Darren Criss won the third consecutive tony for the old “glee”

Joy The fact that three games in a row at the Tonys.

When Darren Criss won a Tony Award on Sunday evening for the best performance of an actor in a leading role in a musical for his turn in Maybe a happy endingThe veteran star has become the third straight line Joy Alum to win a trophy in the biggest Broadway evening. He followed hot in the heels of Jonathan Groff, who won his first Tony last year for Shuntfully, we drive (And he was nominated this year in the same category as Criss for Just in time), and Alex Newell, who won the best star actor in a musical for Pulled in 2023.

While the springboard of large and small screens on the scene is more busy than ever, the victories deepened the validation of Ryan Murphy and his well-loved Fox Musical TV series, which took place from 2009 to 2015. So much that Out published a detailed overview of 12 Joy Stars who have won Tonys over the years (some of them before playing on the successful series). Murphy, who was not available to comment this week, has long been congratulated for razor skills in the location, development and education of talents. Often, this work leads to awards for its stable stable.

This list includes Sarah Paulson, a longtime veteran of the Ryan Murphy universe, who won an Emmy, Sag Award, Golden Globe and countless criticism prices for one of her shows. She graduated on stage, where she won a Tony last year for her work Appropriate In a category that also included another Murphy collaborator, Jessica Lange. Murphy and Lange previously collaborated in the production of Great White Way Long day of travel at nightFor which she won a Tony in 2016. The show itself, produced by Murphy, received a total of seven nominations, including the best renewal of a room.

Two years later, Murphy made an impression on Broadway when he set up a new production of THE Group boys At the New York Booth Theater to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original start of the room. Production with Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Brian Hutchinson, Michael Benjamin Washington, Robin de Jesús and Tuc Watkins. He won a Tony for the best renewal of a room.

About at the same time as the renewal race on Broadway, The ball ball danced his way on the stage. The musical – with music by Matthew Sklar, a book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin and Beguelin’s words – centered on a high school student in a conservative Indiana who wants to bring his girlfriend to the ball. After the move is refused, a troop of Broadway stars descends on the stage to rally behind the student and fight for his right to attend the ball with his girlfriend. Murphy adapted the show for the screen by bringing Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, Ariana Debose, Jo Ellen Pellman and Keegan-Michael Key for the walk. Murphy also adapted Larry Kramer’s play The normal heart For the screen with Bomer, Groff, Mark Ruffalo, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Joe Mantello and Julia Roberts.

Return to Joy of all this. While Criss has won its price, stock market Joy The veterinarian Lea Michele was sitting in the audience. She attended the Tonys with the artists Aaron Tveit (who auditioned for the role of Finn on Joy) and Nicholas Christopher. The trio will be featured this fall in the musical renewal of Chess to Shubert Theater. With music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice, Abba, Chess offers a new book by Dopesick Creator Danny Strong with Michael Mayer on board to direct.

With Michele ready to go on stage during the next season of Tony, there is a chance Joy could be four in a row if the Funny girl Star was to triumph at the Tony Awards 2026. This would be the ultimate moment in fiction fiction, because Rachel Berry de Michele won a tony in the Joy Final of the series to play in a fictitious musical by Broadway Jane Austen sings.