Broadway musical 'The Band's Visit' sweeps 2018 Tony Award

NEW YORK - Broadway musical "The Band's Visit," which tells the story that an Egyptian police orchestra stranded for a night in Israel, swept the Tony Award with 10 trophies on Sunday, including the award for best musical.

The winners of the 72nd Tony Award were revealed at the annual star-studded award gala at New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

The Band's Visit, adapted from a 2007 Israeli film, took home 10 out of the 11 awards it was nominated for this year, including key prizes for its stars such as Katrina Lenk, who plays a sultry Israeli cafe owner, and Tony Shalhoub, the commander of an Egyptian police orchestra.

During the 90-minute show, the musical offers a vision of a world in which people can overcome suspicion and fear to find common humanity.

It was also a big night for the magically theatrical two-part drama "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," who won six awards including the best play.

It was written by British screenwriter and playwright Jack Thorne based on an original new story by Thorne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany.

The play that depicts Harry Potter as a father, struggling with the ordinary challenges of parenting and the extraordinary challenges of doing so as a famous wizard, also won the Tony for costumes, sound, set, lighting and direction.

The ceremony, hosted by the singers Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban, was filled with emotional moments.

A choir of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who survived a mass shooting in February, sang a moving rendition of "Seasons of Love," the anthem of survival from "Rent."

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theater, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theater.

The Tony Awards are considered as the highest US theater honor. It is equivalent to the Academy Awards (Oscars) for film, the Emmy Awards for television, and the Grammy Awards for music.