Play inspired by Mideast peace process wins at Tony Awards

NEW YORK — A play inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Norwegian husband-and-wife diplomats behind the 1993 Oslo Accords was crowned best play on New York’s Broadway Sunday at the Tony Awards.

The homegrown play, “Oslo,” written by US playwright J.T. Rogers, was inspired by the back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics that led to the agreement more than two decades ago.

The play has won rave reviews and a Hollywood movie adaptation is also in the works, planned by Marc Platt, producer of “La La Land,” which won six Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards.

“To the ladies and gentlemen of the Oslo Accords who believed in democracy, who believed in seeing peace, seeing their enemies as humans, I give this up to them,” said Rogers.

Two-time Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey hosted the star-studded 71st annual edition of the biggest night on Broadway, the equivalent of the Academy Awards for US theater.

Beginning on off-Broadway, “Oslo” moved to Lincoln Center this year and is scheduled to go to London in September.

“We are in a golden age of American playwrighting,” said producer Andre Bishop as he accepted the award.

The real-life political thriller tells the story of the Norwegian couple who coordinated the secret talks that led to the handshake between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat on the lawn of the White House, and earned both leaders the Nobel Peace Prize, which they shared with Shimon Peres.

Michael Aronov, who plays an Israeli diplomat in the play, also won a Tony for best featured actor.

The play, which garnered a total of seven Tony nominations, opened to rave reviews for turning a complicated history into a fast, entertaining three hours.

Also at Sunday’s awards, Jewish actress Bette Midler won her first competitive Tony, taking home a well-deserved statuette for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in “Hello, Dolly.”

“This has the ability to lift your spirits in these terrible, terrible times,” she said of her show.

“I hope I don’t cry,” Midler said as she accepted the award. “This has been one of the greatest professional experiences of my entire life… I’m so grateful for the outpouring of love, it has been absolutely extraordinary. That said, I can’t remember the last time I had more smoke blown up my ass, but there’s no more room. This is the cherry on the cake… This has given me the ride of my life.”

I’d like to thank all the Tony voters — many of whom I’ve actually dated,” she joked.

When the orchestra tried to goose her along with swelling instruments, Midler was not having it, jokingly snapping at the producers to “shut that crap off!” she said. The orchestra went wisely silent.

“Dear Evan Hansen,” the touching, heartfelt musical about young outsiders, has won the biggest theater popularity contest — winning the best new musical trophy at the Tony Awards along with five other statuettes, including best score, book and top actor honors for Ben Platt.

#TonyAwards winner Bette Midler outlasts playoff music: "Shut that crap off!" https://t.co/5FA02bZE70 pic.twitter.com/yOiqSDFgTF

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 12, 2017

“Dear Evan Hansen” came into the night behind “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” with 12 nominations, but that musical which dramatizes a 70-page slice of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” stalled after winning just two technical awards, for best set and lighting.

Instead, the night belonged to “Dear Evan Hansen,” a show that centers on a profoundly lonely 17-year-old who fabricates a prior friendship with a classmate who has just committed suicide.

Platt thanked his cast mates, crew and family, calling his parents his heroes. He had this inspiring message to young people out there: “The things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful.”

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who recently won an Oscar for the song “City of Stars” from the movie “La La Land,” added to a remarkable year by earning Tonys for best score for writing the songs for “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Moments later, the show’s story writer, Steven Levenson, won the Tony for best book, and Alex Lacamoire earned one for best orchestations. Rachel Bay Jones won her first Tony for her work in the musical, capping a long career onstage with plenty of zigs and zags.

Cynthia Nixon won her second Tony, this time for her work in Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes.” Nixon, the “Sex and the City” star, struck a defiant political tone, saluting those who refuse to stand by and watch bad things happen in the world.

Kevin Kline won his third Tony Award playing an egomaniacal matinee idol in the midst of personal turmoil in the play “Present Laughter.” He thanked, among others, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Andy Blankenbuehler won his second choreography Tony in as many years — last year for “Hamilton” and this time for “Bandstand.”

Laurie Metcalf won her first Tony, winning best actress honors in “A Doll’s House, Part 2.” She won three Emmy Awards for her role as Jackie Harris on “Roseanne” and thanked her children. Rebecca Taichman won best directing play honors for “Indecent.”

“Am I dreaming? Is this some kind of crazy dream?” she asked.

Kevin Spacey kicked off his first-ever Tony Award hosting gig with grace and self-deprecating wit, dancing, singing and joking his way through an opening number that linked all four best new musical nominees and doing his best Glenn Close impersonation.

Spacey, who was named Tony host after several other celebrities turned down the job, laughed at himself in the 10-minute opening song, in which he gradually grew comfortable with hosting duties despite what he fears will be nasty tweets directed at him.

The telecast opened on a mournful host dressed like the title character in “Dear Evan Hansen” — complete with arm cast — before he soon showed up in a bed to mock “Groundhog Day The Musical” with an assist with Stephen Colbert, and then donned a fake beard as if he was in “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.” He went on to do impersonations of former President Bill Clinton and Johnny Carson.

The show’s comedy had zings for Democrats and Republicans alike, with Colbert mocking President Donald Trump as if he were a show from Washington with bad hair and makeup that will be “closing early” due to poor reviews. Spacey, as Clinton, joked about his wife’s fake email accounts.

In an attempt to shake up the show, producers asked the Rockettes back on a Tony stage after 13 years and asked all four playwrights nominated for best play Tonys appear to present their works.

The Rockettes had their own number and got to dance with the cast of “Come From Away,” a feel-good Canadian musical set against the horror of 9/11. It earned Christopher Ashley the Tony for best direction of a musical. He dedicated it to 9/11 first responders and all those who were generous on that terrible day.

Spacey even had fun with speculation about his sexual orientation while singing the Andrew Lloyd Webber song “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from “Sunset Boulevard.” Spacey, dressed as Close, sang “I’m coming out…” and then paused, tantalizingly. “Of makeup…”

Then Spacey led a line of high-kicking, tap dancers in a top hat, a white tie, tuxedo and a cane. “I’m Broadway bound,” he sang. “Your next host is found.” After the hectic number, he requested that his cardiologist be nearby.

There were no technical or human snafus — other than Midler’s elongated speech — that marred previous awards shows this year, including the wrong winner announced at the Oscars and sound issues at the Grammys. Spacey talked about the show’s accountants and said: “You guys do not have to worry about them tonight, at all,” he said.