Inside Cynthia Erivo's Tonys Afterparty: 'I Think We Should All Dance Now'
After hosting the Tony Awards, Cynthia Erivo and crew headed to the Russian Tea Room in New York, where award winners and celebrities decided to shed the formalities of the evening and skip to the celebration.
'I'm sick of talking. I think we should all dance now,' Erivo announced to the starry crowd, after being handed a mic while sitting on top of a banquette in a short black taffeta dress.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
'Hamilton' Original Cast Reunites for Tony Awards Medley - Watch
Tony Awards Snubs and Surprises: 'Death Becomes Her' Goes One for 10 as 'Purpose' Scores Upset Best Play Win
Darren Criss Wins First Tony Award for 'Maybe Happy Ending'
At the party, aptly named Cyn City, the Wicked star led a crowd up to the second floor of the famed New York venue, where a dance circle formed around her as ABBA's 'Gimme Gimme' played. Dancers included Julianne Hough; Danielle Brooks, who starred in The Color Purple on Broadway with Erivo; Adrienne Warren, currently starring in The Last Five Years on Broadway; Dylan Mulvaney; and Lena Waithe, as the music transitioned to Beyoncé tunes and other pop hits. (See photos from inside the event.)
Nearby, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins clutched his Tony Award, won earlier that night for his play Purpose, as he was congratulated by guests, including Sarah Paulson, who starred in his play Appropriate last season. Both Paulson and Jacobs-Jenkins also won Tonys that year.
Erivo, who arrived to the party around 12:30 a.m., was coming off of several hours leading the Tonys telecast, where she had sung an opening number with a gospel choir, poked fun at nominees including George Clooney and joked with Oprah Winfrey, as well as the release of her second album Friday. She was still dancing at 3 a.m. and at one point led the dance circle to Drake's song 'Rich Baby Daddy,' where she was twerking and dropping to the floor.
She spent much of the party dancing underneath the Russian Tea Room's tree, which has branches filled with Fabergé-inspired glass eggs.
Earlier that evening, between passed small bites, which included small burgers, tuna tartare and shrimp, and specialty drinks that included Cyn City (a mocktail including mint, lemon and raspberry zinger), attendees weighed in on the big winners of the evening.
'I'm so happy for Cole and Sam,' one attendee was overheard saying, referring to Oh, Mary! star Cole Escola and director Sam Pinkleton, who both won for their roles in the campy play about a reimagined Mary Todd Lincoln.
Phylicia Rashad, who directed Purpose on Broadway, sat in a circular booth chatting with Victoria Clark, a 2023 Tony winner for Kimberly Akimbo, and press agent Irene Gandy.
Fresh off the Hamilton performance at the Tonys telecast, which saw the reunion of the original Broadway cast, cast members Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs entered the party after midnight, walking into the first-floor bar, with Raver-Lampman noting, 'Oh, much more our speed.'
The downstairs area included a roped-off section, for those with reserved tables (aka celebrities) and a piano in the middle where Sara Bareilles and Broadway stars Alex Newell and Kecia Lewis, who has recently been at the center of industry chatter after Patti LuPone's interview, talked and took a photo.
Other attendees throughout the night included Matthew Broderick; Adam Lambert; Elsbeth's Carrie Preston; Conrad Ricamora, a Tony nominee for Oh, Mary!; Ben Stiller, who was a presenter at the Tony Awards; and Harry Potter alum Tom Felton, who recently announced he'll be reprising his role as Draco Malfoy on Broadway.
The party was hosted by Entertainment 360 and UTA, with Listerine as a sponsor. The Hollywood Reporter was the exclusive media partner.
Lexi Carson contributed to this report.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Seeing Double? 25 Pairs of Celebrities Who Look Nearly Identical
From 'Lady in the Lake' to 'It Ends With Us': 29 New and Upcoming Book Adaptations in 2024
Meet the Superstars Who Glam Up Hollywood's A-List
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
5 hours ago
- Fox News
DAVID MARCUS: Dems' Kennedy Center gay ‘Guerrilla Theater' stunt is why their act wears thin
I'm sorry to report that the theater kids in the Democrat Party are at it again, this time quite literally and in Washington's jewel of the performing arts, the Kennedy Center. On Monday night, Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., put on the "Love is Love" concert co-hosted by Democrat Sens. Tammy Baldwin , of Wisconsin; Jacky Rosen, of Nevada; Brian Schatz, of Hawaii; and Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, as an affair to protest what they claim is anti-LGBT bias at the arts center. The show, featuring Broadway stars and a gay men's chorus in the 144-seat Justice Forum was invitation only, and no, you were not invited. It turns out Hickenlooper had reached out to Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller, to co-produce the show, the same Seller behind the hit musical "Hamilton," and who recently canceled a production at the Kennedy Center, along with the show's creator Lin Manuel-Miranda, also in protest against alleged anti-gay bias. The senators used a little-known provision that allows them to rent space at the Kennedy Center as a perk of the job. Who knew? Setting aside the fact that the merits of the claim that the Kennedy Center has somehow become anti-gay fall somewhere between wet tissue paper flimsy and non-existent, the form of this protest by powerful Democrats warrants some scrutiny, and can tell us a lot. According to The New York Times, Hickenlooper reached out to Seller and asked if he wanted to make some "guerrilla theater," which, for anyone who knows anything about theater, is absolutely hilarious. Guerrilla theater, often associated with the Living Theater founded in 1947, is when a company just takes over a space and starts putting on a show. In the 1980s, they used to have stage lights they could plug into municipal light poles, for example. What guerrilla theater is definitively and unquestionably not, is 5 of the most powerful human beings on earth asking a super-rich Broadway producer to put on a concert in one of the most venerated performance spaces in America that they can rent by Congressional prerogative. That is, in fact, the perfect polar opposite of guerrilla theater. This confusion by Hickenlooper and Seller is an incredibly illuminating window into the current mindset of the far-left elites in the Democrat Party and their cultural wingmen. They think they are being raw and edgy, when actually, they just look ridiculous. We see this performative nonsense everywhere from Democrats, whether in Corey Booker's farcical filibuster, Rep. Eric Swalwell's cringeworthy TikTok skits, or elected officials getting themselves arrested on purpose for eager cameras. They think all of these things, like their "guerilla theater," are provocative and brave, a counter-culture that stands up to Trump and all his alleged crimes. What these prancing Democrats fail to understand is just how inauthentic their antics are to the everyday Americans who can see through them like Superman checking what's in the fridge without opening the door. Democrats and their advisers have lost sight of the difference between symbolism and reality, Booker wasn't filibustering any real bill, members of Congress aren't really being arrested in any meaningful way, and 5 senators sure as hell did not really "occupy" the Kennedy Center. Everybody knows it's all for show, because they have seen the show before. Hickenlooper and Seller thought they were speaking their truth to the power of Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, a gay man who they absurdly accuse of anti-gay bias because he wants the institution he leads to focus on artistic excellence instead of identity grievance. In fact, it is Grennell and the new board of directors at the Kennedy Center who are pushing back against decades of hegemonic left-wing power in arts and culture, and at the slightest threat to its power, the political and artistic left has thrown a hissy fit. Americans don't need guerrilla theater from our elected officials, especially those who have no idea what guerrilla theater actually is. Democrats need to wake up to the fact that just doing one more performative stunt isn't going to convince Americans they are living in a fascist dictatorship and should come running back to their party. While Republicans are tackling the budget and the border, the Democrats are making sure that gay people aren't underrepresented in theater, which is like making sure that guys named "Cheech" aren't underrepresented in the mafia. The American people have no idea who leads the Democrats, what they stand for, or what policies they would enact, it is my job to know these things and I don't even know, because they won't tell us. For now at least, the theater kids are gonna be theater kids, so keep your Playbills handy, you never know what mind numbingly awful show these Democrats may put on next.
Business Upturn
9 hours ago
- Business Upturn
Is ‘Squid Game' returning for season 4? Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on June 28, 2025, 17:30 IST Last updated June 28, 2025, 11:04 IST If you're anything like me, you've probably been glued to Netflix, binge-watching Squid Game Season 3, which dropped on June 27, 2025. The show's wild ride of deadly games, gut-punching drama, and sharp jabs at society has kept us hooked since that first Red Light, Green Light game. But now that Season 3 is out, wrapping up Seong Gi-hun's story, everyone's asking: is Squid Game Season 4 happening, or is this the end? Let's dive into everything we know about the show's future. So, Is Squid Game Season 4 Happening? Straight to the point: no, Squid Game Season 4 isn't in the cards. Hwang Dong-hyuk, the mastermind behind the series, has been clear that Season 3 is the final chapter for the main story. At a press conference in Seoul, he said, 'We don't have plans for a fourth season. That was decided while working on Season 3.' He's poured his heart into telling Gi-hun's tale, and after years of crafting this dystopian world—starting with his first draft in 2009—he's ready to close the book on it. Hwang's also been open about how grueling the process was. He's mentioned losing teeth from the stress of making the show, which sounds like a nightmare. So, it makes sense he'd want to wrap things up after three seasons. That said, he's not slamming the door shut on the Squid Game universe entirely—just the main storyline with Gi-hun. Why End It After Season 3? Hwang's decision to stop at Season 3 isn't just about burnout. He's said in interviews, like one with The Hollywood Reporter , that he feels he's told the story he set out to tell. The show's always been about more than just survival games; it's a raw look at how society chews people up, especially through Gi-hun's eyes. By the end of Season 3, Hwang believes he's landed that message. Plus, let's be real—stretching the show further could get stale. Some critics, like folks at ScreenRant , have pointed out that another season of Gi-hun fighting the game's shadowy organizers might feel like retreading old ground. Seasons 2 and 3 were shot back-to-back and written as one big arc, split for maximum impact. It's a smart move to go out on a high note rather than risk dragging things out. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Forbes
The Weeknd's Breakout Album Reaches A Momentous Milestone
The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness celebrates 350 weeks on the Billboard 200, climbing back into ... More the top 100 as Starboy approaches 400 weeks. HAMILTON, ON - MARCH 15: The Weeknd is presented an award at the 2015 JUNO Awards at FirstOntario Centre on March 15, 2015 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by) Nearly a decade ago, Abel Tesfaye — better known as The Weeknd — earned his first No. 1 album in the United States with Beauty Behind the Madness. Two years prior, he became a breakout star with Kiss Land, which instantly made him a critical favorite and one of the most exciting new artists in the music industry. Beauty Behind the Madness, however, turned him into a global superstar thanks to hits like "The Hills," "Can't Feel My Face," and "In the Night." Almost 10 years later, that project remains successful, and this week it reaches a landmark that the Canadian powerhouse has only seen once before. 350 Weeks on the Billboard 200 Beauty Behind the Madness celebrates reaching 350 weeks on the Billboard 200, a number it hits this time around. The blockbuster collection shifted another 12,000 copies last frame, according to Luminate. That's enough for it to return to the upper half of the 200-spot roster, as it climbs from No. 110 to No. 98. Starboy Nears 400 Weeks on the Ranking The Weeknd has only seen one other album spend at least 350 weeks on the Billboard 200. Starboy passed that mark about a year ago and remains present, sitting a little more than a dozen spaces above Beauty Behind the Madness. In just two weeks, Starboy will become The Weeknd's first 400-week charter in America. A Strong Showing on Multiple Charts Beauty Behind the Madness appears on two genre-focused rankings in addition to the all-style Billboard 200. It holds at No. 12 on the Top R&B Albums tally with 351 weeks on that list and lifts slightly on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ranking. If the early-career release is still present on that chart next week, it will mark 200 frames on the competitive roster. The Weeknd's Five Charting Albums The Weeknd currently claims five hit albums in America, all of which appear on multiple tallies at once. In addition to Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy, both After Hours and House of Balloons also reside on a trio of rankings. His most recent full-length, Hurry Up Tomorrow, can still be found on six charts simultaneously, though it is declining on most of them.
