Held on Juneteenth—June 19, which celebrates Emancipation from slavery—the live-streamed first annual Antonyo Awards was not only about professional recognition but about the acknowledgement of the Black experience and Black achievement. Sasha Allen sang the “Black National Anthem”—“Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Medleys of Black musicals were performed and monologues from Black plays were read, among other tributes to Black culture.
Presented by the Broadway Black organization, led by founder and executive producer Drew Shade, the event featured Broadway names and guests including McDonald, Cynthia Erivo, Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, LaChanze and Chuck Cooper, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award. To view the awards show, go to BroadwayBlack.com
Here are the first annual Antonyo Award winners:
Best Musical
“Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”
Best Play
“BLKS” by Aziza Barnes
Best Revival
“For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
Best Actor in a Musical on Broadway
Adrienne Warren, “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”
Best Actor in a Play on Broadway
Audra McDonald, “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune”
Best Actor in a Musical Off-Broadway
LaChanze, “The Secret Life of Bees”
Best Actor in a Play Off-Broadway
Danielle Brooks, “Much Ado About Nothing”
Best Featured Actor in a Musical on Broadway
Celia Rose Gooding, “Jagged Little Pill”
Best Featured Actor in a Play on Broadway
Chalia La Tour, “Slave Play”
Best Featured Actor in a Musical Off-Broadway
Jasmine Cephas Jones, “Cyrano”
Best Featured Actor in a Play Off-Broadway
Okwui Okpokwasili, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf”
Best Solo Performance
Michael Benjamin Washington, “Fires in the Mirror”
Best Book
Michael R. Jackson, “A Strange Loop”
Best Original Score
“The Secret of Life Bees”
Best Director
Lileana Blain-Cruz, “Anatomy of A Suicide”
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown, “For Colored Girls Who Have Committed Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
Best Lighting Design
Allen Lee Hughes, “A Soldiers Play”
Best Scenic Design
Lawrence E. Moten III, “Native Son”
Best Sound
Rucyl Frison, “Anatomy of a Suicide”
Best Costumes
Toni-Leslie James, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
Best Hair & Wig Design
Nikiya Mathis, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
Best Orchestrations
“Skinfolk: An American Show”
Best Quarantine Content
Daniel J. Watts, The Jam IG Live
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