Shoshana Bean has won Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical at the 79th Annual Tony Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall June 7. This is Bean’s third nomination and first-ever Tony win.
Bean won for her role as Lucy Emerson in The Lost Boys, a new musical based off Joel Schumacher’s 1987 cult classic film of the same name—which is nominated for a total of 12 Tonys this season, including Best Musical and another Best Performance nod for Ali Louis Bourzgui.
“This is for the incredible army of women that surround and uplift me,” said a visibly emotional Bean accepting her statuette. “This is for every woman who ever felt like she was too much or not enough. I beg you not to wait for permission to be all of who you are. Take up space, make your own path, make mistakes, make messes, make new things, be free, be loud, be brave, and stay [bleep].” (What Bean meant to say was censored during the broadcast but we can assume it was something positive.)
Her role in The Lost Boys marks Bean’s return to Broadway following Tony-nominated performances in Hell’s Kitchen and Mr. Saturday Night. She’s most notable for her portrayal of Elphaba in Wicked, beginning as a standby for the role early in its run before assuming it full-time. When Menzel had a trap door accident on her last scheduled night of performances, Bean was the one to step in to finish out the performance. She is also well-recognized for her time playing Elphaba in Wicked‘s first national tour and for her stint as Jenna in Waitress.
Other nominees in the category include Hannah Cruz (Chess), Rachel Dratch (The Rocky Horror Show), Ana Gasteyer (Schmigadoon!), and Nichelle Lewis (Ragtime).
With Michael Arden at the helm, The Lost Boys features a book by David Hornsby and Chris Hoch and music by the band The Rescues, The Lost Boys uses vampirism to explore the physical transformation, sexual awakening, and identity experimentation of a teenager’s coming of age. When the brotherly duo of Michael and Sam move to the fictional town of Santa Carla, California with their single mother, played by Bean, they inadvertently end up in the crosshairs of a group of teenage rebel vampires and adolescent vampire hunters. The Lost Boys officially opened on Broadway April 26 at the Palace Theatre.
For more on everything Tony Awards, visit Playbill.com/Tonys.
