Metcalf said: “When I was in college, I met six fellow students in the theatre department. We worked really hard to amuse each other, and I still consider them family – and I still draw on lessons that I learned from them.
“And they were Gary Sinise, Moira Harris, Al Wilder, Jeff Perry, Terry Kinney, and John Malkovich.”
The show’s success at the ceremony was notable for also scoring the first Tony Award for controversial producer Scott Rudin since he stepped back from Broadway in 2021, following allegations of bullying and abusive behaviour towards employees.
At the time, Rudin acknowledged his “history of troubling interactions with colleagues” and said he was “profoundly sorry for the pain my behaviour caused to individuals, directly and indirectly”.
Rudin was not present at Sunday’s ceremony, and the production’s trophy for best play revival was accepted by actor Nathan Lane, who paid tribute to “the genius of Arthur Miller, who created this monumental masterpiece”.
Other big winners included Ragtime, about three families pursuing the American dream at the dawn of the 20th Century, and Schmigadoon!, a comedic celebration of theatre’s golden age, adapted from the Apple TV series.
Schmigadoon! producer Christine Schwarzman joked: “I think I should start by thanking Apple TV for cancelling the third season of Schmigadoon!, the TV show, because without them dropping it, we couldn’t have picked it up and ran with it.”
Both shows won two awards, as did musical The Lost Boys, the punk-rock adaptation of the 1987 cult vampire film.
Cats: The Jellicle Ball took home three trophies, while feminism epic Liberation won best play after recently winning the Pulitzer prize for drama.
The ceremony was hosted by singer Pink, who kicked off the night with a rendition of Lady Marmalade that saw her adapt the lyrics to namecheck several of the nominees.
The star called herself “Broadway’s biggest fan” who wanted to pay tribute to “the hardest-working people in showbiz”.