New York, NY (September 27, 2021)—A year after the nominations were first announced, and more than 18 months since it had to shut down, Broadway’s Tony Awards returned last night with a bang, looking to make up for lost time and entice theatergoers back to The Great White Way. As part of the festivities, sound designer Peter Hylenski took home the Best Sound Design of a Musical award for Moulin Rouge, while sound designer Simon Baker won the Best Sound Design of a Play award for A Christmas Carol.
Moulin Rouge, based on the 2001 movie musical, took home a thunderous 10 awards in all, including Best Musical, while The Inheritance was awarded best new play, among three other awards, and Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play nabbed both best play revival and an acting award.
Other nominees for the Best Sound Design of a Musical award included Jonathan Deans for Jagged Little Pill, and Nevin Steinberg for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, while other nominees for Best Sound Design of a Play included Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid for The Inheritance, Lindsay Jones for Slave Play, and Daniel Kluger who had dual nominations for both Sea Wall/A Life and The Sound Inside.
Hylenski’s win for Moulin Rouge had some precedent, as he had already won both a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his work on the show. The show marked his eighth Tony nomination, and his first win. Some of his previous Broadway credits include sound design on Frozen, Beetlejuice, Once on This Island, King Kong, Rock of Ages, Rocky, Bullets Over Broadway and Shrek the Musical, among others.
Inside the Sound Design of Moulin Rouge! The Musical
The Music of Moulin Rouge!
Baker is no stranger to Tony nominations either, as he has three, having also been nominated in the past for Boeing-Boeing and Brief Encounter, but this marked his first win. Some of his previous Broadway efforts include Girl from North Country, Groundhog Day and Matilda the Musical.