In the days when there was a record business, Cynthia Erivo would already have a contract and a hit album. I wrote back on opening night of “The Color Purple” that Erivo had not been contacted by anyone in the music business.

Last night she won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. And? “Still nothing,” she told me. This phenomenal singer- a sensation really– who could sing pop, blues, gospel, R&B, Broadway, maybe opera– has no record contract!

At the Plaza Hotel after party for the Tonys– the main event– Erivo was swamped by reporters, photogs, fans, other winners and nominees– insane! She’s tiny, so it’s overwhelming. But this is a young woman with such grace and poise. And so much fun. But she is also a superstar in the making.

The Plaza party was teeming with stars– all the “Hamilton” people came including winners Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs. There was a knot in the lobby area as Jake Gyllenhaal stopped and took pictures with everyone who asked– and they all asked—while Steve Martin, Edie Brickell and Peter Asher did a lap with Martin Short, winning scenic designer David Rockwell– already a star in the design world– showed off his first ever Tony for “She Loves Me.”

Leslie Odom, by the way, does have a new album out. Steve Greenberg of S Curve Records, the guy behind Joss Stone, was smart enough to record him. Maybe the Tony will help sales. Leslie told me: “I’m in shock.” He’d been so frustrated by the business he almost left it.

Over at Rick Miramontez’s swanky party at the Baccarat Hotel, new Tony winner (for “The Humans”) Reed Birney told me that even though we think of him as a Broadway vet, he’s only been in four Broadway shows. And his biggest hit was in the 70s– “Gemini,” a great play. He’s 61 and went 35 years between shows. Where’s he been? “Off Broadway, regional theater.” He’s pretty much near tears at this point. Bravo!

Everyone came to Rick’s by the way, the best party and hardest ticket sponsored by his new company DKC/O&M: Harvey Weinstein, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes, Diane Lane, Andrew Lloyd Webber, everywhere you turned in the gorgeous, sparkling room there were stars– Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sophie Okenedo, Tommy Tune, Danny Burstein and Rebecca Luker, Cassie Beck, an exhausted George C. Wolfe slumped on a couch, Savion Glover (with his mini me son), Billy Porter, Joe Mantello, beautiful girls everywhere, and a disco in the back.

They were still there when I left at 3am! They may still be there!

The Tony Awards ratings look like they were up by 33%– the same amount the Stanley Cup game was down from last year. Interest in “Hamilton” was big. Promoting Barbra Streisand didn’t hurt. And there was no NBA final, which killed the show last year.

But also for the first time in years there was a mainstream, accessible host– James Corden– a past Tony winner, hot talk show host with a big following who could throw himself Billy Crystal style into the show. James Corden is the Hardest Working Man in Show Biz at this point. I predict he’ll get an Emmy for hosting the Tonys.

More ratings will come in this afternoon. But everything about this Tony Awards was inclusive and welcoming. So many non white multi cultural faces helped too. All four of the main musical actor winners were black! And you could see from “Hamilton” to “The Color Purple” and right through the casting of the show that producer Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner knew exactly what they were doing.

Mary Cossette, widow of the late great Grammys producer Pierre Cossette, was thrilled. “They worked from Pierre, they learned from him!” she said and it was lovely. (Also lovely that Weiss and Kirshner invite her. The new Grammy producers do not, she told me.)

Corden was just spectacular. Here’s his opening number:

“Hamilton” took almost everything it was nominated for at last night’s Tony awards, except for Best Actress in a Musical and Best Scenic Design.

Nevertheless, the history making was that all four musical actors –Best Actor and Actress, Featured Actor and Actress– were all black. Three were African American, one was London born.

Host James Corden– simply outstanding all night– declared “These are the Oscars, except with diversity.”

The show was the most entertaining Tony broadcast in years, thanks to Corden.

There were few surprises, but the show was so good it didn’t matter. The big after parties were the official one at the Plaza Hotel, “Hamilton” at Tavern on the Green, and Ric Miramontez’s very swanky deal at the Baccarat Hotel where Diane Lane, Julian Fellowes, George C. Wolfe, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and a ton of celebs landed.

More later Monday…

BEST MUSICAL
Hamilton

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Leslie Odom, Jr., Hamilton

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
The Color Purple

BEST PLAY
The Humans; Author: Stephen Karam

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Frank Langella, The Father

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Jessica Lange, Long Day’s Journey Into Night

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Reed Birney, The Humans

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Thomas Kail, Hamilton

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Ivo Van Hove, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE
Hamilton, Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Jayne Houdyshell, The Humans

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Howell Binkley, Hamilton

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Natasha Katz, Long Day’s Journey Into Night

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
David Rockwell, She Loves Me

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
David Zinn, The Humans

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Clint Ramos, Eclipsed

OTHER AWARDS

TONY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE THEATER
Sheldon Harnick, Marshall W. Mason

SPECIAL TONY AWARD
National Endowment for the Arts, Miles Wilkin

REGIONAL THEATER TONY AWARD
Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, NJ

ISABELLE STEVENSON TONY AWARD
Brian Stokes Mitchell

TONY HONORS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE THEATRE
Seth Gelblum, Joan Lader, Sally Ann Parson

The Tony Awards will go on tonight as planned, but look for host James Corden to dedicate the evening to the Orlando victims, survivors, and families. The Tonys just Tweeted as much, and it’s sure to be a somber occasion especially with so much of the LGBT community a huge part of the theater. What I’d like to see is guests and celebs talking about stopping gun violence now. How can this go on and on? It’s beyond unacceptable.

Our hearts are heavy for the unimaginable tragedy that happened last night in Orlando. (1/2)

— The Tony Awards (@TheTonyAwards) June 12, 2016

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those affected. The Tony Awards dedicate tonight's ceremony to them. (2/2)

— The Tony Awards (@TheTonyAwards) June 12, 2016

Barbra Streisand will be promoting a lot of new things tomorrow night on the Tony Awards: her upcoming tour, her maybe movie of “Gypsy,” and a new album of duets with actors who aren’t really singers.

The Sony-Columbia press release for “Encores: Movie Partners Sing Broadway” calls her The greatest star to ever come out of Broadway.”

Six time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, as well as Ethel Merman, and dozens of others, might differ with that statement. Streisand hasn’t been in a Broadway show in 50 years.

For “Encores: Movie Partners Sing Broadway,” Streisand chose a bunch of Hollywood stars who aren’t really known for their singing. Anne Hathaway is known for it, of course. But Alec Baldwin? Daisy Ridley? Melissa McCarthy? Chris Pine? Wait– Daisy Ridley, who’s been in one movie, “The Force Awakens”?

There are others besides Hathaway who fall into the category of Hollywood People Who Dabble in Singing: Hugh Jackman, Jamie Foxx, Seth MacFarlane, Antonio Banderas.

And Streisand has exhumed Anthony Newley for “Who Can I Turn to (When Nobody Needs Me?)”

Streisand has eschewed all traditional singers, people known for singing, hit singers. The only person in this category that really missed was William Shatner.

Release date is August 26th. Streisand will likely appear on “Jimmy Fallon”– maybe all summer.

Here is some of the press release:

All artists featured on “ENCORE: Movie Partners Sing Broadway” have achieved international success. Below are a few highlights from their esteemed careers, along with information on their respective songs on the album:

“At The Ballet.” With Anne Hathaway and Daisy Ridley. From “A Chorus Line,” Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and Pulitzer Prize. In referring to “At The Ballet,” composer Marvin Hamlisch said that “the song set the tone for all the music in the show; once the song was written, the creators understood the shape and color of the piece as a whole.”

Anne Hathaway: Actress, singer, Academy Award winner for her role in Les Misérables, winner of Golden Globe Award, Emmy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award.

Daisy Ridley: Starred as Rey in STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS – the highest-grossing film of 2015. She will continue her role as Rey in STAR WAS: EPISODE VIII, scheduled for release in December 2017.

“Loving You.” With Patrick Wilson. From Stephen Sondheim’s “Passion.” “Passion” opened on Broadway in 1994 and was the winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical.

Patrick Wilson: Actor and singer who began his career starring in Broadway musicals. Two-time Tony Award nominee, Golden Globe Award nominee and Emmy Award nominee. Starred in the major motion picture adaption of Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera and the television series “Fargo.”

“Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)?” With Anthony Newley. From “The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd” – a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.

Anthony Newley: Legendary actor, singer, and songwriter. As a recording artist he enjoyed a dozen Top 40 songs on the UK Singles Chart between 1959 and 1962, starred on Broadway in “Stop The World – I Want To Get Off” and “The Roar Of The Greasepaint – The Smell Of The Crowd.” Best Film Score Academy Award nominee for film score for WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989. Grammy Award winner for Song of the Year for “What Kind Of Fool Am I.”

“The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened.” With Alec Baldwin. From “Road Show.” “Road Show is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman.

Alec Baldwin: Actor, producer, comedian, Broadway star, winner of two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards. Columnist for Huffington Post, podcast host.

“Any Moment Now.” With Hugh Jackman. From an unproduced version of “Smile.” Music by Marvin Hamlisch; book and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.

Hugh Jackman: Stage and screen star, known for roles ranging from WOLVERINE, Jean Valjean in LES MISERABLES , Tony Award winning portrayal of Peter Allen in “The Boy From Oz,” and host of the Tony Awards and Academy Awards.

“Anything You Can Do.” With Melissa McCarthy. From “Annie Get Your Gun.” Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. The 1946 Broadway production was a hit and the musical had long runs in both New York and London and spawned revivals, a 1950 film version and television versions.

Actress, comedian, writer, fashion designer and producer. Known for roles on television shows “Gilmore Girls” and “Mike & Molly,” host on “Saturday Night Live,” and films BRIDESMAIDS – which garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, IDENTITY THIEF, THE HEAT, TAMMY, ST. VINCENT, and the action comedy SPY – for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. She is set to star in the 2016 re-boot of GHOSTBUSTERS.

“Pure Imagination.” With Seth MacFarlane. Written for the motion picture WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY – a musical version of the beloved Roald Dahl book. Written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. Featured in hit West End Stage Musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” set to open on Broadway in 2017.

Seth MacFarlane: Actor, filmmaker, singer, and creator of “Family Guy,” co-creator of “American Dad!” and “The Cleveland Show,” writer-director of TED and TED 2. Emmy Award winner, Webby Award Winner for Film & Video Person of the Year. As a singer he has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. Host of Academy Awards and executive producer of “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.”

“Take Me To The World.” With Antonio Banderas. From “Evening Primrose.” “Evening Primrose” is a musical with book by James Goldman and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It was originally written for television and is based on a John Collier short story published in 1951.

Antonio Banderas: Actor, director, producer. He began his acting career in a series of films by director Pedro Almodóvar and starred in films as diverse as PHILADELPHIA, EVITA, THE MASK OF ZORRO, SPY KIDS and SHREK. Banderas appeared on Broadway to great acclaim in “Nine” – winning the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards and nominated for a Tony Award.

“I’ll Be Seeing You”/ “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Your Face.” With Chris Pine. From “Right This Way”/ “My Fair Lady.” “Right This Way” opened in 1938. “I’ll Be Seeing You” became the unofficial anthem of WWII, later recorded by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee and dozens more. “My Fair Lady” is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The musical’s 1956 Broadway production was a momentous hit, setting a record for the longest run of any major musical theater production in history.

Chris Pine: Known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the most recent STAR TREK reboot series. Starred in THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2, UNSTOPPABLE, HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 and he played Cinderella’s Prince in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical INTO THE WOODS.

“Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” With Jamie Foxx. From “The Sound of Music.” “The Sound of Music” is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The original Broadway production, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened in 1957 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It was adapted as a 1965 film musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Jamie Foxx: Actor, singer, comedian, Academy Award winner as Best Actor for his role in RAY. Also winner of BAFTA Award and Golden Globe. Foxx is also a Grammy winner. He and Kanye West scored a #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Gold Digger.”

Additional Streisand tracks available on the Target deluxe edition:

“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.” From “Too Many Girls” which opened on Broadway in 1939 starring Desi Arnaz. The film version starred Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and they credited the production for bringing them together as a couple.

“Not A Day Goes By.” From Tony nominated “Merrily We Roll Along.” Book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim

“Fifty Percent.” From “Ballroom.” “Ballroom” is a Tony nominated musical with book by Jerome Kass and music by Billy Goldenberg and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Based on the 1975 Emmy Award-winning television drama “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom.”

“Losing My Mind.” From “Follies.” “Follies” is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The Broadway production opened on April 4, 1971, directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, and with choreography by Bennett. The musical was nominated for eleven Tony Awards and won seven.

Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160609/377784

SOURCE Columbia Records