Conversation: Terry Teachout Recaps the Tony Awards

It was a big night for “Billy Elliot” as the theater world celebrated Broadway at the Tony Awards. In a first, the three teenage boys who rotate in the role of Billy Elliot shared the Tony for best performance by a leading actor in a musical. In all, the play took home 10 honors, including best musical. However, the show’s composer, Elton John, lost out to a musical looking at mental illness, “Next to Normal,” for best score.

Among the other highlights, “God of Carnage” took home best play, “Hair” won best revival of a musical and Geoffrey Rush won best performance by a lead actor in a play for his portrayal of a dying monarch in “Exit the King.”

To walk us through Sunday night’s honors and recap the year as it was on Broadway, I was joined by phone by Terry Teachout, theater critic for the Wall Street Journal. He also writes his own blog, ‘About Last Night,’ on ArtsJournal.com.

Listen to Jeffrey Brown’s conversation with actor Geoffrey Rush here.