‘Means so much for a little Australian girl’: Sarah Snook leads Aussie Tonys triumph

Sarah Snook has won the Tony Award for best leading actress for her critically acclaimed role in The Picture of Dorian Gray, one of two awards the production picked up out of six nominations.

“This means so much for a little Australian girl to be here on Broadway,” Snook said on Sunday night (US time). “[The Picture of Dorian Gray] is billed as a one-person show, and I don’t feel alone any night that I do this show. There are so many people on stage making it work and behind the stage making it work.”

Sarah Snook accepts the best actress Tony Award for The Picture of Dorian Gray.Credit: AP

The actor, who plays 26 roles in the one-woman show, was tipped by The New York Times, New York Magazine, Variety and The Washington Post, among others, for the win, with The New York Times calling it a “must-see-it-to-believe-it performance”.

Snook was presented the award by Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter at Radio City Music Hall. The 37-year-old said it was an “intimidating room of incredibly talented people” to be standing in front of.

Snook also thanked the show’s “incredible” writer and director Kip Williams, as well as her husband, Australian comedian and actor Dave Lawson. “An exceptional thank you to my husband, my soulmate,” she said. “You are so brilliant holding the fort down and keeping our family together.”

Snook was up against Stranger Things actor Sadie Sink for John Proctor is the Villain, Mia Farrow for The Roommate, Laura Donnelly for The Hills of California and LaTanya Richardson Jackson for Purpose.

The Picture of Dorian Gray producer Michael Cassel said it was “an extraordinary moment – for Sarah, for our company and for the Sydney Theatre Company.

“To be recognised on the world’s biggest stage for theatre is a testament to the power and calibre of Australian artistry. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a production created entirely by Australians, in Australia, and now celebrated globally. That’s incredibly meaningful,” Cassel said.

“When you look at recent Australian successes like Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Prima Facie, you see a clear message: Australian stories, voices and talent belong on the world stage. Sarah’s win is a powerful reminder that global hits can be born on our shores and that our creatives – our actors, designers, directors, writers – are absolutely world-class. This isn’t just a win for Sarah. It’s a win for Australian theatre.”

Marg Horwell also won best costume design of a play for The Picture of Dorian Gray. The win follows her Olivier Award last year for the category.

Snook performing in the play.Credit: Marc Brenner

Sydney Theatre Company artistic director Mitchell Butel applauded Snook and Horwell’s wins.

“We are so delighted to see the talent and brilliance of both Sarah and Marg celebrated by these awards. These wonderful wins are also a great testament to the phenomenal and unique vision of Kip Williams, who dreamed this show into being,” he said.

Butel also paid tribute to the other nominees, the role’s originator, Eryn-Jean Norvill, and Sydney Theatre Company staff.

“These first-ever Tony Awards for Sydney Theatre Company make us all very proud. Congrats to the whole team,” he said.

STC executive director and co-CEO Anne Dunn offered her congratulations to the winners, the other nominees and to STC staff who had worked on the production from its inception.

“It takes a village to get an Australian production to Broadway, and we are so grateful to the talented creatives, all the STC employees who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes for the various productions of The Picture of Dorian Gray over the years,” she said.

Snook and Horwell’s nominations were among six for the Sydney Theatre Company production, including best director for Williams, who originally adapted and directed the show for STC in 2020. Also nominated were Clemence Williams for sound, Nick Schlieper for lighting, and Horwell and David Bergman for best scenic design of a play.

However, Kip Williams, Clemence Williams, Bergman and Schlieper were unsuccessful. The best direction of a play award went to Sam Pinkleton for Oh, Mary!. Kip Williams was also up against Sam Mendes for The Hills of California, Danya Taymor for John Procter is the Villain and Knud Adams for English.

Best sound design was won by Paul Arditti for Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which also took out best lighting design for Jon Clark. The award for best scenic design of a play went to Miriam Buether, also for Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

Snook already has an Olivier Award from the show’s West End run, as well as an Emmy and two Golden Globes for her role as Shiv Roy in the TV hit Succession.

Marg Horwell with her award for best costume design.Credit: Getty Images

She has also won AACTA awards for her work in the ABC miniseries Sisters of War and the films Predestination and Memoir of a Snail.

The Picture of Dorian Gray premiered on Broadway in March at the Music Box Theatre. It is adapted from Wilde’s 1890 novel about a young man who makes a wish to remain youthful while his portrait ages instead. In the play, Snook juggles live filming, screens, mobile phones and multiple costume and wig changes.

The show has attracted a steady stream of celebrity visitors backstage, with Snook posting on Instagram photos of Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey gave Snook a standing ovation and posted that she had “never seen anything like what she does on that stage – FULL STOP”.

Snook was also joined on opening night by her Succession cast mates, including Kieran Culkin, who played her younger brother, Roman, in the HBO series and was also performing on Broadway, in Glengarry Glen Ross.

She posted pictures of herself getting ready on Instagram, as well as a photo from the red carpet with her husband, Lawson.

Snook with her award.Credit: Getty Images

Snook has been performing in The Picture of Dorian Gray since February last year, when it premiered at the Theatre Royal in London’s West End.

Snook took over the role from Eryn Jean Norvill, who performed in the Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide productions.

STC will be hoping to replicate the success of The Picture Dorian Gray with Dracula, also co-produced by the Michael Cassel Group, which will make its international debut next February.

Starring Cynthia Erivo in the lead, it’s another one of Williams’ “cine-theatre” productions in which Erivo takes on more than 20 roles, including Dracula, Van Helsing and Johnathan Harker. Zahra Newman originated the role in the 2024 STC production.

The big winners on the night

Best Musical: Maybe Happy Ending

Actress in a leading role in a musical: Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard

Actor in a leading role in a musical: Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending

Musical revival: Sunset Boulevard

Actor in a leading role in a play: Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!

Direction of a musical: Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending

Direction of a play: Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!

Play revival: Eureka Day

Play: Purpose

Actress in a featured role in a musical: Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club

Actress in a featured role in a play: Kara Young, Purpose

Actor in a featured role in a musical: Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical

Actor in a featured role in a play: Francis Jue, Yellow Face

Actress in a leading role in a play: Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Original score: Maybe Happy Ending (music: Will Aronson, lyrics: Will Aronson and Hue Park)

Costume design of a musical: Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her

Costume design of a play: Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Choreography: Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club

Book of a musical: Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending

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