The nominees for the 2023 Tony Awards were announced Tuesday morning, May 2, and one production stood out from the rest.
Some Like It Hot, a musical that re-imagines the classic comedy film about two musicians who dress in drag to escape their responsibilities, received an impressive 13 nominations – the only title to receive double-digit nods. The show dominated the list of nominees, positioning itself as a strong contender for many of the awards.
Following closely behind Some Like It Hot are three other musicals – & Juliet, Shucked, and New York, New York – which received nine nominations each. All four of these titles are in the running for Best Musical.
Kimberly Akimbo, which some experts have touted as a frontrunner for months, also received a nomination for Best Musical, making it a strong contender for the award. Additionally, Akimbo is tied with the revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with eight nominations each.
Many familiar faces from the theater world are back with opportunities to win Tonys.
Actors Ben Platt, Audra McDonald, Annaleigh Ashford, and Brian d’Arcy James are among the favorites, and some could add to their trophy shelves. Hollywood bigwigs are also joining in on the fun this year, as some often do, with stars including Jessica Chastain, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sean Hayes earning nominations as well.
The 2023 Tony Awards are Sunday, June 11, 2023. They will air live on CBS from New York City. Ariana DeBose will host the show for the second year in a row.
Here is the full list of nominees.
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
Best Book of a Musical
David West Read, & Juliet
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
David Thompson & Sharon Washington, New York, New York
Robert Horn, Shucked
Matthew López & Amber Ruffin, Some Like It Hot
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Almost Famous
Music: Tom Kitt
Lyrics: Cameron Crowe & Tom Kitt
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
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
There isn't a great deal of originality in Jamie Wax's new play, Call Me Izzy, but it may well mark the first time a white porcelain toilet has been featured so prominently in a Broadway production.
The 90-minute, one-woman show opens in the bathroom of a mobile home, situated in a trailer park in rural Louisiana, where Isabelle "Izzy" Scutley (Jean Smart, Hacks) spends much of her time, scribbling on sheets of toilet paper with a mascara pen. Poetically, she describes the various shades of blue produced by the disinfectant tablets that she gingerly drops in the tank. To her, they are beautiful. To her husband, Ferd, not so much.
The late Thomas Wolfe was wrong. His famous novel and quote "you can't go home again" was meant to invoke a feeling that the glory days of youth cannot be recreated later in life. Often, it's a painful truth. Fans old enough to recall the 1960s ring-a-ding-ding heydays of Las Vegas and New York's Copacabana, however, should once again relive fond memories at Broadway's Circle in the Square, home to the biographical musical Just in Time.
Jonathan Groff, who took home a Tony award last season for the hugely praised revival of Merrily We Roll Along stars as Bobby Darin, a pop singer who rose to prominence in 1958 and continued to wow audiences through the sixties with hit songs, a movie career that included an Academy Award nomination, a relationship with fellow singer, Connie Francis (Gracie Lawrence), and a marriage to one-time co-star Sandra Dee (Erika Henningsen).
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.