Stars of an 'exquisite' year on Broadway gather for Tonys

The romantic robot musical Maybe Happy Ending has triumphed with six wins at this year's Tony awards, while the actors Cole Escola and Kara Young also made history in their categories.

- Benjamin Lee

Maybe Happy Ending was named best musical, with Darren Criss also taking home the award for leading actor in a musical. The first-time winner spoke about being proud to be part of a "notably diverse and exquisite" Broadway season, while Michael Arden, who won best direction of a musical for the show, said that "empathy is not a weakness but it is a gift and our shared responsibility".

In one of the most-anticipated races of the night, the first-time nominee Nicole Scherzinger won best leading actress in a musical for her role in Sunset Boulevard, beating the record-breaking six-time winner Audra McDonald, star of Gypsy. Scherzinger won the Olivier last year for her performance. "It's happened, Andrew!" a tearful Scherzinger said to Andrew Lloyd Webber on stage.