'Stereophonic' wins best play

Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and more appear at star-studded event

- JOSHUA CHONG

Angelina Jolie can now add "Tony winner" to her long list of achievements. The Hollywood star earned Broadway's biggest prize Sunday night as co-producer on "The Outsiders," an arthouse-style stage adaptation of S.E. Hinton's seminal young adult novel that emerged with the coveted best musical title at the 77th annual Tony Awards.

Its win capped off a star-studded and nail-biting ceremony hosted by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, after one of the most competitive and crowded seasons in recent Broadway history, featuring no fewer than 36 productions including 15 new musicals.

"The Outsiders," which follows a group of young Greasers living in the east side of Tulsa, Okla., in the 1960s, entered the ceremony with 12 nominations, including for Toronto brothers and choreographers Rick and Jeff Kuperman. The production ultimately won four awards, including best lighting design of musical (Hana S. Kim and Brian MacDevitt), best sound design of a musical (Cody Spencer) and best direction of a musical (Danya Taymor).

In his acceptance speech, co-producer Matthew Rego thanked Hinton, who was in the audience at the Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. "Susie, I'm here to tell you that your story and its eternal message of love and family and staying gold has forever changed all of our lives," he said.

Jolie wasn't the only A-list celebrity in attendance. The Tony ceremony featured a who's who of stars, including Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, the Who's Pete Townshend and Hillary Clinton.

The former U.S. secretary of state made a surprise appearance in the final hour of the broadcast as she introduced "Suffs," a new musical that Clinton co-produced alongside education activist Malala Yousafzai.

The show, about the women's suffrage movement in the U.S., picked up two awards for best score and best book, which both went to its creator and star Shaina Taub.