71st Tony Awards ? Show ? New York City, US, June 11, 2017 - Musical 'Groundhog Day'. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

 

NEW YORK: Cynthia Nixon, Kevin Kline, and Laurie Metcalf were among early winners on Sunday at the annual Tony Awards honouring the best of Broadway.

Host Kevin Spacey kicked things off with a medley of songs referencing his self-doubt about successfully hosting the annual awards show compared to Neil Patrick Harris, James Corden or Hugh Jackman, riffing on numbers from Dear Evan Hansen, Groundhog Day, and other top musicals.

Kline, who was seen as a shoo-in for his lead actor turn as the egocentric actor in Noel Cowards' play Present Laughter, said "I want to thank everybody," adding "we don't do this alone".

Nixon won the best-featured actress in a play for a revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, about a greedy southern family's underhanded business practices.

The actress lauded Hellman for her "eerily prescient play".

Noting one of its lines about people who "eat the Earth" and others who "watch them do it", Nixon praised present-day activists as "the people who, in 2017, are refusing to just stand around and watch them do it".

Former Roseanne star Metcalf won best lead actress in a play for her role in A Doll's House, Part 2.

Michael Aronov was a surprise winner for his lively featured actor performance as an Israeli negotiator in Oslo, J.T. Rogers' behind-the-scenes look at the 1993 Middle East peace accords. Experts had predicted a win by Danny DeVito for The Price.

"This is the biggest honour of my life," Aronov told the A-list audience at Radio City Music Hall as he paid tribute to his parents, who were with him.

"My victories mean nothing unless I'm sharing them with you," the actor said.

Gavin Creel won the best-featured actor in a musical for Hello, Dolly!, the revival that scored 10 nominations.

Dear Evan Hansen, the teen-angst driven musical with no stars that set in motion by a suicide, won two early Tonys for best score and best book. The hit show is also favourite for the top prize, best musical, which will be announced at the end of the evening.

Broadway enjoyed a record-breaking season this year thanks to last year's Tony winner and pop culture juggernauts Hamilton, and musicals like Sunset Boulevard, starring Glenn Close, and Hello, Dolly!, with Bette Milder.

Midler, 71, is all-but-assured of winning her first competitive Tony later on Sunday for her star turn in Hello, Dolly!.