A cocktail party was held on June 3, 2019 at the Sofitel New York Hotel to celebrate the season's Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre and Special Award recipients.

"[17] The playwrights included James Graham (Ink), Jez Butterworth (The Ferryman), Tarell Alvin McCraney (Choir Boy), Taylor Mac (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus) and Heidi Schreck (What the Constitution Means to Me).

[21] During the next karaoke break was a performance of "96,000" from In the Heights by the upcoming film's Anthony Ramos who plays Usnavi, who was soon duetting with Christopher Jackson, who originated the role of Benny.

[20] Toward the end of the show he approached Pose's Billy Porter, who garnered media attention for his red and pink haute couture gown upcycled from Kinky Boots' curtains, to deliver what Corden said was an incredible performance of "Everything's Coming up Roses" from Gypsy,[20] which received a standing ovation from the roughly 6,000 attendees.

[23] The non-competitive Special Tony Award was presented to Rosemary Harris, Terrence McNally and Harold Wheeler for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

[27] Special Tony Awards were presented to the late Marin Mazzie, music director Jason Michael Webb, and Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company, creator of the gorilla in King Kong among others.

[29] The Hollywood Reporter columnist David Rooney remarked, "The host started strong and had one sharp musical interlude mid-show, but elsewhere delivered strained comedy bits that felt familiar, safe and thematically generic.

"[17] The New York Times theatre critic Mike Hale commented, "But after his verbal dexterity enlivened an overcrowded and bland opening number that did little to showcase the season's musicals, the material continually failed him, whether it was a tortured audience-participation gag about putting on a loser's face for the cameras, or a tortured audience-participation gag about generating some rap-style beefs between Broadway stars.

"[30] Daniel D'Addario from Variety wrote, "The quality of showmanship — the simple sense of taking joy in a production having been brought across well — seemed painfully absent from a broadcast that has little other reason to exist.

Many, many people who watch the Tonys never have seen and never will see a nominated show in Manhattan; for that audience, a production brought off well before the cameras is the ceremony's point vastly more than is a list of winners.

"[33] Theatre critic Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times remarked, "James Corden sprinkled in crowd-pleasing pokes at annoying audience members' phones ringing during shows, how expensive Broadway tickets have become and how low the industry's paychecks and the CBS telecast's ratings tend to be.

[43] Broadway actor Cynthia Erivo performed "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King as images of theatre personalities who died in the past year were shown in the following order.