NEW YORK CITY — The Broadway smash “Hamilton” – to the surprise of no one – has won the Tony Award for best new musical.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop-flavored biography about the first U.S. treasury secretary was a virtual lock on the award, having earned a record-breaking 16 nominations going into the evening.
“Hamilton” has burst through the Broadway bubble like few shows. It has been praised by politicians and rap stars, influenced the debate over the nation’s currency and the show has become a cultural phenomenon.
The Tony-winning show has previously won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, a Grammy, the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History and Miranda earned a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant.
“Hamilton” beat out “Shuffle Along,” ”Bright Star,” ”Waitress” and “School of Rock – The Musical.”
Legend Barbra Streisand did the honors, in the wake of the Orlando shootings:
“Tonight our joy is tinged with sorrow but we’re here to celebrate Broadway and the beauty that artistry can bring into this world.”
Art, she said, can “at times like these console us.”