2023 Tony Awards Live Blog: Who Won, Who Lost, What Does it All Mean? [UPDATING LIVE]

The 76th Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, June 11 in a two-part telecast staged at the United Palace in Washington Heights. Nominations were announced on May 2, 2023. Of the 38 eligible productions from the 2022-2023 Broadway season, 29 reaped bids across 26 competitive categories.

13 of the 15 eligible musicals and musical revivals earned at least one nomination. A new stage adaptation of the 1959 film “Some Like It Hot” leads all productions with 13 nominations. Its tally includes a nomination for the top honor of Best Musical and four bids for its performers. Three other new musicals are tied for second place with nine nominations: “& Juliet,” “New York, New York,” and “Shucked,” all earning Best Musical bids. Best musical frontrunner “Kimberly Akimbo” nabbed eight total bids. Of the six eligible Musical Revivals, the late Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” leads with eight, including Best Revival and three acting nominations; “Parade” and “Into the Woods” tied with six, while “Camelot” is right behind with five.

On the play side, three productions tied for most-nominated with six: “Ain’t No Mo’,” “A Doll’s House,” and “Leopoldstadt.” A trio of other works is close behind at five bids apiece: Pulitzer Prize-winners “Cost of Living” and “Fat Ham,” plus the Olivier-winning “Life of Pi.” The nominators certainly spread the wealth in the play categories, too, citing 16 of the total 23 new dramas and revivals.

Below, follow along with our 2023 Tony Awards live blog with updates throughout the four-plus-hour show, including all the winners.

SEE 2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories

6:30pm Welcome to the 76th annual Tony Awards! Julianne Hough and Skylar Astin host “Act One,” beginning right now.

6:36pm BEST ORIGINAL SCORE — Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire (“Kimberly Akimbo”)

Composer Jeanine Tesori and lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire share the trophy for Best Score for “Kimberly Akimbo.” This marks Tesori’s sixth nomination and second win, having recently won for “Fun Home,” when she and collaborator Lisa Kron made history as the first all-female writing team to win the Best Score trophy. This is also Lindsay-Abaire’s sixth nomination, but he had never won before. He is also eligible for Best Book for “Kimberly Akimbo.”

6:39pm BEST COSTUME DESIGN (PLAY) — Brigitte Reiffenstuel, (“Leopoldstadt”)

“I’m very honored,” says Brigitte Reiffenstuel, who picks up her first Tony on her first nomination for the Tom Stoppard play. She ranked second in our combined odds, and this early victory bodes well for the production’s chances in the above-the-line categories later in the ceremony.

6:42pm BEST COSTUME DESIGN (MUSICAL) — Gregg Barnes (“Some Like It Hot”)

Over the course of his career, Gregg Barnes has earned nine Tony nominations, and with this win tonight for “Some Like It Hot,” he now has three trophies, too. The costume designer previously won for “The Drowsy Chaperone” and the most recent revival of the Sondheim musical “Follies” — which is one of this blogger’s absolute favorite musicals and productions. In his acceptance speech, he recalls his first time meeting “Some Like It Hot” director Casey Nicholaw.

6:45pm BEST ORCHESTRATIONS — Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter (“Some Like It Hot”)

Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter win for their period, brassy orchestrations for the new musical “Some Like It Hot.” Rosen is a past winner for “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and nominee for last year’s “A Strange Loop,” while Carter is celebrating his first Tony nomination and victory. This is the second consecutive victory for “Some Like It Hot” tonight.

6:48pm REGIONAL THEATRE TONY AWARD — Pasadena Playhouse

6:56pm BEST SCENIC DESIGN (MUSICAL) — Beowulf Boritt (“New York, New York”)

Prolific scenic designer Beowulf Boritt wins the second Tony of his career for the new musical “New York, New York.” His previous victory was nine years ago for the play “Act One.” He has six lifetime nominations, including one for another John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Susan Stroman musical, “The Scottsboro Boys.” In his acceptance speech, Boritt called the new musical “a beautiful love letter to this great city.” He also took the opportunity to advocate for inclusivity in the industry, especially for women.

7:00pm BEST SCENIC DESIGN (PLAY) — Tim Hatley and Andrzej Goulding (“Life of Pi”)

This award for “Life of Pi” is shared by two designers: Tim Hatley for the scenic design, and Andrzej Goulding for the video design. Hatley was also nominated for his costume design for the novel-to-stage adaptation. Both Hatley and Goulding won Olivier Awards for their work on this production, but Goulding won as a part of the lighting design team. This is Goulding’s first Tony win and Hatley’s second.

7:02pm LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD — John Kander

Lin-Manuel Miranda presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to John Kander, his collaborator this season on the new musical “New York, New York,” which mostly uses material written between Kander and his late co-writer Fred Ebb. Kander, 96 years young, accepts the honor, calling it a “very big deal. When your own community honors you, it’s very humbling and a little bit scary.” He credits his long-time collaborator Ebb and all of his other “incredible” creative collaborators that he’s worked with throughout his life. He also thanks his parents, Albert Stephenson, and music itself.

7:09pm BEST CHOREOGRAPHY — Casey Nicholaw (“Some Like It Hot”)

This is Casey Nicholaw’s second Tony Award win, and it arrives 12 years after his first for directing “The Book of Mormon” back in 2011. He takes home the prize in part for a meticulously and precisely staged chase sequence. A prolific choreographer and director, Nicholaw has 13 career nominations, including two tonight; he could win again for his direction of “Some Like It Hot,” too. This is the third “Some Like It Hot” victory of the evening, picking up trophies it was out front to win.

7:11pm EXCELLENCE IN THEATRE EDUCATION AWARD — Jason Zembuch Young, South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida

7:20pm — BEST LIGHTING DESIGN (MUSICAL) — Natasha Katz (“Sweeney Todd”)

After picking up a Tony just last year in this category for “MJ The Musical” and two nominations this year for “Some Like It Hot” and “Sweeney Todd,” Natasha Katz takes home the prize for her evocative work on the Stephen Sondheim musical. This is the designer’s eighth Tony from an impressive 17 total nominations, winning previously for “Aida,” “The Coast of Utopia,” “Once,” “The Glass Menagerie,” “An American in Paris,” “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” and “MJ.” “I’m just sorry that Stephen Sondheim is not here,” shares the designer in her acceptance speech, crediting its director Tommy Kail. She also shouts out Ken Billington, her fellow nominee this year for “New York, New York,” who she calls a mentor.

7:24pm BEST LIGHTING DESIGN (PLAY) — Tim Lutkin, (“Life of Pi”)

Tim Lutkin is a first-time Tony nominee this year for “Life of Pi” and now a Tony winner. He previously earned an Olivier Award for his work on this stage adaptation, and has another for his lighting design of play “Chimerica.” This is the second prize for “Pi” tonight, after picking up Scenic Design.

7:25pm ISABELLE STEVENSON AWARD — Jerry Mitchell

“Sweeney Todd” Tony nominee Annaleigh Ashford presents the Isabelle Stevenson Award to Jerry Mitchell, creator of Broadway Bares, which has raised over $25 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. He begins his acceptance speech joking, “I’m not nervous for the first time in my life!” He gives a very moving speech in honor of the friends and colleagues who he lost in the 80s to AIDS, which inspired his work on Broadway Bares.

7:32pm BEST SOUND DESIGN (PLAY) — Carolyn Downing (“Life of Pi”)

Although some users thought this category could go to “A Doll’s House,” category frontrunner Carolyn Downing takes home her first Tony on her first nomination for her work on the epic “Life of Pi.” Downing was previously nominated for an Olivier for her work on this production, but unlike many of her fellow designers, she did not take home the award across the pond. This is the third Tony victory for “Pi,” as it almost swept the four play design categories.

7:35pm BEST SOUND DESIGN (MUSICAL) — Nevin Steinberg (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”)

“Sweeney Todd” picks up a surprise trophy in this category, as it ranked fourth in our combined odds with only 99 users correctly predicting Nevin Steinberg‘s victory. The win makes a great deal of sense, though, since Steinberg was tasked with bringing the original orchestrations of “Sweeney Todd” to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. This is Steinberg’s second Tony victory, previously winning for “Hadestown.” Including those two wins, the sound design has nine career nominations.

7:36pm LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD — Joel Grey

Jennifer Grey presents her father, Joel Grey, with the Lifetime Achievement Award, calling him her “hero.” 91 years old, he kicks off his speech crooning his famous opening line from “Cabaret,” “Willkommen.” He remembers going to the theatre with his mother at the age of nine “mesmerized, hypnotized, thrilled to the bone.” He remarks on the honor of being recognized alongside his friend and collaborator John Kander, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this evening.

7:44pm At the conclusion of this “Act One” portion of the ceremony, “Some Like It Hot” and “Life of Pi” lead all shows with three trophies apiece. “Sweeney Todd” is next in line with two, winning an unexpected award for Sound Design. “Kimberly Akimbo,” “Leopoldstadt,” and “New York, New York” each have one win as well. Although “Some Like It Hot” leads “Kimberly” in this early tally, all of its victories have been anticipated, so it doesn’t necessarily have an unexpected edge in the Best Musical race. “Sweeney” is outpacing our expectations, though, and with a very tight race for Best Musical Revival, might it topple “Parade”? We will pick this up at 8:00pm for the rest of the telecast on CBS and Paramount+!

8:00pm Welcome to the second part of the 76th annual Tony Awards ceremony! If you weren’t able to watch “Act One” on Pluto TV, check out the live blog above for each of the 11 trophies given out. “Some Like It Hot” and “Life of Pi” are both tied with three wins each at this point in the proceedings.

Host Ariana DeBose kicks off the ceremony with a clever (and important) statement, showing a Tonys script with blank pages. The opening number featured a medley of New York-themed songs and brilliant choreography, led by the always-effervescent DeBose. She offers thanks to the members of the WGA and the theatre community who came to a compromise to allow the Tony Awards to go on during the writers’ strike while still showing solidarity with the writers seeking a fair deal.

8:10pm Performance from “New York, New York”

8:22pm BEST FEATURED ACTOR (PLAY) — Brandon Uranowitz (“Leopoldstadt”)

After four Tony nominations in the past decade, Brandon Uranowitz is a first-time Tony winner for Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt.” His previous nominations were for musical “An American in Paris,” musical revival “Falsettos,” play revival “Burn This,” and now his fourth nom and first victory for this epic historical family drama. In his acceptance speech, Uranowitz thanked Stoppard, director Patrick Marber, and his cast and crew after giving a shout-out to fellow nominee Jordan E. Cooper from “Ain’t No Mo’.”

How incredible is it to see B-roll footage of the performances as they announce each acting nominee! Let’s hope they continue the rest of the evening.

8:27pm BEST FEATURED ACTRESS (MUSICAL) — Bonnie Milligan (“Kimberly Akimbo”)

Quickly known as one of the best belters on Broadway, Bonnie Milligan takes home her first Tony on her first nomination for “Kimberly Akimbo.” Her show-stopping role as Debra is only her second Broadway credit, having only previously appeared in “Head Over Heels” back in the 2018-2019 season. She originated this role Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre in 2022. She thanks composers Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire for the “incredible gift” of a musical, especially as it has helped her mourn the loss of her father. This is the second trophy of the night for “Kimberly Akimbo.”

8:30pm Performance from “Camelot”

8:40pm BEST DIRECTOR (PLAY) — Patrick Marber (“Leopoldstadt”)

Patrick Marber has four Broadway credits to his name over the past quarter century and he wins his first Tony tonight for helming “Leopoldstadt.” He previously collaborated with Stoppard on the 2018 revival of “Travesties,” for which he was nominated for a Tony, and he had one previous nomination for “Closer,” a drama he also wrote. This is the third victory for “Leopoldstadt,” which is on its way to a Best Play trophy. The ever-witty Marber takes aim at the Tony Awards director for not including shots of each director’s face as they were announcing the nominees. He calls Stoppard his “hero,” “inspiration,” and “great colleague.”

8:44pm BEST DIRECTOR (MUSICAL) — Michael Arden (“Parade”)

This was one of the closest races to call as the directors of the frontrunner for Best Musical and Best Musical Revival faced off, but Michael Arden has prevailed for his reimagining of Jason Robert Brown’s “Parade.” Arden has two prior nominations for his ASL-inclusive “Spring Awakening” and for his Best Musical Revival-winning “Once on This Island,” but this is his first Tony victory. The original 1999 production was directed by legend Hal Prince, but he did not win for it all those years ago. Arden also directed this year’s “A Christmas Carol,” which was nominated for three awards. Arden used his acceptance speech to speak out against intolerance of every kind. This is the first Tony for “Parade” tonight and with this victory, it remains on track to take home Best Musical Revival.

8:46pm Performance from “& Juliet”

8:56pm BEST FEATURED ACTRESS (PLAY) — Miriam Silverman (“The Sign in Sidney Burstein’s Window”)

In one of the more challenging races to call this year, Miriam Silverman pulls off a victory for “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” over our odds-leader Crystal Lucas-Perry. Silverman had the advantage of being in a currently-running production, as well as delivering an acclaimed performance in a role already proven to be appreciated by Tony voters in the past. Indeed, this Lorraine Hansberry play has been staged three times on Broadway, and each time this role of Mavis Parodus Bryson has been nominated for or won the prize: first a win for Alice Ghostley, then a nomination for Frances Sternhagen, and now another victory for Silverman. In her acceptance speech, she gives kudos to her late mother, her father, and playwright Hansberry.

9:00pm Performance from “Some Like It Hot”

9:12pm BEST PLAY REVIVAL — Topdog/Underdog

“Topdog/Underdog” topples “A Doll’s House” for the top play revival honor of the night. While the remounting of Ibsen’s classic had the support of an overwhelming number of our users and lead our odds by a healthy margin, roughly half of our savvy experts and a majority of our editors knew the Pulitzer-winning Suzan-Lori Parks’ play would prevail. The playwright was nominated for the original production back in 2002. Playwright Parks accepted the award on behalf of the production.