Joaquina Kalukango wins Tony Award for commanding performance in ‘Paradise Square’

Joaquina Kalukango won the Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical on Sunday, earning the honor for her commanding and emotional portrayal of a determined bar owner in “Paradise Square,” set in Civil War-era lower Manhattan. The musical features the latest buzzed-about performance from Kalukango, a rising Broadway star who was also nominated at the 2021 Tony Awards for her role in “Slave Play,” but did not win.