<i>The Inheritance</i> and <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> won the top honours at Broadway's Tony Awards on Sunday in a four-hour ceremony that promoted the return of live theatre and called for better opportunities for black writers and performers. "Tonight feels like a homecoming," said host Audra McDonald. "The lights are on, we are here, we are back." The annual awards show was not held in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic that shut down live performances for 18 months. Many of the big shows, including <i>Hamilton</i>, <i>The Lion King</i> and <i>Wicked</i>, had emotional reopenings this month marked by tears and joy on and off stage. Audiences must be fully vaccinated and masks are required. "It's been over a year but the Tonys are here," sang <i>Hamilton</i> star Leslie Odom Jr, opening the TV special called <i>Broadway's Back </i>that featured appearances by stars ranging from John Legend and Jake Gyllenhaal to Chita Rivera and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i>, based on the 2001 movie, won 10 awards, including best musical, and for lead actor Aaron Tveit. Carmen Pavlovic, a co-producer of <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i>, said every show deserved to get an award after the punishing past 18 months, including "the shows that opened, the shows that closed not to return, the shows that nearly opened, and of course, the shows that paused and were fortunate enough to be reborn". <i>The Inheritance</i> was named best play and won two other Tonys. It also brought an impassioned appeal from its playwright Matthew Lopez, who is of Puerto Rican heritage. "This is the 74th Tony Awards and yet I am only the first Latinate writer to win in this category," said Lopez. "This must change. We are a vibrant community ... We have so many stories to tell. They are inside of us, aching to come out." <i>A Soldier's Play</i>, about the murder of a black officer on a US army base in 1944, was voted best play revival. Yet it was a disappointing night for <i>Slave Play</i>, a provocative show about race and sexuality that went into Sunday's ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, but won none of them. "The table's got to be bigger," said Kenny Leon, director of <i>A Soldier's Play</i>, saying Broadway needs to do better to elevate black voices. The anti-racism non-profit Broadway Advocacy Coalition that fights to make theatre more diverse, was given an honorary award. The TV special featured live song and dance performances from many shows, including <i>Jagged Little Pill</i>, <i>Ain't Too Proud</i>, <i>American Utopia</i>, and Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, the original stars of <i>Wicked</i>. <i>A Christmas Carol</i>, a stage adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel with music, won five awards, while newcomer Adrienne Warren won Best Actress in a Musical for her titular role in <i>Tina – The Tina Turner Musical</i>. <b>Best Play</b> <i>The Inheritance</i> <b>Best Musical</b> <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Revival of a Play</b> <i>A Soldier's Play</i> <b>Best Book of a Musical</b> Diablo Cody, <i>Jagged Little Pill</i> <b>Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre</b> <i>A Christmas Carol</i>, Christopher Nightingale <b>Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play</b> Andrew Burnap, <i>The Inheritance</i> <b>Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play</b> Mary-Louise Parker, <i>The Sound Inside</i> <b>Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical</b> Aaron Tveit, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical</b> Adrienne Warren, <i>Tina – The Tina Turner Musical</i> <b>Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play</b> David Alan Grier, <i>A Soldier's Play</i> <b>Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play</b> Lois Smith, <i>The Inheritance</i> <b>Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical</b> Danny Burstein, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical</b> Lauren Patten, <i>Jagged Little Pill</i> <b>Best Scenic Design of a Play</b> Rob Howell, <i>A Christmas Carol</i> <b>Best Scenic Design of a Musical</b> Derek McLane, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Costume Design of a Play</b> Rob Howell, <i>A Christmas Carol</i> <b>Best Costume Design of a Musical</b> Catherine Zuber, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Lighting Design of a Play</b> Hugh Vanstone, <i>A Christmas Carol</i> <b>Best Lighting Design of a Musical</b> Justin Townsend, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Sound Design of a Play</b> Simon Baker, <i>A Christmas Carol</i> <b>Best Sound Design of a Musical</b> Peter Hylenski, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Direction of a Play</b> Stephen Daldry, <i>The Inheritance</i> <b>Best Direction of a Musical</b> Alex Timbers, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Choreography</b> Sonya Tayeh, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i> <b>Best Orchestrations</b> Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine, <i>Moulin Rouge! The Musical</i>