'Hamilton' wins big at Tonys, misses record

NEW YORK -- "Hamilton," the hip-hop stage biography of Alexander Hamilton, won the 2016 Tony Award for best new musical, capping an emotional night in which many in the Broadway community rallied to embrace the LGBT community after a shooting at a gay Florida nightclub.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop-flavored biography about the first U.S. treasury secretary won 11 Tonys, short of breaking the 12-Tony record held by "The Producers."

Jeffrey Seller, producer of "Hamilton," quoted the show's lyrics when accepting the award.

"Look around, look around. How lucky we are to be alive right now," he said.

"Hamilton" went into the night with 16 nominations and, in addition to taking the musical award, won best score, best book, direction, orchestration, choreography and best featured actor and actress statuettes for Renee Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs.

Renee Elise Goldsberry accepts the award for featured actress in a musical for "Hamilton" at the Tony Awards.Evan Agostini ~ Invision/AP

Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Aaron Burr, won best actor and thanks Miranda for "a new vision of what's possible." He thanked his wife, actress Nicolette Robinson and his parents.

The show earlier won awards for costume and lighting but lost scenic design to "She Loves Me," meaning "Hamilton" couldn't break the 12-statuette record haul by "The Producers."

Still, few shows get introduced by a sitting president, as Barack and Michelle Obama did for the performance by the show's cast.

The awards show unspooled with a heavy heart a night after a gunman killed 50 people at a gay Florida nightclub, prompting a Broadway tribute to the victims at the top of the show and a smattering of references to tolerance throughout it.

Host James Corden, his back to the audience, spoke to viewers when he dedicated the night to celebrating the diversity of Broadway.

"Hate will never win. Together we have to make sure of that. Tonight's show stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle," he said.

But for much of the telecast, the mood was light and typical of an awards show.

Miranda, star and creator of "Hamilton," won for best score and book, and read from onstage a sonnet, referencing tragedy and urging "love and love and love. ..."

Thomas Kail won the Tony for directing "Hamilton." He thanked Miranda, a frequent collaborator, and celebrated the diversity of Broadway this season.

"Let's continue to tell stories," he said.

English actress Cynthia Erivo won the Tony for best actress for her Broadway debut in "The Color Purple." She thanked her cast for "making me a stronger woman on that stage." Her show, which failed to beat "Jersey Boys" for the best musical Tony Award in 2006, won the best musical revival award in 2016.

Jayne Houdyshell, a mainstay of the New York stage, won her first Tony Award at 62 for playing a gossipy, gently needling mom in "The Humans."

Her stage husband, Reed Birney, won best featured actor in a play. An actor for almost 42 years, he acknowledged 35 of them were "pretty bad." He thanked the theater community for keeping him going.

The play, about a fractious family's get-together, won the best play statuette and playwright Stephen Karam dedicated his award to all the struggling writers. "Keep the faith," he said.

In response to the shooting Sunday that left at least 50 people dead in a crowded nightclub in Orlando, Florida, "Hamilton" dropped its use of muskets in its performance. Many stars also wore a silver ribbon to show solidarity.

"My heart is saddened by it," Seller said on the red carpet before the show. "The celebration tonight is tempered by it."

"Hamilton" and the 38 new productions this season helped Broadway's attendance figures hit a record, up 1.6 percent to 13.3 million ticket buyers.