There were many memorable moments from last night's Tony Awards, from host James Corden's emotional speech to "Hamilton"'s 11 wins to "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda's moving sonnet and reminder that "love is love is love is love."
However, there was another historic moment that also should be remembered: for the first time in Tony Awards history, all four of the musical actor categories — lead actor, lead actress, featured actor and featured actress — had winners of colour. The winners, respectively, included Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, and Renée Elise Goldsberry of "Hamilton," and Cynthia Erivo of "The Color Purple."
According to Mic, the only time the Tonys came close to this record was in 1982, when the stars of "Dreamgirls" won lead actor, lead actress and featured actor categories.
The wins are especially poignant after the Academy Awards were blasted by critics for the lack of diversity in the nominated films, particularly in the acting categories. The movement #OscarsSoWhite spurred discussion on how to include and feature more people of colour in Hollywood, and set off sweeping changes to Academy membership.
But, as one astute Twitter user said Sunday night: "FORGET YOUR #OSCARSSOWHITE, WE HAVE #TONYSSOINCLUSIVE."
However, there was another historic moment that also should be remembered: for the first time in Tony Awards history, all four of the musical actor categories — lead actor, lead actress, featured actor and featured actress — had winners of colour. The winners, respectively, included Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, and Renée Elise Goldsberry of "Hamilton," and Cynthia Erivo of "The Color Purple."
According to Mic, the only time the Tonys came close to this record was in 1982, when the stars of "Dreamgirls" won lead actor, lead actress and featured actor categories.
The wins are especially poignant after the Academy Awards were blasted by critics for the lack of diversity in the nominated films, particularly in the acting categories. The movement #OscarsSoWhite spurred discussion on how to include and feature more people of colour in Hollywood, and set off sweeping changes to Academy membership.
But, as one astute Twitter user said Sunday night: "FORGET YOUR #OSCARSSOWHITE, WE HAVE #TONYSSOINCLUSIVE."
FORGET YOUR #OSCARSSOWHITE, WE HAVE #TONYSSOINCLUSIVE pic.twitter.com/4KKUkL4Dis
— laura brown (@laurjbrown) June 13, 2016
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