The Tony Awards are Broadway’s biggest night. Hosted by Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles, the 2018 ceremony on Sunday night is slated to be a wild one—after all, this was the year that SpongeBob Squarepants made the transition from kid-friendly cartoon to family-friendly Broadway musical, and Mean Girls reinforced its cultural relevancy when Tina Fey adapted it for the stage. It only makes sense that in the past year, not only did the stars of Broadway themselves show up for one another in the audience, but major Hollywood celebrities made their pilgrimages to various New York theaters to see what all the fuss was about. It would appear that just about everyone from Beyoncé to Oprah to Harry Styles couldn’t resist taking advantage of a backstage photo opportunity with Broadway’s best and brightest. Since most people are not permitted to just waltz right backstage to shake hands with Bette Midler or Ben Platt, these celebrities had to share their run-ins on Instagram. Here, the best backstage moments from Tonys past.
1
Beyoncé visiting Ben Platt backstage at Dear Evan Hansen in September 2017.
2
Andy Cohen and Amy Sedaris pose outside the August Wilson Theatre in honor of Mean Girls in April 2018.
3
Olivia Wilde backstage at her own play, 1984, in July 2017.
4
Lupita Nyong’o and Angela Bassett went backstage at Children of a Lesser God in April 2018.
5
Harry Styles saw Ben Platt perform in Dear Evan Hansen at the Music Box Theater in September 2017.
6
Amy Schumer and Bridgett Everett took a selfie backstage at the Schubert Theatre after a performance of Hello, Dolly! in March 2018.
7
Tina Fey and her family visit Joshua Groben after a performance of The Great Comet of 1812 at the Imperial Theatre in May 2017.
8
Sarah Jessica Parker snapped a photo of Nathan Lane’s copy of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America while in his dressing room at the Neil Simon Theatre in May 2018.
9
Busy Philipps and Joshua Jackson had an impromptu Dawson’s Creek reunion backstage at Studio 54 in May 2018.
10
Katie Couric posed with Chris Evans (and his mustache) at the Second Stage Theater in between performances of Lobby Hero in March 2018.
11
Hilary Duff brought her son to see SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical at the Palace Theatre in May 2018.
12
Gayle King and Oprah proudly showed off their playbills at the Schubert Theatre during Bette Midler’s performance in Hello, Dolly! in May 2017.
13
Sarah Paulson shared a photo of her A Doll’s House, Part 2 playbills and a couple cocktails at the John Golden Theatre.
14
Josh Groban and Mandy Patinkin posed together backstage in June 2017.
15
Billy Eichner posed in the audience before a performance of Hello, Dolly! at the Schubert Theater in February 2018.
16
Darren Criss visited Matt Bomer backstage at Booth’s Theatre after a performance of The Boys in the Band in June 2018.
