and 2016 and this season runs at 8:30 p.m. Mondays and 7:30 p.m. Fridays from June 16 to Aug. 22. The indoor fall season at the Gould has "The Bachelors" making its return to Northern Sky after an 11-year absence. The Fred Alley/James Kaplan follow-up to their smash hit "Guys On Ice" looks at bachelorhood through the lenses of Stew and John, a pair of 30-something bumblers living together in a state of extended adolescence when they innocently order out for pizza, never expecting the delivery girl to be the reincarnation of a woman they both wronged in a previous lifetime. The show has had four runs at Northern Sky since its 2001 premiere but none since 2014. Its schedule is 7 p.m. Aug. 29, 2 and 7 p.m. Aug. 30, than 2 p.m. Mondays, 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Fridays from Sept. 1 to Oct. 25. Northern Sky Theater is a nonprofit professional organization that produces original musical shows in repertory. Tickets for outdoor shows are $29 for adults, $19 college and teenage students, $14 ages 3 to 12 for standard seating; $37, $27 and $22 for premium seating. Shows at the Gould at $40 for adults, $27 college and teenage students, $22 ages 12 and younger. For tickets or more information, call 920-854-6117 or visit The downtown Sturgeon Bay playhouse traditionally gets an early start on the season, with "Three Viewings" running from late April through mid-May this year, and offers four more shows throughout the rest of 2025, including a world premiere and a staged radio-style program of a classic Christmas story for the holiday season. The season is: "Buyer & Cellar," through June 22 On stage since June 4, this one-person comedy by Jonathan Tolins about the price of fame and the price of things follows a struggling, just-fired actor who lands a job curating Barbra Streisand's legendary basement "shopping mall" beneath her Malibu home, then strikes up an unlikely relationship with the singer/actor when she comes down to peruse her collections of costumes, dolls and other trinkets. The production is a collaboration with Renaissance Theaterworks in Milwaukee. "The 39 Steps," July 16 to Aug. 10 Patrick Barlow adapted Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 movie thriller of the same name into this fast-paced and popular stage comedy that won an Olivier Award for best comedy in British theater and earned a Tony nomination for best new play. The play, which appeared previously at TAP in 2013 and on other stages on the Peninsula, has four actors play a total of 100 or more roles. It has a stiff-upper-lipped hero get tangled up in a spy ring and accused of murder as he deals with double-crosses and beautiful women. "Ryan's Pub, Trivia Night," Sept. 24 to Oct. 12 TAP produces the world premiere of Alec Silberblatt's new play after presenting a staged reading during its annual play reading event in February 2024. The play focuses on Marci and Richie, the best team at the regular trivia nights at Ryan's Pub in Pittsburgh, and how their rivalry with another team takes an unexpected turn. "A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play," Dec. 3 to 28 TAP's WBFR Radio Players are back with this adaptation by Joe Landry of Charles Dickens' classic holiday story into a 1940s radio-style show for a live audience, complete with live sound effects and musical underscoring as five actors bring to life scores of characters. The company presented this show during the holiday season in 2022 and another radio-style adaptation by Landry, of the holiday movie "It's a Wonderful Life," in 2023. Third Avenue PlayWorks and its 124-seat Kane Theatre are at 239 N. Third Ave., Sturgeon Bay. The curtain rises for all shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, with 2 p.m. Friday matinees during the second week of each run. The first show for all productions is a Wednesday night pay-what-you-can preview, followed by a final preview the next night and the official opening night on the first Friday of the run. Subscribers receive free exchanges all season long and up to a 15% discount on regular ticket prices. Tickets are $44 for adults, $25 college students, $15 ages 19 and younger; ages 65 and older and veterans receive a 10% discount. For season subscriptions or more information, call the box office at 920-743-1760 or visit A classic story by one of the world's best-known authors joins a popular comedy by the world's best-known playwright in Door Shakespeare's 30th summer season in 2025. The plays are William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" adapted for the stage by Gale Childs Daly. Both will be presented in repertory from July 2 to Aug. 16 on the outdoor stage in the garden at Bjorklunden. This is the fifth time Door Shakespeare has produced "Twelfth Night" but the first since 2017, along with productions in 1996, 2001 and 2011. Shakespeare's romantic comedy has the lead character, Viola, shipwrecked on a foreign shore, where she disguises herself as a young man to become a page in a count's court. That begins a secret new life and sets off a romantic triangle as Viola discovers she is not the only one hiding something. Following a preview performance July 2, it runs at 7:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from July 4 to Aug. 15. In "Great Expectations," a young orphan boy, Pip, has a life-changing encounter with an escaped convict that launches Pip's journey from a small town to London and from boyhood to adulthood. Along the way, Pip encounters a number of unique characters and goes through some painful experiences as he, and others in the story, learns what it means to be true to one's self. The Dickens tales, published as a novel in 1861 after running as a serial in magazines, has been adapted numerous times for stage, cinema and TV. Following a preview performance July 3, it runs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 5 p.m. Saturdays from July 5 to Aug. 16. Tickets are $30 to $45 for adults, $25 to $40 for students, $20 to $35 ages 12 and younger. For tickets or more information, call 920-854-7111 or visit Door County-based community theater company Rogue Theater lists seven shows through the rest of 2025 on its website, with six playing in its opened-in-2023 DC Arts Center in Sturgeon Bay. The season is: "Hallelujah Girls," June 13 to 15 A comedy by Jamie Wooten, Jessie Jones and Nicholas Hope that sees a feisty group of Southern women decide that life is too short after the death of a friend, thus vowing to change their lives and achieve their dreams. "Hate Mail," July 11 to 20 A parody of the popular rom-com 'Love Letters' that has the correspondence between its two characters bounce between love and hate for each other. "The Odd Couple: the Female Version," Aug. 14 to 31 Women take on the roles of the vastly mismatched roommates, one fastidious and particular, the other sloppy and irresponsible, in Neil Simon's classic comedy. "An Audition for Murder," Sept. 12 to 21 A dinner theater murder mystery show that has audience members help solve the case of an actor's murder. This show will be held at several restaurants and locations to be announced. "The Tin Woman," Oct. 16 to Nov. 2 A Sean Grennan comedy-drama that premiered at Peninsula Players in 2014 about a woman who is drawn to contact the family of the donor of the heart transplanted into her, with emotional results. "The Unexpected Man," Nov. 14 to 23 This Yasmina Reza play has a famous male novelist and a female admirer of him (although he doesn't know she knows who he is) share a train compartment and separately muse about their lives. "Dashing Through the Snow," Dec. 19 to Jan. 3 A holiday comedy set in a tiny town in Texas where a parade of colorful guests arrive at the Snowflake Inn and deck the halls with their eccentricities, issues, thoughts and dreams. Rogue Theater shows play in the DC Arts Center, 917 N. 14th Ave. Sturgeon Bay, except where noted. For specific show dates and times, ticket prices, advance tickets or more information, call 920-818-0816, visit or email 1roguetheater@ Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@ MORE: Door County has weekend festivals throughout June. Here's your guide MORE: Police identify body found in water off Door County in the bay of Green Bay FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Here's your guide to the shows in the 2025 Door County theater season

Cynthia Erivo Brought It Home at the 2025 Tony Awards—Plus, More of the Night's Highlights
Cynthia Erivo Brought It Home at the 2025 Tony Awards—Plus, More of the Night's Highlights

Vogue

time26 minutes ago

  • Vogue

Cynthia Erivo Brought It Home at the 2025 Tony Awards—Plus, More of the Night's Highlights

There are no ifs, ands, or maybes about it—Sunday, June 8, was a happy ending for the Broadway community. After a two-year hiatus, the annual Tony Awards returned home to Radio Music Hall, the venue it had called home for 20 shows prior, and it really did feel like a homecoming. And while I presume that each Tonys Sunday—when producers, actors, directors, writers and friends of the industry come together to celebrate the Broadway season—is a pretty joyful affair, there was something about this year that felt special. Perhaps because of the recent announcement that this was Broadway's highest-grossing season in history, or because we find ourselves in a moment when our communities need live art and creativity more than ever before. Regardless, the main takeaway of the night for those who experienced it in person was that it was one to remember. Here are some of the moments—heart-wrenching, skipping, and warming—that will cement this year's Tonys as one of the greats. The festive pre-show Photo:The show airs live on CBS and Paramount+ from 8 p.m. sharp, but a handful of awards are announced in a pre-show broadcast, this year co-hosted by Darren Criss (Maybe Happy Ending) and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton). As many of the night's winners explained in their acceptance speeches, it takes a village to make theater happen. Unfortunately, keeping an audience's attention long enough to fit all of the villagers' awards into a single ceremony is a big ask, even of die-heart theater people. So, cue The Tonys: Act One, announcing the winners for best choreography, musical score, lighting design, and more. The first standing ovation of the night went to Gary Edwin Robinson, winner of the Excellence in Theatre Education Award, for his work on the Theatre Arts Program at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn. 'I told you I was going to the Tony Awards one day!' Robinson exclaimed to his family as he wielded his award. Partners in life and choreography, Buena Vista Social Club duo Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado took home the Tony for best choreography. Upon accepting the award, Delgado revealed that she and Peck had actually danced to a Buena Vista Social Club song at their wedding—which the audience couldn't help but give a big 'aww.' Cynthia Erivo's rousing opening number

Tony Awards highlights: Radio City becomes the room where it happens for a 'Hamilton' reunion

time37 minutes ago

Tony Awards highlights: Radio City becomes the room where it happens for a 'Hamilton' reunion

NEW YORK -- Even the ushers at Radio City Music Hall seemed thrilled to be in the room where it happened. A few of them could be seen grooving, like everyone else at Sunday's Tony Awards, to the 'Hamilton' reunion performance — a medley of some of that blockbuster musical's biggest songs, performed by the original cast. The occasion was the 10th Broadway anniversary of Lin-Manuel Miranda's juggernaut that spawned multiple touring companies, a West End production and a live-capture film — and is still going strong. But while the theater was buzzing to songs like 'My Shot,' 'The Schuyler Sisters,' 'History Has Its Eyes on You' and 'The Room Where It Happens,' some people were unfortunately NOT in the room where, er, it was happening. They were the ones who'd taken a trip to the bar or a stroll around the lobby, and were then held from entering until the next commercial break — missing perhaps the night's most anticipated highlight. They also missed the entire audience singing along with Jonathan Groff, aka King George, 'Da-da-da, dat-da, dat, da-da-da, da-ya-da, Da-da, dat, dat, da-ya-da.' Note for next year: Exit at your own peril! Some other notable moments from Tony night: Most award winners thank Mom, their agents, their co-stars and their spouses. Cole Escola, one of the major stars of this Tony night, promised Mom a call, but also decided to thank 'Teebo from Grindr' — the dating app — when accepting the award for lead actor in a play. Escola is star and writer of the riotous 'Oh, Mary!' — a reimagining of the life of Mary Todd Lincoln (and her beleaguered husband, Abe) that addresses the question: What if the Lincoln assassination wasn't such a bad thing for Mary? (Mary wants to be a cabaret star, you see.) The show is seeing audiences collapse in laughter for 80 minutes every night on Broadway. Escola, a downtown cabaret star, beat out high-wattage competitors like George Clooney and Daniel Dae Kim for the acting award. They mentioned their co-nominees in their speech, saying they had enjoyed sharing 'warm salads' at pre-awards lunches. Escola is the first nonbinary actor to win a Tony in the category. When 'Maybe Happy Ending' writers Hue Park and Will Aronson accepted the award for best book of a musical, the first handed out, Park felt it necessary to point out that they weren't an actual couple. 'I am very much single,' he clarified, for anyone wondering. Then later, when the duo won for best score, Park deemed a reminder necessary: 'By the way, I'm still single.' And then at the end of the night, 'Maybe Happy Ending,' the charming and quirky romance between decommissioned robots in a futuristic Korea, won the big prize: best musical. Park did not get the mic. But producer Jeffrey Richards did, and he reminded the crowd: 'Hue is still single.' Cynthia Erivo, the 'Wicked' star and powerhouse vocalist hosting the evening, said it first: 'As they apparently say in a very fertile piece of intellectual property," she said with a wink, 'there's no place like home. And Broadway has always been mine.' It's a familiar theme on Tony night: the theater community as a welcoming haven for those who may feel different or unseen. It was echoed by Harvey Fierstein, winner of a lifetime achievement award, describing how he joined the theater after being welcomed by a company in Brooklyn. And it was expressed very emotionally by Nicole Scherzinger, winning best actress in a musical for 'Sunset Blvd.' 'Growing up, I always felt like I didn't belong,' said Scherzinger, former lead singer of the pop group Pussycat Dolls who plays Norma Desmond in the minimalist version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber show. 'But you all have made me feel like I belong, and I have come home at last.' Those last words echo the lyrics of one of Desmond's big numbers, 'As If We Never Said Goodbye.' 'So if there's anyone out there who feels like they don't belong, or your time hasn't come, don't give up,' Scherzinger continued. 'Just keep on giving and giving because the world needs your love and your light now more than ever.' There's always lots of chatter going on during an awards show. But the way the crowd quieted down during Audra McDonald's powerful, agonized performance of 'Rose's Turn' from 'Gypsy' was striking. In the song's quiet moments, you heard utter silence in the vast room. McDonald, the Tonys' most awarded actor, is clearly revered by the theater community, who cheered her with standing ovations. But the award she was up for went to Scherzinger. It's been two years since HBO's 'Succession' ended, but its stars keep turning up at awards shows — and often winning. Jeremy Strong won a Tony last year and was nominated for an Oscar this year. Kieran Culkin won an Oscar this year and is appearing on Broadway this season, though he wasn't nominated. And now it was the turn of Sarah Snook — Emmy and Golden Globe winner — to win a Tony. Snook, who played mercurial sibling Shiv Roy in the series, took the Tony for best actress in a play for 'The Picture of Dorian Gray,' in which she plays all 26 roles. Tony winner and musical theater regular Gavin Creel, who died last year of cancer, was a friend to many in the theater community, and was remembered more than once on Tony evening. During the early pre-show, actor Celia Keenan-Bolger was honored with the Isabelle Stevenson award, for her advocacy work in the arts. She spoke movingly of her deep friendship with Creel and their advocacy work together. Later, singer and actor Sara Bareilles performed a soulful duet of 'Tomorrow' from 'Annie,' harmonizing with Erivo, during the memorial segment. That segment ended with a photo of Creel, also a dear friend to Bareilles, who teared up. Both Bareilles and Keenan-Bolger are involved with the Gavin Creel Fellowship, an initiative that plans to provide $25,000 grants to five emerging theater actors each year. The final award had been announced by presenter Miranda — best musical to 'Maybe Happy Ending' — and the audience started to disperse. But Erivo had another idea. Riffing on the concept of leaving, she launched into the famous 'Dreamgirls' ballad 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' — with rewritten lyrics. It was a yet another powerhouse performance from someone who has one of the best voices on the planet. The audience stopped dispersing — and started cheering.

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