Tony Awards – live: Jodie Comer, Sean Hayes win big as Hamilton star makes ‘Grand Wizard’ joke about DeSantis

Broadway’s biggest night has drawn to a close as the 2023 Tony Awards were delivered on Sunday (11 June) night.

The annual ceremony has recognised the biggest achievements in Broadway theatre since 1947.

This year’s Tony Awards took place at New York’s United Palace. Proceedings were led by Oscar-winning performer Ariana DeBose who went un-scripted due to the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike.

The revival of the classic musical Some Like It Hot led the pack with 13 nominations. In the plays category, Ain’t No Mo’, A Doll’s House, and Leopoldstadt were the most nominated, with six nods apiece.

Of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without performances from some of the productions up for awards.

Those attending enjoyed performances from the casts of Camelot, Into the Woods, & Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo, New York, New York, Parade, Shucked, Some Like It Hot and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Key Points

• Winners list – live

• Ariana DeBose addresses writers’ strike

• Denée Benton calls Governor Ron DeSantis ‘the current Grand Wizard of Florida'

That’s all folks! Here are your winners...

04:16 , Tom Murray

The 76th annual Tony Awards has drawn to a close. You can find a full list of all the night’s winners and their fellow nominees here:

The full list of Tony Awards 2023 winners

‘Kimberly Akimbo’ wins the final Tony Award of the night for Best Musical

04:15 , Tom Murray

Kimberly Akimbo, which follows a teenage girl suffering from a disease that causes her to age four and a half times as fast as normal, closes out the night with its win for Best Musical.

Sean Hayes wins Best Lead Actor in a Play

04:00 , Tom Murray

Will & Grace star Sean Hayes took home the Tony award for his role in Good Night, Oscar.

“This must be the first time an Oscar has won a Tony,” the actor quipped onstage.

Doug Wright’s play follows a 1958 episode of The Tonight Show, where host Jack Paar has Oscar Levant on as a guest comedian.

ICYMI: Alex Newell and J Harrison Ghee became the first openly non-binary actors to win Tony Awards

03:50 , Tom Murray

Just moments after Alex Newell became the first non-binary actor to win a Tony, J Harrison Ghee joined them.

Newell won Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for their role in Shucked while Ghee won Best Lead Actor in a Musical thanks to their portrayal of a gender-questioning musician in Some Like It Hot.

Read more:

Alex Newell and J Harrison Ghee become first openly non-binary actors to win a Tony

Tom Stoppard’s ‘Leopoldstadt' wins Best Play

03:44 , Tom Murray

Sir Tom Stoppard takes home the award for Best Play for Leopoldstadt – his intimate look at “a prosperous [Viennese] Jewish family who had fled the pogroms in the East”.

All four of Stoppard’s own grandparents were Jews murdered by Nazis in concentration camps.

Advocating for writers, Stoppard told the Tony Awards crowd: “I’ve noticed the theatre writer getting progressively devalued in the food chain… Writers are the sharp end of the inverted pyramid.”

Jodie Comer takes it!!

03:28 , Tom Murray

Everyone’s favourite Scouser Jodie Comer has beaten out stiff competition from Jessica Chastain to win the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play.

She stars in Prima Facie, written by Suzie Miller, in which plays defence barrister Tessa who is raped by a colleague.

She scooped the Olivier Award for Best Actress for the play’s West End run back in April.

“Comer is alternately steely and impassioned, noble and embarrassed, flustered and composed. It’s a remarkably agile performance,” The Independent said in its four-star review of the play.

Her win comes after Comer was forced off stage this week due to New York’s poor air quality.

J Harrison Ghee wins Best Lead Actor in a Musical

03:17 , Tom Murray

Just moments after Alex Newell became the first non-binary actor to win a Tony, we have another! J Harrison Ghee wins for their role in Some Like it Hot.

‘Parade’ wins Best Revival of a Musical

03:08 , Tom Murray

Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond previously performed ‘This Is Not Over Yet’ from the musical.

‘Hamilton’ star makes KKK joke about Ron DeSantis

02:50 , Tom Murray

Hamilton star Denée Benton just called Governor Ron DeSantis “the current Grand Wizard of Florida”.

The Grand Wizard was, of course, the national leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

Wow, that is punchy! The Tony Awards crowd loves it though.

Alex Newell wins Best Featured Actor in a Musical

02:40 , Tom Murray

Alex Newell – one of the first openly non-binary performers to be nominated at the Tony Awards – wins for her role as Lulu in Shucked.

Suzan Lori-Parks’ ‘Topdog/Underdog’ wins Best Revival of a Play

02:20 , Tom Murray

20 years after its initial debut, Topdog/Underdog was revived on Broadway, directed by Kenny Leon and starring Corey Hawkins and Candyman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

The play tells the story of Lincoln and Booth, “two brothers whose names, given to them as a joke, foretell a lifetime of sibling rivalry and resentment”.

Miriam Silverman wins Best Featured Actress in a Play

02:01 , Annabel Nugent

Miriam Silverman wins her role in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. She used her time onstage to deliver a message in solidarity with the striking WGA members.

“Lorraine Hansberry was a visionary and a genius, and it is a divine, divine honor to speak her words every night,” she added of the late playwright.

‘Please welcome whoever walks on stage next'

01:56 , Tom Murray

A nice little moment of unscripted-ness there. DeBose can’t read the writing scrawled on her arm so asks the audience to “please welcome whoever walks on stage next”.

Michael Arden wins Best Direction of a Musical

01:51 , Tom Murray

Parade director Michael Arden had an impassioned speech about the LGBT+ community when collecting his award for Best Direction of a Musical.

He told the audience: “When I was a kid, I was called the F word more times than I can remember. Well, now I’m a f***** with a Tony!”

ICYMI: How Ariana DeBose opened the Tony Awards

01:47 , Tom Murray

Presenter Ariana DeBose made a show-stopping entrance by leading an intricate dance number to open the show.

She also made fun of the fact that this year’s show was entirely unscripted due to the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.

Read all about it here:

‘I am unscripted – buckle up’: Ariana DeBose opens Tony Awards with passionate speech

Patrick Marber wins Best Directing of a Play for ‘Leopoldstadt'

01:44 , Annabel Nugent

ICYMI: Anna Uzele performs ‘New York, New York'

01:42 , Tom Murray

Uzele got one hell of a reception for this rendition of “New York, New York”. Check it out here:

Bonnie Milligan wins Best Featured Actress in a Musical

01:39 , Tom Murray

An emotional Bonnie Milligan wins Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Aunt Debra in Kimberly Akimbo, which is based on Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 comedy of the same name.

“I want to tell everybody that maybe doesn’t look like what the world tells you you should look like: that doesn’t matter, because guess what, it’s right. You belong somewhere,” she says in her acceptance speech.

Brandon Uranowitz wins Best Featured Actor in a Play

01:32 , Tom Murray

“My imposter syndrome is on fire,” Brandon Uranowitz tells the Tony Awards crowd as he wins for his role in Leopoldstadt.

The Sir Tom Stoppard play debuted in London’s West End in 2020. It follows “a prosperous Jewish family who had fled the pogroms in the East”.

In a moment of undiluted LGBT+ pride, Uranowitz tells the audience: “When a child tells you who they are, believe them!”

Follow along with the rolling list of winners here

01:20 , Tom Murray

The televised ceremony has just gotten started but a slew of trophies have already been awarded.

Many production awards, such as Best Original Score and Best Choreography, were announced in a pre-awards show ceremony.

Follow along here live as we update you with all the winners from tonight’s show.

The full list of Tony Awards 2023 winners

Lots of chat about the writer’s strike early on

01:14 , Tom Murray

The Tony Awards very nearly didn’t happen tonight due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike that has crippled America’s entertainment industry.

As a result, the Tony Awards this year are unscripted – something that presenter Ariana DeBose immediately poked fun at in her opening segment.

Lots of interest in Lupita Nyong’o’s outfit...

01:07 , Annabel Nugent

Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o has many people talking about her daring red carpet outfit for the Tony Awards.

The Kenyan-Mexican actor, 40, was pictured wearing a silver breastplate that was actually modeled on her own body.

On Instagram, Nyong’o explained how the bold piece came to be.

“Misha Japanwala is a Pakistani artist and fashion designer, whose work is rooted in the rejection and deconstruction of external shame attached to one’s body. In her artistic process, she creates a realistic and true record of a person’s body as an act of resistance and celebration, and an insistence on being allowed to exist freely in our bodies,” Nyong’o wrote, adding that she was “honoured” and “humbled” to wear the piece for the award show.

The queen has arrived...

Monday 12 June 2023 00:52 , Tom Murray

15 minutes to go...

Monday 12 June 2023 00:47 , Tom Murray

Hello folks and thank you for joining us tonight for our live coverage of the Tony Awards! Some big names including plenty of British exports are up for the top gongs tonight, such as Killing Eve star Jodie Comer and the plays Prima Facie, Leopoldstadt and & Juliet.

Stay tuned...

What shows have received the most nominations at the Tonys?

Monday 12 June 2023 00:00 , Nicole Vassell

In the play category, the production with the most nominations is Jeremy O Harris’ Slave Play, which received 12 in 2020. The provocative show also holds the record of the play with the most losses, as it ended up winning none.

For musicals, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton received 16 nominations in 2016 and won 11, the highest number for an individual show that year.

WATCH: Tony Awards 2022: Prince and Paris Jackson pay tribute to their late father

Sunday 11 June 2023 23:40 , Nicole Vassell

MJ: The Musical, a show about the life and career of Michael Jackson, received 10 nominations at last year’s ceremony.

In the end, it won four: Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Myles Frost), Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Best Sound Design of a Musical and Best Choreography.

Watch the moment Prince and Paris Jackson paid tribute to their late father at the awards in 2022 below:

What does a Tony Award look like?

Sunday 11 June 2023 23:20 , Nicole Vassell

The Tony Award trophy consists of a spinnable medallion, with faces portraying an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks. It is mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel.

It stands at around 24cm tall (9.5 inches) and weighs 1.6kg (3.5 lbs).

Here’s Cynthia Nixon displaying hers proudly in 2006, after her Best Actress in a Play win for Rabbit Hole.

WATCH: Ariana DeBose performs musical monologue at the Baftas

Sunday 11 June 2023 23:00 , Nicole Vassell

Effervescent performer Ariana DeBose will provide hosting duties for tonight’s show for the second year in a row.

Earlier this year, she created a viral moment with her musical monologue for the Baftas, in which she uttered the timeless words: “Angela Bassett did the thing.”

Here is a look back at the host’s unforgettable performance:

The show must go on: Putting on a Tony Awards telecast during a writers' strike

Sunday 11 June 2023 22:15 , Nicole Vassell

Putting on a live telecast with no writers, no script and no rehearsal is no easy feat.

Due to the Writers Guild of America strike, no writers in the union were permitted to write material for this year’s Tony Awards.

Mark Kennedy looks into how the show will come together below:

The show must go on: Putting on a Tony Awards telecast during a writers' strike

WATCH: Alex Newell’s performance of ‘Independently Owned’ from Shucked

Sunday 11 June 2023 21:15 , Nicole Vassell

Alex Newell is nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for their portrayal of whiskey entrepreneur Lulu in the new Broadway musical, Shucked.

The former Glee actor makes history as the first non-binary performer to be nominated for a Tony Award.

Their performance of the song “Independently Owned” is frequently highlighted as a standout moment from the show and reliably receives standing ovations from the audience.

Watch the performance that continuously has crowds on their feet below.

How did Jodie Comer’s performance in Prima Facie go down in the UK?

Sunday 11 June 2023 20:15 , Nicole Vassell

Before its Broadway transfer, Prima Facie ran at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre from April to June 2022.

Killing Eve star Jodie Comer takes on the show alone as a lawyer who frequently defends rapists, but is forced to call her whole belief system into question when she is raped by a fellow lawyer.

The play has four nominations at tonight’s awards: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Jodie Comer), Best Sound Design, Best Lighting Design and Best Scenic Design for a Play.

Last year, The Independent gave the show four stars, with particular praise going to Comer’s performance.

Here’s Ava Wong Davies’ review in full:

Jodie Comer is extraordinary in the striking if tidy Prima Facie – review

WATCH: Ariana DeBose performs from Andrew Garfield’s lap in 2022

Sunday 11 June 2023 19:15 , Nicole Vassell

Who and what won at last year’s Tonys?

Sunday 11 June 2023 18:15 , Nicole Vassell

For the 2022 season, 29 of the 34 productions on Broadway stages received nominations.

Michael R Jackson’s A Strange Loop won Best Musical, while Stefano Massini’s The Lehman Trilogy bagged the coveted award for Best Play.

In terms of individual performers, Myles Frost, Joaquina Kalukango, Deirdre O’Connell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Phylicia Rashad were among those to take home some of the night’s top acting prizes.

Here’s a look back at the full list of last year’s winners:

See the full list of winners at the Tony Awards 2022

How is the writers’ strike affecting the Tony Awards?

Sunday 11 June 2023 17:15 , Nicole Vassell

Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been on strike since Tuesday 2 May, with more than 11,500 writers across film, television and other entertainment forms downing pens until their terms are met by Hollywood executives.

This means that, in contrast to other years, no writers in the union were on hand to write a script for tonight’s show.

Lead host Ariana DeBose, and other presenters for the night, will be forced to use their improvisational skills to entertain the viewers and keep the show moving, with no scripted teleprompter.

At one point, the show itself was up in the air, before the WGA confirmed that they would not be picketing at the ceremony.

This year’s nominations – in full

Sunday 11 June 2023 16:15 , Nicole Vassell

Funny Girl star Lea Michele and 2022 Lead Actor in a Musical winner Myles Frost announced the nominees in a ceremony on Tuesday 2 May.

The revival of Some Like it Hot leads the pack with 13 nominations. For the plays, it’s currently a three-way tie between Ain’t No Mo’, A Doll’s House and Leopoldstadt, with six nominations each.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

See the full list of nominations for this year’s Tony Awards

How to watch the Tony Awards

Sunday 11 June 2023 15:20 , Nicole Vassell

This year’s Tonys will kick off at 8pm ET at New York’s United Palace.

Viewers in the US will be able to watch the ceremony as it happens on CBS and Paramount Plus.

Isobel Lewis has the full details of how to enjoy the awards from afar:

Everything you need to know about the 2023 Tony Awards