The theatre world respectfully bowed to the Beauty Queen of Leenane early this morning as Irish director Garry Hynes became the first woman to win a Tony award for Director of a Play during a glittering ceremony at Radio City Music Hall, New York.
Ms Hynes, artistic director of Galway's Druid Theatre, received theatre's top honour for her heart-wrenching production of The Beauty Queen which has caused a sensation since it opened on Broadway in April.
Anna Manahan won the best performance by a featured actress and actor Tom Murphy won for best performance in a featured role. Accepting her award, Ms Hynes said: "This is a singular honour. I am glad to have the opportunity this award gives me to thank the American theatre for the reception we have received. The Irish theatre is blessed with many extraordinarily talented people and I have been proud to work with many of them." She also thanked her colleagues at Druid and at the Royal Court Theatre in London which co-produced the play.
Breaking into Irish, she also thanked her family while her delighted brother, Jerome Hynes, looked on from the audience. In a touching moment, Ms Hynes dedicated the award to her parents. "This one's for you," she said.
The Irish win provoked ecstatic applause from the black-tie audience who had paid $1,000 a ticket to attend the awards, the Oscars of the theatre world.
As the awards ceremony continued this morning, the writer of Beauty Queen, Martin McDonagh, was in contention for best play. Last month the play was nominated for six Tony awards. This made the Beauty Queen, which started off as a small Druid Theatre production, the hit of the season on Broadway, with the most nominations of any new play.
Martin McDonagh's tragicomic tale of a fierce struggle between a possessive mother and her unmarried daughter gained overwhelmingly positive reviews since it opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway in April.