Keith Girard
Andrew Garfield gave an impassioned speech about LGBTQ rights at the Tony Awards. (Photo: ScreenCap)
Andrew Garfield gave an impassioned speech, dedicating his Lead Actor in a Play Award to the “countless LGBTQ people who have fought and died for the right to live and love” while The Band’s Visit, led entries with seven awards at the 2018 Tony Awards.
Garfield portrayed AIDS patient Prior Walter in the acclaimed revival of Angels in America, which won Best Revival
The 34-year-old actor’s Tony was his first. He was nominated once before in 2012 for his featured role opposite the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mike Nichols’ revival of Death of a Salesman.
The Band’s Visit won Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Direction and Best Musical.
Also from the show, Tony Shalhoub won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Musical, Katrina Lenk won Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical and Ari’el Stachel won Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two won Best Direction of a Play and Best Play.
Robert De Niro rocked the night with a resounding razz of Donald Trump. The 74-year-old actor got right to it after being called to the stage to announce Bruce Springsteen’s performance. (See the Video Here)
Garfield, however, captured the hearts of the audience. “We are all sacred and we all belong, so let’s just bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be bake.”
The reference was to a the latest Supreme Court ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The court ruled that a bake shop had the right to refuse to sell a cake to a gay couple on religious grounds.
Check out Garfield’s speech below and see a complete list of winners.
| Tony Awards 2017-2018; Winners in Boldface | |
|---|---|
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Best Play Best Musical Best Revival of a Play Best Revival of a Musical Best Direction, Play Best Direction, Musical Best Performance by a Lead Actor, Play Best Performance by Lead Actress, Play Best Performance by Lead Actor, Musical Best Performance by Lead Actress, Musical Best Performance by Featured Actor, Play Best Performance by Featured Actress, Play Best Performance by Featured Actor, Musical Best Performance by Featured Actress, Musical Best Book, Musical Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) |
Best Sound Design of a Play Best Sound Design of a Musical Best Orchestrations Best Scenic Design, Play Best Scenic Design, Musical Best Lighting Design, Play Best Lighting Design, Musical Best Costume Design, Play Best Costume Design, Musical Best Choreography Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre Special Tony Awards Regional Theatre Tony Award Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award Tony Honors for Excellence |