Music Studio Recording of "Parade" - Winner of Best Play Revival

 

2023 Tony Awards: ‘Kimberly Akimbo,’ ‘Leopoldstadt,’ ‘Topdog/Underdog,’ ‘Parade’ Win Top Prizes: “Kimberly Akimbo,” the off-beat story of a teenage girl suffering from a condition that causes her to age rapidly, was named best musical. The show 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. Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Topdog/Underdog,” a drama about two African-American brothers living on the economic margins, took home best play revival, while “Parade,” the story of Jewish American Leo Frank’s imprisonment and lynching, was named best musical revival. This spring, “Parade” made national news after members of a neo-Nazi group protested outside the theater on its opening night.

 

 

"Parade's" Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt at New York City Center 

 

 

The victories of “Parade” and “Leopoldstadt,” both of which provide searing dramatizations of the brutal consequences of anti-Jewish bigotry, comes amidst a wave of antisemitic incidents in America. In fact, many of the shows that the Tonys recognized seemed to reflect and comment on the social divisions roiling the world. And many of the winners used their time at the microphone to emphasize the theater’s ability to shine a light on marginalized communities and to create empathy at a moment when it is often lacking. “Theater is the great cure,” Parks said while accepting best play revival.

 

 

Arriving during a heightened moment of national awareness about antisemitism, “Parade” attracted notice early in its Broadway run when a performance was picketed by neo-Nazis. That incident led to an outpouring of support from Broadway’s Jewish community. Platt himself arrived at last night’s Met Gala wearing a Star of David necklace, further driving home the show’s message.

 

 

 “Leopoldstadt” Focuses on Multiple Generations of a Viennese Jewish family 

Winner of Best Play

 

 

“Leopoldstadt,” Tom Stoppard’s epic, highly personal play about multiple generations of a Jewish Viennese family before, during and after the Holocaust, also received six nominations, including an expected nod for best play. Brandon Uranowitz also earned a nod for best actor in a featured role in a play, and Patrick Marber scored a best direction nomination; both are Jewish.

 

 Kimberly Akimbo - Winner of Best New Musical Play

 

 

 

This year’s awards, which honor the best of Broadway, were handed out at the United Palace in Washington Heights, dozens of blocks and several subway stops away from the “Main Stem.” In the weeks leading up to the event, 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 imperiled the broadcast. However, the union’s members decided not to picket the show when its producers agreed to have an unscripted ceremony, a concession that led to a looser, teleprompter-less, often ad-libbed evening. And the labor issues upending the entertainment business seeped into the three-hour show in other ways, with several Tony recipients using their speeches to voice their solidarity with the striking writers. “Writers are the sharp end of the pyramid,” Stoppard said, adding,”Without a script we’re all basically flummoxed.”

 

 

Two reinterpretations of Stephen Sondheim standards, “Into The Woods” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” rounded out the category. The pop singer Josh Groban, whose father was Jewish before converting to his mother’s Christianity, was nominated for playing the lead role in “Sweeney Todd,” while Julia Lester, whose great-grandfather was part of a Yiddish theater in Poland, was nominated for her featured role in “Into the Woods.”

 

 

The play “Good Night, Oscar,” about the Jewish entertainer Oscar Levant’s struggles with mental illness, picked up three nominations, including for lead actors Sean Hayes and Rachel Hauck. “Death of a Salesman,” a new revival of the classic play by Jewish playwright Arthur Miller, also picked up two nominations Jewish actress Jessica Hecht picked up an acting nomination for her lead role in the play “Summer, 1976,” about a lifelong friendship between two women. Hecht is up against several star performers in the category, including Jessica Chastain, Jodie Comer and Audra McDonald.

 

 

Among the other nominees was a modern-day musical reimagining of “Some Like It Hot,” the 1959 cross-dressing comedy. The original movie had plenty of Jewish talent: It was directed by Billy Wilder, co-starred Tony Curtis and Jewish convert Marilyn Monroe, and featured recently deceased Jewish character actor Nehemiah Persoff in a small role. The new musical, by Amber Ruffin and Matthew López, led the pack with 13 Tony nominations including best new musical. Veteran Jewish songwriter Marc Shaiman picked up a nomination for co-writing the show’s score.

 

 

Another new musical based on a movie, “New York, New York,” also built off of Jewish talent: the songwriting duo John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote the music for the original 1977 film, and Kander is co-credited with Lin-Manuel Miranda for additional music on the new film. “New York, New York” received nine nominations, including best new musical.

 

 

The prolific Jewish theater composer Jeanine Tesori had another Broadway hit this year with the musical “Kimberly Akimbo,” which received eight nominations, including one for her music. 

 

 

The nominations were co-announced Tuesday morning by Michele, who has been the talk of Broadway since she replaced Beanie Feldstein as the lead of the “Funny Girl” revival. Feldstein was snubbed at the Tonys last year amid tepid reviews for her performance in the musical about Jewish comedienne Fanny Brice. Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose will be returning for her second stint as host, after a memorable debut last year. 

 

 

Ariana DeBose Opens Tony Awards by Telling Audience “We Don’t Have a Script, You Guys”

 

Ariana DeBose, the Oscar-winning star of “West Side Story,” returned as emcee for the second year in a row. She kicked the off the evening by opening a script with blank pages before launching into a series of songs such as “On Broadway”and “New York State of Mind” that were all blended into one energetically choreographed number. “I’m live and unscripted,” DeBose said of the unorthodox show. “You’re welcome. To anyone who may have thought that last year was a bit unhinged, to them I say, ‘darlings, buckle up.'”

 

 

    Alex Newell                                    J. Harrison Ghee

 

For the first time ever, two nonbinary actors were nominated for Tonys, and they both won. J. Harrison Ghee of the musical "Some Like It Hot" took best actor, and Alex Newell won best featured actor in the musical "Shucked."

 

 

Find the Full List of Tony Awards 2023  Winner and Nominees Below:

 

Best New Play

Ain’t No Mo’

Between Riverside and Crazy

Cost of Living

Fat Ham

Leopoldstadt

 

Best New Musical

& Juliet

Kimberly Akimbo

New York, New York

Shucked

Some Like It Hot

 

Best Leading Actress in a Play

Jessica Chastain – A Doll’s House

Jodie Comer – Prima Facie

Jessica Hecht – Summer, 1976

Audra McDonald – Ohio State Murders

 

Best Leading Actor 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 Leading Actress 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 Leading Actor 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 Featured Actor in a Play

Jordan E Cooper – Ain’t No Mo’

Samuel L Jackson – The Piano Lesson

Arian Moayed – A Doll’s House

Brandon Uranowitz – Leopoldstadt

David Zayas – Cost of Living

 

Best Featured Actress 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 Featured Actor in a Musical

Kevin Cahoon – Shucked

Justin Cooley – Kimberly Akimbo

Kevin Del Aguila – Some Like It Hot

Jordan Donica – Camelot

Alex Newell – Shucked

 

Best Featured Actress 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 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 Akiambo

 

Best Book of a Musical

David West Read – & Juliet

David Lindsay-Abaire – Kimberly Akimbo

Robert Horn – Shucked

Matthew López and Amber Ruffin – Some Like It Hot

David Thompson and Sharon Washington – New York, New York

 

Best Original Score

Almost Famous – music by Tom Kitt; lyrics by Cameron Crowe and Tom Kitt

Kimberly Akimbo – music by Jeanine Tesori; lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire

KPOP – music and lyrics: Helen Park and Max Vernon

Shucked – music and lyrics: Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark

“Some Like It Hot,” music and lyrics: Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

 

Best Choreography

Steven Hoggett – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

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

Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter – Some Like It Hot

Daryl Waters and Sam Davis – New York, New York

 

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Miriam Buether – Prima Facie

Tim Hatley and Andrzej Goulding – Life of Pi

Rachel Hauck – Good Night, Oscar

Richard Hudson – Leopoldstadt

Dane Laffrey and 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=

Scott Pask – Shucked

Scott Pask – Some Like It Hot

Michael Yeargan and 59 Productions – Camelot

 

Best Costume Design of a Play

Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell – Life of Pi

Dominique Fawn Hill – Fat Ham

Brigitte Reiffensutel – Leopoldstadt

Emilio Sosa – Ain’t No Mo’

Emilio Sosa – Good Night, Oscar

 

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Gregg Barnes – Some Like It Hot

Susan Hilferty – Parade

Jodie Comer (Invision)Jennifer Moeller – Camelot

Clint Ramos and Sophia Choi – KPOP

Paloma Young – & Juliet

Donna Zakowska – New York, New York

 

Best Sound Design of a Play

Jonathan Deans and Taylor Williams – Ain’t No Mo’

Carolyn Downing – Life of Pi

Joshua D Reid – A Christmas Carol

Ben and Max Ringham – A Doll’s House

Ben and Max Ringham – Prima Facie

 

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Kai Harada – New York, New York

John Shivers – Shucked

Scott Lehrer and Alex Neumann – Into the Woods

Gareth Owen – & Juliet

Nevin Steinberg – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

 

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Neil Austin – Leopoldstadt

Natasha Chivers – Prima Facie

Jon Clark – A Doll’s House

Bradley King – Fat Ham

Tim Lutkin – Life of Pi

Jen Schriever – Death of a Salesman

Ben Stanton – A Christmas Carol

 

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Ken Billington – New York, New York

Lap Chi Chu – Camelot

Heather Gilbert – Parade

Howard Hudson – & Juliet

Natasha Katz – Some Like It Hot

Natasha Katz – 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

 

 Tony Awards 2023 at the United Palace in NYC - June 11, 2023

 

Myles Frost & Lea Michele Announced this year's nominees