The personal overlapped with the political in last night’s Tony Awards — as is usually the case in the best award ceremonies.

“Hello, Dolly!” star Bette Midler got one step closer to EGOT and, despite the wrap-up music, refused to leave the stage until she had said her piece. “Indecent” helmer Rebecca Taichman was genuinely shocked when her name was called for Best Direction of a Play — and acknowledged how few women have won the prize before her. And both Midler and Taichman as well as Best Featured Actress in a Play winner Cynthia Nixon and presenter Sally Field used their time onstage to implicitly or directly address the current political climate.

In short, the awards were exactly what theater should be: fun, relevant, and unafraid to be controversial.

Here are the highlights from the 71st Tony Awards:

Bette Midler Finally Takes Home the Trophy

Midler has steadily acquired multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and Grammy awards, in addition to receiving two two Oscar nominations. However, despite the special prize she won in 1974, Midler’s never received an official Tony nomination. This year, she not only received a nod but a win. She was named Best Actress in a Musical for her role in “Hello, Dolly!”

“Revival is an interesting word,” Midler observed during her acceptance speech. “It means something is near death and was brought back to life. But ‘Hello, Dolly!’ never went away. It’s in our national DNA … this is a classic, come and see it. This thing has the ability to lift your spirits in these terrible, terrible times.”

“Hello, Dolly!” may never have really left the public consciousness, but it certainly came roaring back to the front of people’s minds because of Midler. The production broke records before it even opened. In September, it had already banked $9.08 million in ticket sales, setting a new record at the Shubert Theatre and for all of Broadway first-day ticket sales. The show also earned the Shubert its biggest week ever in just seven performances

“Indecent’s” Rebecca Taichman Wins Best Director — and Pays Tribute to Her Predecessors

Written by Paula Vogel, “Indecent” examines the controversial 1923 play “God of Vengeance,” which was closed by police due to its depiction of lesbianism. Taichman used her moment onstage to comment on how “Indecent” resonates with audiences today. “It’s a story about love in a perilous time, and speaking out and making art when one is at great danger,” she emphasized.

Later on backstage, Taichman explained that part of her obvious surprise when accepting the award was due to the fact that very few women have won Best Director. “I was always such an unlikely candidate for it,” she said, per the LA Times. “I remember with great clarity in 1998 when Julie Taymor and Garry Hynes won [for ‘The Lion King’] and I thought, ‘Wow, women can win.’”

The win “made it visible, and making it visible suddenly made it possible,” she continued. “The amazing thing is that it encourages women of every color … and viewpoint to make theater that tell stories that deeply matter to them.”

Cynthia Nixon and Sally Field Go to Bat for the Arts

“There are people who eat the Earth and all the people on it and there are all the people who just stand around and watch them do it,” Nixon said at the podium, quoting “Little Foxes” writer Lillian Hellman during her acceptance speech.

“We have to fund artists not just in New York and California but all over the country,” the “Sex and the City” alumna emphasized backstage. “You don’t have funding tied to political points of view. You fund people because they’re good artists, not because they support your point of view.”

Sally Field, a nominee, also advocated for art as she served as presenter. Referencing the American Theater Wing, which began in WWI, she said the organization will continue to “illuminate the darkness with the blazing truth of art.”

A full list of the female Tony winners is below. List adapted from Variety.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play:
Laurie Metcalf, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical:
Bette Midler, “Hello, Dolly!”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play:
Cynthia Nixon, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical:
Rachel Bay Jones, “Dear Evan Hansen”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical:
Mimi Lien, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”

Best Costume Design of a Play:
Jane Greenwood, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”

Best Direction of a Play:
Rebecca Taichman, “Indecent”

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award:
Baayork Lee

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre:
Nina Lannan (with Alan Wasser)