With so many actors from Hamilton up against each other at the Tony Awards, it was guaranteed that there would be a few surprises. What if they canceled each other out, and Hamilton ended up getting accidentally snubbed in the acting categories? Fortunately, that did not happen, though Leslie Odom Jr. beat Lin-Manuel Miranda for Best Actor at the Tony Awards.
It would be a little uncouth to make a joke about Hamilton not being able to beat Burr still, so many years later, wouldn't it? Too soon. On one hand, it seems like the Tony Awards would rather honor Miranda as a writer and composer rather than an actor, because this isn't his first loss. He lost the Best Actor award in 2007 for In The Heights too. It's shame, because his performance as Hamilton is spectacular and nuanced — and it's rare that the Tony Awards have the opportunity to honor someone playing a role that they wrote for themselves. That would have been pretty cool.
On the other hand, Miranda's acting has won him a Drama Desk Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, and a Drama League Award over the years, both for his role in Hamilton and for his starring role in Heights, so it's not all bad. He can't win them all, and I don't mean any disrespect by that.
All of that aside, no one can deny that Odom Jr. is deserving of this honor. From his vocal performance in "Wait For It" to his emotional journey as an anti-hero during the show, this is a historically brilliant performance that will be talked about for ages to come. Even Miranda, in an interview with Grantland, admitted that Burr has the best songs in Hamilton.
Plus, the outpouring of love from the Hamilton cast to the Hamilton cast all throughout the Tony Awards prove that this is no real contest. I honestly think that this was the best possible outcome at the Tony Awards, and everyone is cool with it! This show will always belong to Miranda, but now a Tony belongs to Odom Jr. and that's amazing.
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