Ariana DeBose, the Oscar-winning star of West Side Story, returned as emcee for the second year in a row to host the Tony Awards.
But in the weeks leading up to last night, there were several points in which it looked like the Tonys might not take place at all after a strike by the Writers Guild of America. But union members decided not to picket the show when producers agreed to have an unscripted ceremony.
DeBose kicked the off the evening by opening a script with blank pages
“I’m live and unscripted. You’re welcome.
To anyone who may have thought that last year was a bit unhinged, to them I say,
‘darlings, buckle up.’”
Some Like It Hot’s J. Harrison Ghee and Shucked’s Alex Newell became the first nonbinary performers to win Tonys, for Best actor in a Musical and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.
Newell said,
Thank you for seeing me Broadway.
I should not be up here as a queer, non-binary, fat, Black, little baby from Massachusetts.”
Alex Newell gets emotional accepting the #TonyAwards for best performance by a featured actor pic.twitter.com/fnjWbOQ5e6
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 12, 2023
J. Harrison Ghee becomes the second openly nonbinary actor to win at the #TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/9DJ0D63Yrs
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 12, 2023
Fighting back tears, Ghee echoed that message in their speech, saying,
For every trans, nonbinary, gender non-conforming human — whoever was told they couldn’t be seen, this is for you.”
Tony winners used their speeches to voice their solidarity with the striking writers. Variety says that,
Kimberly Akimbo, the off-beat story of a teenage girl suffering from a condition that causes her to age rapidly, won five prizes in all, the most of any production.
Leopoldstadt, a multi-generational saga that follows a tight-knit Jewish community through a bloody period of European history, won four prizes, including the statue for best play. The fifth show by Tom Stoppard to get best play award, a Tony record for playwrights.
Parade director Michael Arden’s acceptance speech got bleeped when he won for Best Direction of a Musical. He was attempting to reclaim an anti-gay slur when his remarks were censored. Parade is a 1998 musical about the lynching of a Jewish man by an antisemitic mob.
Arden said,
Growing up, I was called the F-word more times than I can count.
But now, I’m a faggot with a Tony.”
The director of ‘Parade,’ Michael Arden, speaks to the queer community during his #TonyAwards acceptance speech pic.twitter.com/1KpiWxlqEf
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 12, 2023
Presenter Denée Benton blasted Gov. Ron DeSantis at one point as the “Grand Wizard” of Florida, an allusion to the leadership of the Ku Klux Klan.
Out, gay Broadway and Hollywood legend Joel Grey, and John Kander, who with Fred Ebb created Cabaret and Chicago, each received Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Grey’s daughter Jennifer presented him the award and Grey closed his speech with the final lines from Cabaret.
Auf wiedersehen!
A bientot! Good night.”
In Cabaret, which is set in 1930s Berlin, those words read as a cautionary sign of the horrors to come but last night they were in celebration.
Jennifer Grey tears up while presenting her father Joel Grey with the Lifetime Achievement Award at Tonys https://t.co/WSCsNAcroN
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) June 12, 2023
Here’s the complete list of Tony nominees and winners:
Best Play
Ain’t No Mo’
Between Riverside and Crazy
Cost of Living
Fat Ham
WINNER: Leopoldstadt
Best Musical
& Juliet
WINNER: Kimberly Akimbo
New York, New York
Shucked
Some Like It Hot
Best Revival of a Play
August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson
A Doll’s House
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
WINNER: Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog
Best Revival of a Musical
Into the Woods
Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
WINNER: Parade
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Book of a Musical
& Juliet David West Read
WINNER: Kimberly Akimbo David Lindsay-Abaire
New York, New York David Thompson & Sharon Washington
Shucked Robert Horn
Some Like It Hot Matthew López & Amber Ruffin
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Almost Famous Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Cameron Crowe & Tom Kitt
WINNER: Kimberly Akimbo Music: Jeanine Tesori Lyrics: David Lindsay-Abaire
KPOP Music & Lyrics: Helen Park & Max Vernon
Shucked Music and Lyrics: Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally
Some Like It Hot Music: Marc Shaiman Lyrics: Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog
Corey Hawkins, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog
WINNER: Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Wendell Pierce, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Jessica Chastain, A Doll’s House
WINNER: Jodie Comer, Prima Facie
Jessica Hecht, Summer, 1976
Audra McDonald, Ohio State Murders
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Christian Borle, Some Like It Hot
WINNER: J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot
Josh Groban, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Brian d’Arcy James, Into the Woods
Ben Platt, Parade
Colton Ryan, New York, New York
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sara Bareilles, Into the Woods
WINNER: Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo
Lorna Courtney, & Juliet
Micaela Diamond, Parade
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Jordan E. Cooper, Ain’t No Mo’
Samuel L. Jackson, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson
Arian Moayed, A Doll’s House
WINNER: Brandon Uranowitz, Leopoldstadt
David Zayas, Cost of Living
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Nikki Crawford, Fat Ham
Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ain’t No Mo’
WINNER: Miriam Silverman, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living
Kara Young, Cost of Living
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Kevin Cahoon, Shucked
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo
Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like It Hot
Jordan Donica, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
WINNER: Alex Newell, Shucked
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Julia Lester, Into the Woods
Ruthie Ann Miles, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
WINNER: Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo
NaTasha Yvette Williams, Some Like It Hot
Betsy Wolfe, & Juliet
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, Prima Facie
WINNER: Tim Hatley & Andrzej Goulding, Life of Pi
Rachel Hauck, Good Night, Oscar
Richard Hudson, Leopoldstadt
Dane Laffrey & Lucy Mackinnon, A Christmas Carol
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
WINNER: Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York
Mimi Lien, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Michael Yeargan & 59 Productions, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Scott Pask, Shucked
Scott Pask, Some Like It Hot
Best Costume Design of a Play
Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell, Life of Pi
Dominique Fawn Hill, Fat Ham
WINNER: Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Leopoldstadt
Emilio Sosa, Ain’t No Mo’
Emilio Sosa, Good Night, Oscar
Best Costume Design of a Musical
WINNER: Gregg Barnes, Some Like It Hot
Susan Hilferty, Parade
Jennifer Moeller, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Clint Ramos & Sophia Choi, KPOP
Paloma Young, & Juliet
Donna Zakowska, New York, New York
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Leopoldstadt
Natasha Chivers, Prima Facie
Jon Clark, A Doll’s House
Bradley King, Fat Ham
WINNER: Tim Lutkin, Life of Pi
Jen Schriever, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Ben Stanton, A Christmas Carol
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Ken Billington, New York, New York
Lap Chi Chu, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Heather Gilbert, Parade
Howard Hudson, & Juliet
Natasha Katz, Some Like It Hot
WINNER: Natasha Katz, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Sound Design of a Play
Jonathan Deans & Taylor Williams, Ain’t No Mo’
WINNER: Carolyn Downing, Life of Pi
Joshua D. Reid, A Christmas Carol
Ben & Max Ringham, A Doll’s House
Ben & Max Ringham, Prima Facie
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada, New York, New York
John Shivers, Shucked
Scott Lehrer & Alex Neumann, Into the Woods
Gareth Owen, & Juliet
WINNER: Nevin Steinberg, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Direction of a Play
Saheem Ali, Fat Ham
Jo Bonney, Cost of Living
Jamie Lloyd, A Doll’s House
WINNER: Patrick Marber, Leopoldstadt
Stevie Walker-Webb, Ain’t No Mo’ Max Webster, Life of Pi
Best Direction of a Musical
WINNER: Michael Arden, Parade
Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Jack O’Brien, Shucked
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo
Best Choreography
Steven Hoggett, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
WINNER: Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Susan Stroman, New York, New York
Jennifer Weber, & Juliet
Jennifer Weber, KPOP
Best Orchestrations
Bill Sherman and Dominic Fallacaro, & Juliet
John Clancy, Kimberly Akimbo
Jason Howland, Shucked
WINNER: Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter, Some Like It Hot
Daryl Waters & Sam Davis, New York, New York
(via Variety)
