It’s Almost Tony Time! Our Favorite Acceptance Speeches, From Nathan Lane to Lin-Manuel Miranda
A good Tony Award acceptance speech can be funny, touching, or downright weird. Here are a few of our favorites to tide you over to June 9:
Rita Moreno, The Ritz — Best Featured Actress in a Play
Rita Moreno pulls out her Puerto Rican sass in her 1975 acceptance speech for Best Featured Actress in The Ritz. Though she makes darn sure to remind everyone that she’s no mere “featured actress”…she’s the main event.
Stephen Sondheim, Company — Best Original Score and Lyrics
The world would obviously implode if legendary composer Stephen Sondheim were to have only a single Tony Award to his name. Take a look as Sondheim goes from zero- to two-time Tony Award winner in under three minutes.
Michael Jeter, Grand Hotel — Best Featured Actor in a Musical
This is one of the sweetest, most uplifting acceptance speeches of all time, for anything, ever. Jeter reminds us that “change is a day at a time, and dreams do come true.”
Nathan Lane, The Producers — Best Actor in a Musical
Those who saw Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in The Producers can attest that their chemistry was truly lightning in a bottle and that they both delivered thoroughly perfect, Tony-worthy performances. It was Lane who took home the trophy — from in between Dame Edna’s legs — but that didn’t stop him from literally dragging costar Broderick on stage with him and accepting the award on behalf of the two of them. It was a truly moving act of friendship and devotion from one of the stage’s finest comic actors.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights — Best Original Score
No preamble, no breathless moment taking it all in, Miranda gave an impressive performance, rapping his acceptance speech in 2008. It’s as heartfelt as it is rhythmic.
BONUS:
Tom Eyen, Dreamgirls — Best Book of a Musical
This video is less notable for the speech (which is kind of hard to understand), but for presenter Robert Goulet mistakenly calling the musical Dreamgirls “Dream Fingers.” (Bonus points if you can make out what the speed-talking Eyen said!)
