By Randall Yip, Executive Editor
Darren Criss won the Tony for best lead actor in a musical for Maybe Happy Ending. It was one of six honors the South Korean play received Sunday night for the production that explores love and mortality.
Criss thanked his leading lady, Helen Shen, who made her Broadway debut in the play.
“I share this with one of the best leading actresses in a Broadway musical this season, Helen J. Shen. I am so proud of you, and your Broadway debut. This is where you belong,” he said to a stunned actress who broke out in tears after hearing those words.
He thanked his wife Mia Swier “who took a massive swing on allowing me to do this and allow this crazy upheaval in our life to make this logistically possible, and for bearing the brunt of raising two tiny friends under three.”
He also recognized his late father Bill and his brother Chuck who he called his “greatest role models.” Criss also applauded all the drama teachers who “taught me the valid physical theater cause I would use that in my tool kit to create Oliver.”
Maybe Happy Endings won Tony Awards for best musical, best original score and best book for a musical for Will Aronson and Hue Park, best scenic design of a musical, and best direction for a musical for Michael Arden.
Among Criss numerous accolades is a Primetime Emmy Award for his portrayal in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. The actor broke out in the musical TV hit Glee.
Criss grew up in San Francisco and attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory just like fellow Tony winner Francis Jue who earlier accepted a Tony for best performance by a featured actor in a play for Yellowface. He went on to the University of Michigan where he participated in a student run theater group Basement Arts.
