'The Band's Visit' And Harry Potter Win Big At A Quieter Tony Awards
The Tony Awards felt a little different this year than they have recently. It was a year without a Hamilton or a Dear Evan Hansen: there was no one original, out-of-nowhere show that came into the Tony Awards as a pop phenomenon. In fact, all four of the four nominated musicals were adaptations of existing properties: SpongeBob SquarePants, Disney's Frozen, and the non-musical films Mean Girls and The Band's Visit.
In fact, it was a relatively quiet but contemplative ceremony on the whole. Hosts Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban were just what this kind of evening needs: they are theater people (well, they are now, having starred respectively in and ). They were amiable and game, opening with a funny and chill little pop song about losing at the Tonys (which they both have done). It wasn't a big blowout
