HaveUHeard

Despite a robust theater season, an air of uncertainty hung over the 2023 Tony Awards as they kicked off Sunday in New York.

For weeks, it appeared as though the 76th annual ceremony was in danger of being canceled or postponed indefinitely because of the ongoing writers strike, which represents screenwriters and playwrights. Eventually, the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing ― the two organizations that present the Tonys ― agreed to keep the event script-free to avoid being picketed, thus requiring some improvisation from host Ariana DeBose and other presenters.

Fortunately, the Broadway community is well-equipped at navigating the pressure of a live performance, as evidenced by this year’s dazzling array of nominated plays and musicals.

This year’s most-nominated production is “Some Like It Hot,” a jazz-infused musical adaptation of the classic 1959 movie, which is up for 13 awards, including best musical and a historic acting honor for J. Harrison Ghee, who is nonbinary. Also expected to win big are the new musicals “Shucked” and “Kimberly Akimbo,” with nine and eight nominations, respectively.

The nominees also included some impressive star turns, too. Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain made her Broadway debut in a stunningly spare production of “A Doll’s House,” while Josh Groban cast all traces of his pop musician persona aside to portray the bloodthirsty title character in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

Other standout performances included Sean Hayes as “America’s first publicly dysfunctional celebrity” Oscar Levant in “Good Night, Oscar,” and Jodie Comer, who plays a lawyer who specializes in defending men accused of sexual assault who becomes the victim of an assault herself in “Prima Facie.”

Check out the full list of nominees and winners below.

Best Book of a Musical
“& Juliet,” David West Read
“Kimberly Akimbo,” David Lindsay-Abaire
“New York, New York,” David Thompson and Sharon Washington
“Shucked,” Robert Horn
“Some Like It Hot,” Matthew López and Amber Ruffin

Best Original Score
“Almost Famous,” Cameron Crowe and Tom Kitt
“Kimberly Akimbo,” Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire
“KPOP,” Helen Park and Max Vernon
“Shucked,” Brandy Clark and Shane McAnall
“Some Like It Hot,” Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
Brandon Uranowitz, “Leopoldstadt”
David Zayas, “Cost of Living”

Best Performance an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play Nikki Crawford, “Fat Ham”
Crystal Lucas-Perry, “Ain’t No Mo’”
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”
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”
Bonnie Milligan, “Kimberly Akimbo”
NaTasha Yvette Williams, “Some Like It Hot”
Betsy Wolfe, “& Juliet”

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, “Prima Facie”
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
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 WINNER: Brigitte Reiffenstuel, “Leopoldstadt”
Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell, “Life of Pi”
Dominique Fawn Hill, “Fat Ham”
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 WINNER: Tim Lutkin, “Life of Pi” Neil Austin, “Leopoldstadt”
Natasha Chivers, “Prima Facie”
Jon Clark, “A Doll’s House”
Bradley King, “Fat Ham”
Jen Schriever, “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”
Ben Stanton, “A Christmas Carol”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
WINNER: Natasha Katz, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

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”
Natasha Katz, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

Best Sound Design of a Play
Jonathan Deans & Taylor Williams, “Ain’t No Mo’”
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”
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”
Patrick Marber, “Leopoldstadt”
Stevie Walker-Webb, “Ain’t No Mo’”
Max Webster, “Life of Pi”

Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, “Parade”
Lear deBessonet, “Into the Woods”
Casey Nicholaw, “Some Like It Hot”
Jack O’Brien, “Shucked”
Jessica Stone, “Kimberly Akimbo”

Best Choreography
WINNER: Casey Nicholaw, “Some Like It Hot” Steven Hoggett, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Susan Stroman, “New York, New York”
Jennifer Weber, “& Juliet”
Jennifer Weber, “KPOP”

Best Orchestrations
WINNER: Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter, “Some Like It Hot” Bill Sherman and Dominic Fallacaro, “& Juliet”
John Clancy, “Kimberly Akimbo”
Jason Howland, “Shucked”
Daryl Waters & Sam Davis, “New York, New York”

Best Play
“Ain’t No Mo’”
“Between Riverside and Crazy”
“Cost of Living”
“Fat Ham”
“Leopoldstadt”

Best Musical
“& Juliet”
“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”
“Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog”

Best Revival of a Musical
“Into the Woods”
“Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot”
“Parade”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”