NEW YORK—We had a new host for the Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7. Yes, the biggest night for theatre and Broadway was held this past weekend and Neil Patrick Harris was not in the driver seat. You know who was in the driver seat, musician Pink! I must say P!nk did a solid job as host, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I missed Harris a bit.

He just knows how to banter well, and he’s funny. Forced skits on TV don’t work, and we had a bit of that on Sunday. Harris knows how to host an awards show that entertains you. With that said, it would not be the Tony Awards without a big musical number.

That was led by a rendition of the Pattie LaBelle hit “Lady Marmalade” with an epic twist. How so? It involved a ton of the nominees actually partaking in some of the fun. You had June Squibb, Kellie O’Hara, Lea Michele, Megan Thee Stallion and even Harris participated in the fun.

I was apprehensive about P!nk hosting at first, but that opening number sold me. It was fun, exciting and made it clear to the audience, some great stuff is about to unfold. Leading the pack were “Schmigadoon!” and “The Lost Boys” which each earned 12 nominations apiece. The funny outcome was both “Schmigadoon!” and “The Lost Boys” walked away with four Tony Awards each, with “Schmigadoon!” winning that top prize for Best Musical. “Liberation” won the prize for Best Play and that was its only win for the night, which leaves your head scratching.

“Ragtime” was another big winner of the night taking home 4 Tonys including Best Revival of a Play.” Other big wins for “Schmigadoon!” included Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations. Best Revival of a Play went to “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman” which also picked up awards for Best Direction of a Play, Best Sound Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Play, Best Scenic Design of a Play and Laurie Metcalf’s victory for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play.

Speaking of the acting front, John Lithgow was victorious for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his work in “Giant.” While Lesley Manville won for Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for “Oedipus.” On the musical front, Joshua Henry won for Actor in a Leading Role for “Ragtime,” with his co-star Caissie Levy winning for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Alden Ehrenreich won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for “Becky Shaw.” Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical went to Ali Louis Bourzgui “The Lost Boys” over Andre De Shields for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.” Got to say Ali delivered an exceptional speech that had the audience on its feet. Featured Actress was a victory for Shoshana Bean for “The Lost Boys.”

Overall, a fun night with some solid performance seeing that tribute to “Chicago” courtesy of Queen Latifah, who passed the torch to Alex Newell, who belted out a number that proves they have a voice that is going to be heard on Broadway for years to come. Solid night for theatre, and with the 79th Annual Tony Awards in the books, the question to asked is what the Tony Awards will do in 2027 when it celebrates 80 years. Something tells me it is going to be big.