Broadway Women Lead The Way

"Leading lady" took on a whole new meaning at the 1998 Tony Awards.

For the first time, women won Broadway's top prizes for direction - Julie Taymor, for her work on the Disney musical The Lion King and Garry Hynes for the Irish drama The Beauty Queen of Leenane.

The Lion King also was named best musical Sunday, but Beauty Queen was upended for best play by Art, a three-character comedy written by a woman, Yasmina Reza.

"It is another barrier coming down," Hynes said. "This situation reminds people about the fact that there are women working in the theater. I hope it will help them."
Said Taymor, "I see little girls who come up to me or write to me and say, 'I want to be a director.' If it can inspire young women to have someone who is doing it, I am very happy."

It was Disney, now solidly established as a big Broadway player, which came off best. Beside Taymor's triumphs for direction and costume design, The Lion King, based on the enormously successful animated film, swept the production prizes sets, costumes, and lighting, as well as choreography.

In the coming season, even more movies are expected to be adapted to the New York stage.

As Disney theater executive, Tom Schumacher, summed it up when accepting the best-musical prize for The Lion King: "Julie Taymor is a goddess for her courage, passion, and genius."

Written by Michael Kuchwara