This year's Tony Awards was an even gayer celebration than usual. Super-hot host Hugh Jackman aside, several shows with gay stories, characters, and/or themes took home the more prominent awards.
AVENUE Q which features the hysterical yet affirming song, "If You Were Gay" along with "Fantasies Come True" by Rod, a puppet in the closet, took home Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book. Avenue Q is an irreverant, non-PC musical comedy featuring puppets and live actors that features other songs such as "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" and "The Internet is for Porn." It definitely carries queer sensibilities,although not exclusively a gay story.
Hugh Jackman took home Leading Actor in a Musical for THE BOY FROM OZ. This play showcases the life of Peter Allen, the gay ex-husband of Liza Minelli, and famous song writer who died of AIDS in the 80's.
I AM MY OWN WIFE took home Best Play and the leading (and only) actor, Jefferson Mays, took home the Leading Actor in a Play award. This one man show is about Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a real-life German transvestite who survived both the onslaught of the Nazis and the repressive Communist regime that followed after World War II.
It's nice to see such strong support for works of art featuring gay themes and characters, particularly in a year that has seen polarization around gay issues. It could have been easy for voters to be turned off from all the "gay hype" and go with potentially less controversial or, in their eyes perhaps trendy, choices.
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