Harry Potter shines at Tony Awards

From left: Colin Callender, Sonia Friedman, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany with their best play...
From left: Colin Callender, Sonia Friedman, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany with their best play award for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Photo: Reuters

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child won the Tony Award for best play on Sunday while Glenda Jackson and Andrew Garfield took home acting prizes and rocker Bruce Springsteen received a special prize at Broadway's honours for the best in theatre.

Besides the top prize, Harry Potter, a record-setting $US69 million production ($NZ98 million) set 19 years after the last of J.K. Rowling's best-selling novels about the boy wizard, won another five Tonys including best director.

Glenda Jackson. Photo: Reuters
Glenda Jackson. Photo: Reuters

Jackson (82) returning to Broadway after 30 years and a lengthy term as a British politician, was named best actress for her tour-de-force performance in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women.

Laurie Metcalf won her second Tony, playing a younger version of Jackson's imperious character in Three Tall Women.

Garfield won best actor in a play for his acclaimed performance in the Angels in America revival, a monumental two-part drama about AIDS during the Reagan years.

Angels in America was named best play revival on Sunday.

Nathan Lane took home his third Tony award for Angels in America, as closeted conservative lawyer Roy Cohn, who died of AIDS.

Praising playwright Tony Kushner, an emotional Lane said, "Tony wrote one of the greatest plays of the 20th century, and it is still speaking to us as powerfully as ever in the midst of such political insanity."

Springsteen, whose show started as a limited eight-week run in October 2017 will play for 236 performances before year's end, said appearing on Broadway has been "one of the most exciting things I've ever experienced."

The rocker received his special Tony at the 72nd annual awards from fellow musician Billy Joel at a gala ceremony at Radio City Music Hall hosted by singer-songriter-actors Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles.

Actor, writer and comedian John Leguizamo also received a special Tony for his one-man show, Latin History for Morons.

The Tonys capped another record year on Broadway with $US1.7 billion in box office receipts, despite the smallest number of new productions in 20 years

Musical The Band's Visit, about Egyptian musicians stranded in a small Israeli town, won several early awards including best score, best director and best featured actor.

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