Race, sexual politics and a trip to the underworld are poised to take center stage on Sunday in New York at the annual Tony awards honoring the best of Broadway theater. 
 
Hosted by late night television personality James Corden, the Tonys cap a record season for Broadway, both in ticket sales and box office receipts, which exceeded $1.8 billion. 
 
With attendance topping that of the 10 professional New York and New Jersey sports teams combined, Broadway is booming, never so much as when it takes on topical issues. 
 
"We`re more in synch with the cross currents of the times," said Heather Hitchens, president of the American Theatre Wing which presents the Tonys with The Broadway League. 
 
"You can see it in the themes of almost every show," she said, adding, "It`s hard to think of a show that doesn`t touch on a relevant or current issue." 
League President Charlotte St. Martin said that topical issues and average ticket prices under $100 are drawing in younger fans. 
 
Anais Mitchell`s "Hadestown," a dark folk opera about young lovers trapped in the underworld, is poised to collect the prize for best musical, after receiving a leading 14 nominations. 
 
But "The Prom," a musical about a group of egocentric Broadway actors invading a Midwestern town to support a lesbian who wants to bring her girlfriend to her prom, has its cheerleaders, as does "Tootsie," a hit show based on the 1982 film about a struggling actor who finds stardom by passing himself off as a woman. 
 
"Tootsie" is expected to bring a Tony for lead actor Santino Fontana, while Bryan Cranston, favored as the unhinged TV news anchor in the play "Network," faces competition from Jeff Daniels as noble white lawyer Atticus Finch in the racial drama "To Kill a Mockingbird."&nbsp; 
 
Sexuality is at the center of best play revival nominees "Torch Song" and "Boys in the Band," but Arthur Miller`s "All My Sons" or "The Waverly Gallery" may prevail. 
 
Award watchers say Elaine May, the veteran writer and director, is expected to win best actress in a play for her moving turn in "The Waverly Gallery" as an Alzheimer`s patient. 
 
Best play frontrunner is British playwright Jez Butterworth`s "The Ferryman," a wrenching examination of a family during the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the 1980s that garnered nine nods. 
 
Sexual politics get an airing in Heidi Schreck`s one-woman show "What the Constitution Means to Me," while Hillary Clinton`s unsuccessful bid for the White House in 2008 is revisited in "Hillary and Clinton."

Race, sexual politics and a trip to the underworld are poised to take center stage on Sunday in New York at the annual Tony awards honoring the best of Broadway theater.

Race, sexual politics and a trip to the underworld are poised to take center stage on Sunday in New York at the annual Tony awards honoring the best of Broadway theater. Hosted by late night television personality James Corden, the Tonys cap a record season for Broadway, both in ticket sales and box office receipts, which exceeded $1.8 billion. With attendance topping that of the 10 professional New York and New Jersey sports teams combined, Broadway is booming, never so much as when it takes on topical issues. "We`re more in synch with the cross currents of the times," said Heather Hitchens, president of the American Theatre Wing which presents the Tonys with The Broadway League. "You can see it in the themes of almost every show," she said, adding, "It`s hard to think of a show that doesn`t touch on a relevant or current issue." League President Charlotte St. Martin said that topical issues and average ticket prices under $100 are drawing in younger fans. Anais Mitchell`s "Hadestown," a dark folk opera about young lovers trapped in the underworld, is poised to collect the prize for best musical, after receiving a leading 14 nominations. But "The Prom," a musical about a group of egocentric Broadway actors invading a Midwestern town to support a lesbian who wants to bring her girlfriend to her prom, has its cheerleaders, as does "Tootsie," a hit show based on the 1982 film about a struggling actor who finds stardom by passing himself off as a woman. "Tootsie" is expected to bring a Tony for lead actor Santino Fontana, while Bryan Cranston, favored as the unhinged TV news anchor in the play "Network," faces competition from Jeff Daniels as noble white lawyer Atticus Finch in the racial drama "To Kill a Mockingbird." Sexuality is at the center of best play revival nominees "Torch Song" and "Boys in the Band," but Arthur Miller`s "All My Sons" or "The Waverly Gallery" may prevail. Award watchers say Elaine May, the veteran writer and director, is expected to win best actress in a play for her moving turn in "The Waverly Gallery" as an Alzheimer`s patient. Best play frontrunner is British playwright Jez Butterworth`s "The Ferryman," a wrenching examination of a family during the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the 1980s that garnered nine nods. Sexual politics get an airing in Heidi Schreck`s one-woman show "What the Constitution Means to Me," while Hillary Clinton`s unsuccessful bid for the White House in 2008 is revisited in "Hillary and Clinton."

Race, sexual politics and the underworld in spotlight at Broadway's Tony awards

The Tony Awards, American theater&#39;s highest honours, were handed out on Sunday at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

&nbsp;

The following is a list of winners in key categories:

Best musical:

&quot;Dear Evan Hansen&quot;

Best play:

&quot;Oslo&quot; by J. T. Rogers

Best revival of a musical:

&quot;Hello, Dolly!&quot;

Best revival of a play:

&quot;August Wilson&#39;s Jitney&quot;

Best performance by a leading actress in a musical:

Bette Midler, &quot;Hello, Dolly!&quot;

Best performance by a leading actor in a musical:

Ben Platt, &quot;Dear Evan Hansen&quot;

Best performance by a leading actress in a play:

Laurie Metcalf, &quot;A Doll&#39;s House, Part 2&quot;

Best performance by a leading actor in a play:

Kevin Kline, &quot;Present Laughter&quot;

Best performance by a featured actor in a play:

Michael Aronov, &quot;Oslo&quot;

Best performance by a featured actress in a play:

Cynthia Nixon, &quot;Lillian Hellman&#39;s The Little Foxes&quot;

Best performance by a featured actor in a musical

Gavin Creel, &quot;Hello Dolly!&quot;

Best performance by a featured actress in a musical

Rachel Bay Jones, &quot;Dear Evan Hansen&quot;

Best book of a musical:

&quot;Dear Evan Hansen&quot;

Best original score:

&quot;Dear Evan Hansen&quot;

Best choreography:

&quot;Bandstand&quot;

Lifetime achievement:

James Earl Jones

(AFP)

American theater's highest honours were handed out on Sunday night, in New York's Radio City Music Hall

The Tony Awards, American theater's highest honours, were handed out on Sunday at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The following is a list of winners in key categories: Best musical: "Dear Evan Hansen" Best play: "Oslo" by J. T. Rogers Best revival of a musical: "Hello, Dolly!" Best revival of a play: "August Wilson's Jitney" Best performance by a leading actress in a musical: Bette Midler, "Hello, Dolly!" Best performance by a leading actor in a musical: Ben Platt, "Dear Evan Hansen" Best performance by a leading actress in a play: Laurie Metcalf, "A Doll's House, Part 2" Best performance by a leading actor in a play: Kevin Kline, "Present Laughter" Best performance by a featured actor in a play: Michael Aronov, "Oslo" Best performance by a featured actress in a play: Cynthia Nixon, "Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes" Best performance by a featured actor in a musical Gavin Creel, "Hello Dolly!" Best performance by a featured actress in a musical Rachel Bay Jones, "Dear Evan Hansen" Best book of a musical: "Dear Evan Hansen" Best original score: "Dear Evan Hansen" Best choreography: "Bandstand" Lifetime achievement: James Earl Jones (AFP)

Tony Awards: See who was declared the best of Broadway theatre in 2017

Britain&#39;s beloved cinematic singing nanny Mary Poppins will once again grace the big screens, this time with Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of the Broadway smash-hit &quot;Hamilton,&quot; as her sidekick, Walt Disney Co&nbsp;said on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;Mary Poppins Returns,&quot; a sequel to the 1964 classic film &quot;Mary Poppins,&quot; is scheduled for release in theatres on Christmas Day 2018 and will star British actress Blunt in the titular role made famous by Julie Andrews.&nbsp; 
 
Miranda, who recently won a Pulitzer Prize for creating and starring in Broadway`s historical, hip-hop musical &quot;Hamilton,&quot; will play a new character named Jack, a street lamplighter. 
 
&quot;Mary Poppins,&quot; the movie based on the popular children`s books by author P.L. Travers, followed a magical flying British nanny as she improved the lives of the unhappy Banks family with the aid of chirpy Cockney chimneysweep Bert, played by Dick Van Dyke. 
 
The new film will be set in Depression-era London, the setting of Travers` stories, and will see Mary Poppins return to the now grownup Jane Banks, Michael Banks and his three children after they suffer a personal loss, Disney said.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives,&quot; the studio said. 
 
The studio did not say in its statement whether Andrews, now 80, or Van Dyke, 90, will appear in any capacity and representatives for the actors did not immediately respond to Reuters` request for comment. 
 
&quot;Mary Poppins Returns&quot; is the latest in a slate of reboots from Disney, which last year remade animated fairytale &quot;Cinderella&quot; into a live action film. Disney will also release the live action &quot;Beauty and the Beast,&quot; starring Emma Watson, next year. 
 
The studio also owns George Lucas` &quot;Star Wars&quot; science-fiction adventure franchise and the Marvel superhero franchise.

Britain's beloved cinematic singing nanny Mary Poppins will once again grace the big screen, this time beside Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of Broadway smash-hit "Hamilton".

Britain's beloved cinematic singing nanny Mary Poppins will once again grace the big screens, this time with Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of the Broadway smash-hit "Hamilton," as her sidekick, Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday. "Mary Poppins Returns," a sequel to the 1964 classic film "Mary Poppins," is scheduled for release in theatres on Christmas Day 2018 and will star British actress Blunt in the titular role made famous by Julie Andrews. Miranda, who recently won a Pulitzer Prize for creating and starring in Broadway`s historical, hip-hop musical "Hamilton," will play a new character named Jack, a street lamplighter. "Mary Poppins," the movie based on the popular children`s books by author P.L. Travers, followed a magical flying British nanny as she improved the lives of the unhappy Banks family with the aid of chirpy Cockney chimneysweep Bert, played by Dick Van Dyke. The new film will be set in Depression-era London, the setting of Travers` stories, and will see Mary Poppins return to the now grownup Jane Banks, Michael Banks and his three children after they suffer a personal loss, Disney said. "Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives," the studio said. The studio did not say in its statement whether Andrews, now 80, or Van Dyke, 90, will appear in any capacity and representatives for the actors did not immediately respond to Reuters` request for comment. "Mary Poppins Returns" is the latest in a slate of reboots from Disney, which last year remade animated fairytale "Cinderella" into a live action film. Disney will also release the live action "Beauty and the Beast," starring Emma Watson, next year. The studio also owns George Lucas` "Star Wars" science-fiction adventure franchise and the Marvel superhero franchise.

''Mary Poppins Returns'' with Blunt, ''Hamilton'' star Miranda

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