Thank You! 2004 Tony Acceptance Speeches

Want to relive some of the best moments of the 2004 Tony Awards? Take a look at the acceptance speeches given on the big night. Congratulations to all of the winners!

"Thank you. Chandra Wilson told me to write a speech. I didn't do it. My middle name, Noni, means 'gift of God,' and I just want to thank God so much for the gift I have been given. My voice,this cast of this amazing, amazing show, this opportunity to be here today, the fact that my grandmother is here for me and with me and my brother is sitting there, next to me, and I'm so thankful for all of that. I just, there are so many people, I would like to thank ACT in San Francisco. I would like to thank our creatives, the trio of geniuses, George, Tony and Jeanine, for this amazing opportunity, for what you wrote for me, thank you so much. I would like--I would like to breathe, I would like to do that. OK, I would like to thank my Davids: David Robinson in San Francisco, David Williams. My agent Don Buchwald for allowing me to do this workshop for three years and not getting paid for it. Thank you so much, for my cast, for everyone. God bless, and thank you. I love you so much. Thank you! --Anika Noni Rose, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Caroline, or Change

"Man, this is a picture I never thought I would see--me and Puff [Sean Combs]! For both of us, we're both thrilled. Well, thank you for proving that you don't have to kill somebody to get something like this, you can just pretend to on Broadway and that's a wonderful thing to learn. If anybody has seen our show, our funny and passionate and ultimately truly patriotic show, you'll realize that it's almost impossible to pick out a single performance in that show. I'm lucky that it fell this way to me tonight, but every one of our principals absolutely deserves to be here. Everyone of our ensemble could be a principal in any other show. Our swings have saved our show a number of times already. I also have to acknowledge the other nominees in this category. Denis O'Hare is the actor that I hope to be someday. Michael McElroy has the voice of an angel and the spirit to go along with it. John Cariani is the sweetest, most genuine guy that you could ever meet. And Raúl Esparza is going to be up here any day now, I'm sure of it. I don't have time to thank everybody else, but thank you to my family and everyone who's been a part of my journey to this point. Thank you so much." --Michael Cerveris, Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Assassins

"I was so convinced. I talked myself out of this by repeating my mantra: 'We are a classic, and we're closed.' First of all, dear David and Doug and Moisés-- I'll stop doing this, I promise you I will, it's just a phase I'm going through--but we know it's not a contest. Just to be listed with you guys in any list is a great honor all the time, and I really mean that. André Bishop, Bernie Gersten, the board of directors at Lincoln Center, thank you so much for the honor, for putting yourself on the line to do this monster piece. And Ralph Funicello and Jess Goldstein and Brian McDevitt and Mark Bennett and that extraordinary adaptation by Dakin Matthews, to say nothing of the fights by Steve Rankin. I mean, no director was greater served. And Daniel Swee gave me the crème de crème of the American acting fraternity. I am so grateful. I have to say that I am an American director who has always been part of an American company, from Ellis Rabb, APA, to the glorious Globe in San Diego with Craig Noel and Louis Spisto and now Lincoln Center. And I say this because I know there are people out there like we were, at the beginning of their career, who wondered how to get from there to a house like this. And I just want to say that in all honesty and in modesty, lifetime service to the American regional theater is not a bad place to begin. Tell me about it. To my parents, Jim Legg, and oh, Ellis Rabb, who taught me the value of a first-class curtain call. God bless you, thank you." --Jack O'Brien, Best Direction of a Play, Henry IV

"This is amazing. Wonderful Town is, at its heart, about families--those we are born with and those we create--and so I first have to share this with the family I was blessed with: my incredible parents, my beautiful sister Maura, my big brother Rob. How on earth did this happen? Wonderful Town is about two siblings who come to New York to make their dreams come true. And I have to share this with the family we created at the Hirschfeld Theatre, starting with Bernstein, Comden and Green who wrote this beautiful score that gives us reasons to dance. John Lee Beatty, Marty Pakledinaz, Peter Kaczorowski, Paul Huntley for making everything look gorgeous. Rob Berman, Lew Mead, our great orchestra, the brilliant Rob Fisher, for making everything sound gorgeous. Jay Binder, David Ives, George Lane for all of their guidance. Marc and Vince, the best assistants a girl could ask for. Producers--City Center for launching us, the Weisslers and Roger Berlind and all of our producers for bringing us to Broadway. But I share this mostly with our cast, our brilliant, brilliant cast of wacky, wonderful people. The transcendent Donna Murphy, the luminous Jennifer Westfeldt, a group of people who just give the joy of music and laughter to audiences every night. Thank you, thank you so much." --Kathleen Marshall, Best Choreography, Wonderful Town

"There are so many people from this angle. I can't believe it. I want to thank the Broadway community for embracing our show the way you have. It's meant so much to the entire Avenue Q family, and um--I'm crying, that's so embarrassing! And I want to thank the Avenue Q family. I wouldn't be standing here without them. They make my work shine every night. Everybody in front of the audience and behind the scenes is an amazing group of artists. And I especially want to thank my collaborators, Jeff Marx and Robby Lopez for their incredible score, and they dreamed up this whole universe, and our director Jason Moore whose wit and imagination and sensitivity fills every corner of that stage every night. And my parents, Mom and Dad, and Steve, I love you, you're the other best thing to happen to me this year. And I'm forgetting people, my agent, Peter Franklin, and uh, that's it. Thank you so much. --Jeff Whitty, Best Book of a Musical, Avenue Q

Robert Lopez: "Wow. When we started writing Avenue Q four years ago, Jeff was an intern and I was a temp. Our lives kinda sucked, so we came up with an idea for a show about people like us whose lives all kinda suck."

Jeff Marx: "But we're here to tell you as living proof that things get better. L [LL Cool J] and Carol [Channing] just gave us a Tony Award!"

Lopez: Woo! Which I'm holding, so I guess I get to talk.

Marx: OK, um, oh my God. All right, there's so many people to thank. Rick Lyon, our brilliant cast, our brilliant producers, our director, Jason Moore…

Lopez: Our book writer, Jeff Whitty, Stephen Oremus; Gary Adler…

Marx: The O'Neill Center, the Vineyard and the New Group, and especially the BMI Workshop…

Lopez: Our agent, John Buzzetti, our lawyers, our friends, and all the show's fans…Marx: And you! Thank you, Bobby!

Lopez: Thanks, Jeff. And I just want to say, this award is great but I want to thank my wife, my mom, my dad, my brother Billy…

Marx: My parents for supporting me. This will help me support you, I hope. Thank you, my parents, so much, my sister, my boyfriend, thank you! I love you! --Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, Best Original Score, Avenue Q

"I'm not sure if a grinning Irish guy who's speechless for 45 seconds is going to make good TV, but it might be just what you get. There are no such things, I believe, as competition between actors. You can't really award any of us. What we try to do is be good. The nomination hopefully means that we're good. Any of the actors in this category would be standing here if they had my part. There are great parts. I have the best part on Broadway. If you are listening at home on television, I've just said that, so it's true, so you better come and see our show. Our show is called Frozen. In theater, in plays, in which I am passionate about, we don't have scores underneath. When I was watching these musical numbers, it was fantastic. I sat back and went, 'Wow.' In theater, on stage, we sit on the edge of our seats. We are part of the play, and it is every bit as electrifying. Come see Frozen! And thank you so much. I am very honored." --Brían F. O'Byrne, Best Featured Actor in a Play, Frozen

"The only thing I've ever wanted to do in my entire life is be on Broadway. You can ask anyone who knew me when I grew up in Fresno. Hey, Fresno. And the fact that Broadway has been so kind to me is something I'll never be able to repay. I'll just keep trying to work and keep trying to do good work. Speaking of that work, Raisin in the Sun was an incredible experience, and the people who have made all that possible--Kenny Leon, the most amazing director, the incredible cast: Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Lathan and Sean Combs; the incredible producers, especially David Binder, who really believed in this piece and brought it here. My family, I just want to thank my beautiful husband, Peter Donovan, our gorgeous daughter, Zoe Donovan. This belongs to Lorraine Hansberry. She is brilliant, she's prescient, and she is a legend who will always be around. Thank you so very much."--Audra McDonald, Best Featured Actress in a Play, A Raisin in the Sun

"Well I want to start thanking people, so if there's been a mistake, now would be the time. I want to thank Todd Haimes, the board of the Roundabout Theatre, the Roundabout Theatre, for their unwavering commitment--four years--to Assassins, John Weidman, Stephen Sondheim for entrusting me with the show, the great, legendary Paul Gemignani, Michael Starobin for making it sound so great, our one-of-a-kind, idiosyncratic, amazing, ballsy cast. I learned this year how hard directing musicals can be, and I just wanted to acknowledge Jerry Zaks and the unforgettable original cast of Assassins that I saw on a really cold night in January in 1991. You blazed a trail for us and we are grateful. Some experiences are their own rewards. Assassins was a perfect experience for me, but I will accept this gratefully as a reminder. Thank you." --Joe Mantello, Best Direction of a Musical, Assassins

"Often I've wondered, what does it take for this to happen? And now I know. It takes effort and grace--tremendous self-effort and amazing grace. And in my life that grace has taken numerous forms. The first was the family into which I was born. Parents who loved and wanted me and a mother who fought fearlessly, courageously, consistently, so that her children, above all else, could realize their full potential as human beings. Teachers who wanted to be teachers. Art, all my life. A brilliant play, a magnificent role, a producer with a vision, a producer with a heart, and a director who dares to see me as an artist capable of many things. I thank God for every thing, every single thing, for my mother and my sister, for my brothers, for my children, and for this. Thank you." --Phylicia Rashad, Best Actress in a Play, A Raisin in the Sun

"Oh, thank you so much. To be nominated among such luminaries was honor enough, but nevertheless, I thank you for this. In 1906, Antoinette Perry was described by a New York critic as being the sweetest, most piquant ingénue on Broadway, and I think Charlotte von Mahlsdorf would love to have been remembered in a similar fashion. This labor of love, which I share with my brilliant writer Doug Wright and visionary director Moisés Kaufman, has been sustained and nurtured by so many theaters across this land, starting at Sundance Theater Lab, La Jolla Playhouse, About Face Theater in Chicago and Playwrights Horizons, and now at the Lyceum by the grace of David Richenthal and Charlene and Anthony Marshall. I thank my gentleman agents, Mark Schlegel and Steve Stone, my dear family, and I thank Australia for relinquishing their beautiful and celebrated daughter Susan Lyons, of whom I am so proud to be married and to call my own wife. Thank you." --Jefferson Mays, Best Actor in a Play, I Am My Own Wife

"I've got 189 people to thank, and no, I'm not going to read all of their names. However, André Bishop, who can't be here tonight, and I do thank the creative thirteen, especially Jack O'Brien, the brilliant director, and Dakin Matthews, who adapted the play and shrunk it to a mere four hours. And the clever and wonderful designers of sets, lights, costumes, fights, sound and fury. And we thank the 33 actors, heavy lifters all--especially Kevin Kline, Richard Easton, Ethan Hawke, Michael Hayden and Audra McDonald. And the casting office of two people who cast them all so perfectly. And we thank the 735 Tony voters who made Henry IV the best revival of the 2004 year. Thank you very very much. --Bernard Gersten, Best Revival of a Play, Henry IV

"Well, on behalf of my partners at Roundabout, Ellen Richard and Julia Levy, we'd like to thank Steven Goldstone and the entire board of directors and staff of the Roundabout Theatre for making Assassins possible. Special thanks to Tom Tuft, Marty Granoff, Ted Shen, Doug Cramer, Barry Diller, the best ensemble all-star group of actors, and a nicer bunch of assassins you'd never hope to meet. Robert Brill, Susan Hilferty, Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Dan Schreier, Jim Carnahan for his casting, my great general manager, Sydney Beers, Starobin, who won a Tony earlier tonight, Jonathan Butterell for his musical staging, the great Paul Gemignani, our musical director, and most importantly, we'd like to thank Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman for their magnificent musical and Joe Mantello for his brilliant, brilliant production. Thank you." --Todd Haimes, Best Revival of a Musical, Assassins

"To my fellow writer nominees, for writing so articulately in such ferociously inarticulate times, and also to all my family, friends and colleagues who nursed Charlotte von Mahlsdorf all the way from East Berlin to a Broadway stage, if you don't already know how grateful I am, then shame, shame on me. And Moisés Kaufman, my gorgeous director, our entire cast just won Tony Awards. Finally, I'd like to say to Charlotte von Mahlsdorf herself, thank you so much for entrusting me with your life. When I met you I thought I'd found a hero, and I realized I'd found something far more profound: a human being. And finally, all my love to Clem." --Doug Wright, Best Play, I Am My Own Wife

"On behalf of my partners, Tony and Charlene Marshall, everyone at Delphi, Playwrights Horizons--thank you, Doug for entrusting us with your beautiful play. Moisés Kaufman, our director, Derek McLane, David Lander, Andre Pluess--the designers never get enough credit in this business. The entire cast: Jefferson Mays, Jefferson Mays, Jefferson Mays and Jefferson Mays. There's a reason this play touches many people. There are many reasons. But I hazard a guess that one of them is that Charlotte is not the boy next door, and nevertheless, the differences that he possesses as a character, we fall in love with him. And it proves that the humanity is more important than those differences, and it's particularly poignant, I think, at a time when public officials deny some people the opportunity to celebrate their love with the ultimate act of marriage and Charlotte may have been her own wife, but suppose she wanted to marry Alfred." --David Richenthal, Best Play, I Am My Own Wife

"I am so proud to be in a musical that celebrates women, that celebrates their strengths and their differences, and to be in the company of these women this evening is a dream for me. Thank you so much. And Kristin Chenoweth, you are the grace and the light on that stage every night. This is something we built together and I love you. And Joe Mantello has had the faith in me for three and a half years and kicked my butt into this role. And Stephen Schwartz for writing the most beautiful music someone could sing eight times a week and Winnie Holzman for giving the green girl a heart. And the producers Mark Platt and David Stone and everyone and Tanya Travers, my voice teacher, and Heather Reynolds and Bonnie Bernstein and Joby Horrigan and Joe Dulude and Al Annotto get me in and out of this silly green makeup every night. And the cast, Joel Grey, Carole Shelley, Norbert Butz, the crew for getting me safe up and down and on the flying machine. And my mother, my father, my sister Cara and my grandmother are here tonight. Thank you for taking me to see Dreamgirls and Annie and everything growing up. And my beautiful, beautiful husband who tells me he loves me every time I feel like the biggest loser. I love you so much! Thank you everybody!" --Idina Menzel, Best Actress in a Musical, Wicked

"I've been up here all night, and I am now absolutely trembling. Thank you. You know, the Wing, the League, the voters, I can't thank you enough. But you know what--for two years, I've stood backstage and watched people's acceptance speeches get swelled over by music when they get to the most important part, so I'm going to start with the most important: my wife. I love you, I couldn't have done this without you, and even if I could, it certainly wouldn't have been as much fun as it is and you're the best musical theater widow a man could ever ever have, and I love you darling. To my dad, who's flown all the way from Australia, I love you Dad. To my team, Patrick, Lou, Penny, Jason, Howard, Mark Caine, the incomparable John Palermo, who without I would not have made it until Christmas, let alone until now. But you know, I saw The Boy from Oz five years ago in Australia, and I thought, that is just like the best role I have seen for a guy in a long time, and I have to thank the people who helped to create it. So Ben Gannon and Robert Fox, the producers who nine years ago got this baby from this book Stephen MacLean and turned it into a musical. They're so brave and so supportive to me, and they had the guts to make this the first Australian musical to make it to Broadway. Thank you for taking me along with you, guys, and I share this with you. Also, to the late Nick Enright who was nominated tonight along with Martin Sherman. Nick, I know you're probably up there with Peter Allen having a beer--or a piña colada, I'm not sure--but I share this with you Gal Edwards and to Todd McKenney who originated the role, you left me huge shoes to fill so I share this with you. To the entire cast, crew, orchestra, production team at the Imperial Theater here, I could not have done this without you. Phil McKinley, our director, Joey McKneeley, to Patrick Vaccariello, who's been my lifesaver. And even Kev on the stage door. I share this with you guys and I'll be sharing the Fosters when I get to the party and not very soon, so thank you all. And lastly, please let me thank the Broadway community to Actors' Equity for allowing me to be here, Gerry Schoenfeld. And most importantly, to Peter Allen: you wrote this song called 'Making Every Moment Count.' You did it. You did it onstage and offstage. Peter, it's an honor to play you and I dedicate this Tony to your memory." --Hugh Jackman, Best Actor in a Musical, The Boy from Oz

"Oh my God! Thank you. It certainly doesn't suck to be us tonight. We wanted to thank all our investors and the New Group and the Vineyard for believing along with us that a unique young musical with a big heart can have a life on Broadway." --Robyn Goodman, Best Musical, Avenue Q

"This award also belongs to our brilliant creative team, many who were nominated, all of them deserving in so many ways. Our brilliant director, Jason Moore, our composer and lyricist Bobby Lopez, Jeff Marx, our designers, Rick Lyon, puppet designer, right back there, as well as the phenomenally talented cast and crew who perform and breathe life into felt and themselves every night. Thank you, thank you." --Kevin McCollum, Best Musical, Avenue Q

"Thank you, Broadway, for voting your heart. Thank you." --Jeffrey Seller, Best Musical, Avenue Q