Inside the Star-Studded Tony Awards Afterparties
Lincoln Center was abuzz with celebrity star-studded parties after the 77th Annual Tony Awards Sunday night and Observer was there to witness all the excitement. Across the street from the David H. Koch Theater where the award show was held for the first time, Best Play winner Stereophonic held its party at PJ Clarke’s. When the telecast ended after 11 p.m., guests from inside the 2,500-seat theater quickly filled the restaurant. The crowd cheered as newly minted Tony Award-winning director Daniel Aukin walked in. Sliced steak, salmon and Caesar salad were served along with cocktails with clever names like the mezcal-infused “Mud F*ck”—a nod to the play. Aukin made his way downstairs where he sat down at a round table in a corner with friends and family to eat dinner. Next door at Rosa Mexicano, The Outsiders celebrated its Tony Award win for Best Musical, where producer Angelina Jolie also made an appearance.
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A few blocks south at Shops at Columbus Circle, Water for Elephants held its party on the fifth floor at Jazz on Lincoln Center, and Merrily We Roll Along, which won Best Revival of a Musical, celebrated in the Ascent Lounge. Guests were treated to the “Our Thyme” cocktail made with Grey Goose Vodka infused with thyme, elderflower liqueur and watermelon juice as a DJ kicked off the evening with “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire. The young children in the cast were allowed to stay up well past their bedtimes and were dancing up a storm. In a separate roped-off area, Lindsay Mendez and Daniel Radcliffe snapped photos with his new trophy.
For the third year in a row, some of the biggest stars of the night attended Late Night at Pebble Bar, the annual Tony afterparty at the 132-year-old institution in Rockefeller Center. Best Actress nominee Kelli O’Hara and Arian Moayed, nominated last year, hosted the festivities with cocktails by Pernod Ricard—the “Moon Unit Zappa” was a spicy pineapple margarita with Código 1530 Blanco Tequila.
Billy Porter was one of the first people on the fourth floor to start dancing, then we spotted him later talking to O’Hara, dressed in a stunning hot pink peplum gown. Porter’s found phone was a notable addition to the scene—he’d mentioned on TV earlier in the evening during his acceptance speech for the prestigious Isabelle Stevenson Award that he couldn’t find it.
All eyes in the room turned round as winner Sarah Paulson holding her Tony and her Appropriate co-stars Corey Stoll, Ella Fanning and Ella Beatty walked in and went straight to the bar. Paulson, who changed for the parties into a black slinky ensemble with silver swirl embellishments, took numerous photos with the group before they all noshed on Brooklyn-based Fini pizza topped with Petrossian Caviar. On the other side of the room was Stoll’s West Side Story co-star Brian D’Arcy James chatting it up with Leslie Odom Jr., while his wife Nicolette Robinson sparkled in her strapless glimmery gold A-Line gown among the sundry guests. At around 2 a.m., Elle Fanning headed for the elevator—this was her first Tony Awards ceremony. “I just wanted Sarah Paulson to win,” she was overheard saying on her way out. She said she had to catch an early flight to Norway for work the next morning.
After the individual parties wrap, everyone who’s anyone winds up at the legendary Rick Miramontez DKC/O&M and John Gore after-afterparty at the Carlyle Hotel.
Host Ariana DeBose, wearing the same dress she ended the telecast in, was spotted sitting along a long velour couch gabbing with Julianne Hough, who co-hosted the 6:30 p.m. show on Pluto. Two-time winner for Suffs, Shaina Taub, held a Tony in each hand, leaving her no way to carry a purse or phone. Stereophonic star Sarah Pigeon held her heels in her hand as she strolled through the hotel lobby and into Bemelmans Bar. That’s where Daniel Radcliffe, still holding his Tony, and his Merrily co-star Jonathan Groff were, too, and they were spotted taking in their victories together. Groff, who won Best Actor in a Musical, surprised the crowd and sang “Old Friends” from the show with Billy Stritch on piano. Shrimp cocktail, sliders and mini quiche were among the passed hors d’oeuvres.
On the second floor, a chef was making fresh omelets. In the next room, Ashley Park danced with her former Mean Girls co-star Jonalyn Saxer to Destiny’s Child “Bills, Bills, Bills,” then walked over to the bar for a soda before grabbing a group and heading downstairs.
While the Hell’s Kitchen’s party was held all the way in the financial district at Mercer Labs, many in the cast made a point to still show face on the Upper East Side, including winner Kecia Lewis and her nominated co-star Shoshana Bean. Kara Young, who won a Tony Award after being nominated three years in a row, arrived around 2:30 a.m. and changed into a sequin copper mini dress so as not to ruin her long, flowy, green award show gown (someone might have stepped on it). Billy Eichner mosied around the party, too.
At 3:45 a.m., Groff made his way outside with a group of friends posing for photos outside the hotel as other guests waited for their Ubers, and most of us called it a night.