Lin-Manuel Miranda celebrated his Tony Award for Best Original Score with an emotional sonnet paying tribute to his wife and the victims of the massacre at Orlandos gay nightclub Pulse. His musical Hamilton is nominated for 16 awards tonight.
Carole King introduced the nominees, which included Sara Bareilles for the musical Waitress and Andrew Lloyd Webber for School of Rock. Miranda, who previously won the award in 2008 for In the Heights, joked about how we wouldnt freestyle his speech because hes too old but instead recited his sonnet, which began with an ode to his wife. His stirring speech then morphed into a tribute to the victims of the Florida tragedy that left 50 dead. When senseless acts of tragedy reminds us that nothing here is promised. Not one day, he said, referring to the ethos of his musicals lead character. In tears, Miranda left the stage while holding on to King.
The 70th annual Tony Awards are dedicated to those who were killed or injured in the massacre. The cast of Hamilton will not perform with prop muskets during their performance becauseof the shooting.