The Awardist Tony Awards The best moments of the 2021 Tony Awards By Tyler Aquilina Tyler Aquilina Tyler Aquilina is a former digital writer at Entertainment Weekly. He left EW in 2022. EW's editorial guidelines Published on September 27, 2021 12:58AM EDT Close 01 of 11 2021 Tony Awards highlights Mary Kouw/CBS via Getty Images; Theo Wargo/Getty Images (2) Broadway's back! As New York's theater industry returns from more than a year-long shutdown, the 74th Tony Awards were finally given out, celebrating the best of Broadway's truncated 2019-2020 season. The two-part event — split between the Tonys ceremony itself on Paramount+ and a concert special on CBS — featured plenty of joyous moments celebrating live theater's return, somber reflections on the many lives lost to COVID, and galvanizing moments calling for change. Here are the highlights from Broadway's biggest night. 02 of 11 Danny Burstein wins his first Tony after seven nominations Danny Burstein. Theo Wargo/Getty Images One of the ceremony's most memorable and touching moments came early when Moulin Rouge! The Musical star Danny Burstein won his first Tony Award after seven nominations. Burstein, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Harold Zidler, thanked everyone for their support during his battle with COVID and after the loss of his wife, Rebecca Luker, who died in December due to complications of ALS. "You all showed up for us. You were there for us; whether you just sent a note or sent your love or sent bagels, it meant the world to us," he said. "And it's something I'll never forget. I love being an actor on Broadway." 03 of 11 Lois Smith becomes the oldest acting winner in Tony history Lois Smith. Theo Wargo/Getty Images In another early touching moment, The Inheritance star Lois Smith proved you're never too old to win your first Tony, becoming the oldest person to win an acting trophy at 90. "I love the processes of the live theater," Smith said, adding, "There's a famous two-word message from Howards End" — on which The Inheritance is based — "which is so apt, I think, tonight for all of us who are here celebrating the importance, the functions, of live theater: 'Only connect.'" Clearly, she did. 04 of 11 Jennifer Holliday slays "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (again) Jennifer Holliday. Mary Kouw/CBS Almost 40 years after winning Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Effie in Dreamgirls, Jennifer Holliday returned to the Tony Awards stage to perform her character's signature number — and brought the house down once again. Holliday's powerhouse, full-bodied performance had the audience members on their feet before the song even ended, where they stayed until she brought it home. Talk about a reprise for the ages. 05 of 11 Aaron Tveit wins his category of one Aaron Tveit. Theo Wargo/Getty Images Despite being the only nominee for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, it wasn't completely guaranteed that Aaron Tveit would take home his first Tony, due to an arcane rule requiring him to receive at least 60 percent of the votes to win. The actor became visibly emotional during his acceptance speech, thanking "a group of people who, many years ago, took a chance on me" — the creative team of the musical Catch Me If You Can, including the late playwright Terrence McNally, who died of complications from COVID-19 last year. "We are so privileged to do this," Tveit said, holding back tears. "Let us continue to strive to tell the stories that represent the many, and not the few." 06 of 11 The Broadway Advocacy Coalition calls for change Daniel J. Watts and Jared Grimes. Theo Wargo/Getty Images Calls for social and racial justice were invoked throughout this year's ceremony, including when Tina star Daniel J. Watts took the stage for a spoken-word performance in tribute to the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, which received a special Tony Award for its work combating systemic racism. After a tap dance alongside dancer Jared Grimes, Watts performed a poem calling on viewers to step up and help fight injustice. "There's nothing wrong with silence, until there is," Watts intoned, later adding, "What does your silence sound like? / Does it want our songs of freedom for free?" It was a reminder of the turbulent year this country has faced, and the substantial progress still left to make. 07 of 11 Kenny Leon honors Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and more in acceptance speech Kenny Leon. Theo Wargo/Getty On that note: A Soldier's Play director Kenny Leon used his Best Revival of a Play acceptance speech to honor victims of police brutality — "Breonna Taylor, Breonna Taylor, Breonna Taylor; George Floyd, George Floyd," Leon began. "We will never, ever forget you," he added, also including Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who died in the same helicopter crash last year, in the memorial. "All lives are precious," Leon continued. Like several other winners, he also called for greater representation in theater, saying, "No dis to Shakespeare, no dis to Ibsen, to Chekhov, to Shaw; they're all at the table. But the table got to be bigger." In a night filled with above-average speeches, Leon's was quite possibly the high point. 08 of 11 Broadway remembers its own Brian Stokes Mitchell. Theo Wargo/Getty The annual In Memoriam segment was especially poignant this year in light of the many lives lost to the pandemic, and the Tonys honored those lives with a medley of some of Broadway's most emotional tunes. That medley included an instrumental rendition of "Try to Remember," Brian Stokes Mitchell performing his soaring take on "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha, and Norm Lewis and Kelli O'Hara joining voices on West Side Story's heart-rending "Somewhere." The performance concluded with a curtain dropping displaying many more names of those who passed, a potent reminder of what we've lost over the last year and a half. 09 of 11 Adrienne Warren shows why she won that Tony Adrienne Warren. CBS Adrienne Warren proved that she earned that Best Actress in a Musical trophy with an ecstatic medley from Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, centered around her performance as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll. Beginning with the power ballad "We Don't Need Another Hero" (a.k.a. the love theme from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) and soaring through rollicking renditions of "Simply the Best" and "Proud Mary," Warren and the Tina ensemble surely built plenty of buzz for the musical's reopening next month. 10 of 11 Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson: Broadway power couple Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson. Theo Wargo/Getty Married Broadway stars Leslie Odom Jr. (who hosted the second half of the ceremony) and Nicolette Robinson turned up the heat late in the show with a sweet and smoldering duet on "You Matter to Me" from Waitress. (Robinson played the lead role of Jenna on Broadway in 2018.) Coming after a duet between Odom and Josh Groban, it was proof, once again, that the erstwhile Hamilton star is one of our finest crooners, and that he and Robinson are a true Broadway power couple. And it functioned as a perfect lead-in to... 11 of 11 Three reunions of two Kristin Chenoweth (L) and Idina Menzel. Theo Wargo/Getty The show closed (well, almost) with three emotionally charged duets reuniting past Broadway costars, starting with Wicked's Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who performed the blockbuster musical's touching farewell tune "For Good." They were followed by original Rent stars Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who sang "What You Own"; and Brian Stokes Mitchell and ceremony co-host Audra McDonald, who performed Ragtime's powerful number "Wheels of a Dream." No dis to Freestyle Love Supreme, who actually closed out the show with a rap number recapping the ceremony, but this was the perfect way to end a night celebrating the return of Broadway.