Black Stories Win Big At 2024 Tony Awards: ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ ‘Purlie Victorious’ And More

Jessica Bennett
·3 min read

The 2024 Tony Awards, recognizing excellence on Broadway, took place last night (June 16) at Lincoln Center in New York City.

With a stacked list of A-listers and stage veterans receiving nominations this year, all eyes were on the annual ceremony, which featured — along with a surprise appearance by JAY-Z — a stunning opening excerpt from Alicia Keys’ hit musical, Hell’s Kitchen. The show, which was the most nominated of the night with 13, took home two awards in the categories of best actress (Maleah Joi Moon) and featured actress (Kecia Lewis) in a musical.

“The characters are definitely inspired by the city, inspired by my experiences of individuals and people. And I think that’s what gives it the richness and the relatability that you experience when you come,” Keys explained of the musical to VIBE. “To me, that’s why it feels so good, how art does imitate life because you’re able to take the experiences, those fundamentals, those emotions, those connections, those layered, complex behaviors of humanity and put it all together into these stories that really, really hit you.”

The first Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious, a stage play written by Ossie Davis in 1961, was also awarded, as Kara Young took home a Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play. She was previously nominated in 2022 for Clyde’s and 2023 for Cost of Living.

“To the great Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins who said I’m taking a chance on my life and I’m gonna go—because I have some life left in me,” Young said while accepting her Tony. “She deserved it. And we all do. Thank you. This is to the vibration of the liberation for humanity.”

Dede Ayite made history by becoming the first Black woman to win the Tony for Best Costume Design of a Play for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. She was nominated within the same category for her work on Appropriate and in the best costume design of a musical category for Hell’s Kitchen.

“It’s not just about me, but we did it,” she shared after the win. “The community that supports me, the community of people that love me each day and cheer me on. For me, I just feel like it’s not just about me right now. It’s the community. It’s that we have done it together.”

Billy Porter — who first won a Tony in 2013 for his performance as Lola in Kinky Boots — was also honored with the 2024 Isabelle Stevenson Award, honoring his late mother, Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter-Ford, in his speech.

“I’d like to dedicate this moment to my mother, Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter-Ford, who we lost this past February,” Porter shared, via ET. “She believed in unconditional love and she instilled in my sister and I a purpose and a love greater than ourselves.

“One of her favorite bible verses was Second Timothy, 1:7. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind,'” Porter recited. “Turn to your neighbor and tell him fear not! For the change has already happened. God bless y’all.”

Other notable winners included “Succession” star Jeremy Strong, who won his first Tony for his role in An Enemy of the People; Daniel Radcliffe, who won his first Tony for his role in Merrily We Roll Along; and Sarah Paulson, for her role in Appropriate. Check out snaps from the 2024 Tony Awards below.

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