'Hadestown,' Cranston win big at Tonys, 'Ferryman' best play

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - The cast and crew of "Hadestown" accept the award for Best Musical. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Hadestown," a folk opera about a young couple's dark trek to the underworld, topped Broadway's Tony awards on Sunday winning eight honors, including the top prize best musical.

Based on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, Anais Mitchell's musical also won Tonys for best director, score, supporting actor Andre De Shields, orchestration, and sound, scenic and lighting design.

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Bryan Cranston accepts the Leading Actor in a Play award for "Network." REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Director Rachel Chavkin noted she was the only woman currently directing a Broadway musical and called for the theater world to step up. "It is a failure of imagination," she told the audience.

"The Ferryman," British playwright Jez Butterworth's wrenching examination of a family during the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, won best play and best director for Sam Mendes.

Bryan Cranston won his second Tony as the unhinged television anchor man in "Network," a stage adaptation of the 1976 movie.

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Photo Room - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Jez Butterworth (L) and the cast of "The Ferryman" pose backstage with their Best Play award. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Cranston dedicated his Tony award to real journalists. In a veiled reference to repeated attacks on the press by U.S. President Donald Trump, Cranston said the media "is not the enemy of the people. Demagoguery is the enemy of the people."

Elaine May, 87, was named best actress in a play for her moving performance as a mentally declining woman in "The Waverly Gallery." May, a director, writer and actress is also known for her comic partnership dating to the 1950s with late film director Mike Nichols.

The best actor in a musical Tony went to Santino Fontana for "Tootsie," the hit show based on the 1982 movie, while Stephanie J. Block took home the lead actress award playing music legend Cher in "The Cher Show."

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Stephanie J. Block accepts the Leading Actress in a Musical award for "The Cher Show." REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Block thanked "the goddess Cher, and her legacy."

"The Boys in the Band," a comic drama about a group of gay men at a birthday party first produced in the late 1960s, won best play revival.

The supporting musical actress Tony went to Ali Stroker for a reinvented staging of the classic musical, "Oklahoma!," which won best revival of a musical.

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Photo Room - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Jez Butterworth poses backstage with his Best Play award for "The Ferryman." REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Stroker, as the "girl who can't say no" Ado Annie, became the first actor performing in a wheelchair to win a Tony.

Supporting actress in a play went to Celia Keenan-Bolger, 41, as the child Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird," while English actor Bertie Carvel won his first Tony as media mogul Rupert Murdoch making his foray into newspaper publishing in "Ink."

Veteran stage actress Rosemary Harris and playwright Terrence McNally were presented with special Tony awards for lifetime achievement in theater.

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Anais Mitchell accepts the Best Score award for "Hadestown." REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Michael Perry)

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Elaine May accepts the Leading Actress in a Play award for "The Waverly Gallery." REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Laura Benanti and Anthony Ramos persent Ali Stroker with the Featured Actress in a Musical award for "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!" REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Photo Room - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Robert Horn poses backstage with his Best Book of a Musical award for "Tootsie." REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Mart Crowley accepts the Best Revival of a Play award for "The Boys in the Band." REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Rosemary Harris accepts the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater award. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Andre De Shields accepts the Featured Actor in a Musical award for "Hadestown." REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Photo Room - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - (L-R) Nevin Steinberg, Jessica Paz, Bradley King, Rachel Hauck, Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose, 2019 Tony Award winners, pose backstage. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Photo Room - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - David Stone and Ryan Murphy pose backstage with their Best Revival of a Play award for "The Boys in the Band." REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Presenters Marisa Tomei and Michael Shannon. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - The cast of "Choir Boy" performs. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - The cast of "The Prom" performs. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - Taylor Mac on stage. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

73rd Annual Tony Awards - Show - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - The cast of "The Prom" performs. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid