Sarah Paulson Wins 2024 Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Play

Sarah Paulson has won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play at the 77th Annual Tony Awards, held at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater June 16. She was recognized for her work in Appropriate on Broadway. This is Paulson's first Tony Award win, though she previously won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

"As a young actress, I remember seeing Janet McTeer burst onto stage in A Doll's House, in the very theatre I am currently living in," Paulson shared while accepting her Tony. "And some nights when I'm backstage, I think about the indelible impact of her. I think about the walls of theatres all over this magical town holding the impact of each and every one of you in this room, and all of those who came before. And I think how lucky those walls are to bear witness to the relentless interrogation of human experience that we endeavor to explore nightly for each other, to give back to one another with the hope of finding some shared path towards the truth about being alive. This is the heart and soul of what we do and I am so honored to be amongst you."

Paulson was recognized for playing Tori in Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. In the play, the Lafayette family gathers in their late father's home to go through his belongings, where they discover a shocking secret. As the eldest, Tori is forced to confront her resentment against her two younger brothers. Appropriate opened in December 2023, and after an extended run at the Hayes Theater, it transferred to the Belasco Theatre in March, where it is playing until June 30. It received eight Tony nominations.

Though she's known as a screen actor, Paulson began her career on the stage, starring in plays Off-Broadway. Her previous Broadway credits include The Sisters Rosensweig and The Glass Menagerie. 

READ: 'Race Is a Hallucination': Sarah Paulson and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Appropriate

The other nominees for Lead Actress in a Play were Betsy Aidem (Prayer for the French Republic), Jessica Lange (Mother Play), Rachel McAdams (Mary Jane), and Amy Ryan (Doubt: A Parable).

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