2023 Tony Award Nominations
The Tony Award nominees for this year were announced on Tuesday morning for what some are calling the “best Broadway season in years.” The Tony Awards ceremony will be aired on June 11 on CBS & Paramount+ live from the United Palace Theatre in Washington Heights. While many shows were nominated, I will be highlighting just a few of the top nominees, all of which are still running on Broadway.
if you see any shows you may be interested in, please do not hesitate to reach out to me about booking your next trip to the Great White Way!
Some Like It Hot
Some Like it Hot - Photo by Marc J. Franklin
Leading the pack this year with a total of 13 nominations is Some Like it Hot, the musical based on the classic film of the same name. Some of their nominations include: Best Musical, Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Christian Borle & J. Harrison Ghee), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Kevin Del Aguila), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (NaTasha Yvette Williams), Best Direction of a Musicval and Best Choreography (both Casey Nicholaw).
Creatives:
Director & Choreographer: Casey Nicholaw
Book: Amber Ruffin & Matthew Lopez
Music: Marc Shaiman
Lyrics: Scott Whitman & Marc Shaiman
Show Synopsis:
Set in Chicago when Prohibition has everyone thirsty for a little excitement, Some Like It Hot is the rollicking story of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they’re on the run as the newest members of the swingingest big band ever to cross the country. Can they hide in plain sight without completely losing themselves? Or will the mob, the truth, and maybe even love itself finally catch up to them?
& Juliet
& Juliet - Photo by Matthew Murphy
Coming in second with a total of 9 nominations is the fun new jukebox musical & Juliet. Some of their nominations include: Best Musical, Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Lorna Courtney), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Betsy Wolfe) & Best Choreography (Jennifer Weber).
Creatives:
Director: Luke Sheppard
Book: David West Read
Choreographer: Jennifer Weber
Music & Lyrics: Max Martin (& Various Artists)
Orchestrator & Arranger: Bill Sherman
Show Synopsis:
Created by the Emmy®-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & Juliet asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way.
Juliet’s new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name, including Since U Been Gone‚ Roar, Baby One More Time, Larger Than Life‚ That’s The Way It Is, and Can't Stop the Feeling—all from the genius songwriter/producer behind more #1 hits than any other artist this century. Break free of the balcony scene and get into this romantic comedy that proves there’s life after Romeo. The only thing tragic would be missing it.
Shucked
Shucked - Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman
Also with a total of 9 nominations this year is the new musical comedy, Shucked! Some of their nominations include: Best Musical, Best Featured Actor (Kevin Cahoon & Alex Newell) & Best Direction (Jack O’Brien).
Creatives:
Director: Jack O’Brien
Book: Robert Horn
Music & Lyrics: Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally
Choreographer: Sarah O’Gleby
Show Snyopsis:
What do you get when you pair a semi-neurotic, New York comedy writer with two music superstars from Nashville? A hilarious and audacious farm-to-fable musical about the one thing Americans everywhere can’t get enough of: corn. Shucked is the new musical comedy that proves sometimes tearing down a few walls, rather than growing them, is the only way to preserve our way of life. Shucked is about to turn Broadway on its ear and offer a kernel of hope for our divided nation.
A Doll’s House
A Doll’s House - Photo by Emilio Madrid
Moving onto plays, the revival of Henrik Ibsen’s classic - A Doll’s House - starring Jessica Chastain is among the top nominated plays with a total of 6 nominations. Some of their nominations include: Best Revival of a Play, Best Leading Actress in a Play (Jessica Chastain), Best Featured Actor in a Play (Arian Moayed) and Best Direction (Jamie Lloyd).
Creatives:
Director: Jamie Lloyd
Playwright: Henrik Ibsen
Adaptation: Amy Herzog
Show Synopsis:
Nora Helmer, a childlike wife and mother accustomed to an existence built around her husband Torvald, comes to confront the truth of her marriage, in Henrik Ibsen's groundbreaking 1879 play.
Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain stars in this thrilling reinvention of Ibsen’s A Doll's House. Directed by Tony nominee Jamie Lloyd, one of contemporary theater’s most revolutionary auteurs, and adapted by acclaimed playwright Amy Herzog, this new production makes freshly relevant a story that shocked audiences and brought forth a new era of theater.
Life of Pi
Life of Pi - Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Life of Pi is a new play based on the best selling book of the same name. It has a total of 5 nominations including: Best Direction (Max Webster), Best Costume Design of a Play (Tim Hatley, Nick barnes & Finn Caldwell) & Best Scenic Design of a Play (Tim Hatley & Andrzej Goulding).
Creatives:
Director: Max Webster
Original Novelist: Yann Martel
Playwright: Lolita Chakrabarti
Scenic, Costume & Puppet Design: Tim Hatley, Finn Caldwell & Nick Barnes
Show Synopsis:
After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy name Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?
Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt - Photo by Joan Marcus
One of the most talked about plays of the season, Leopoldstadt is a new one act play with a cast of 38. It has a total of 6 nominations including: Best Play, Best Featured Actor in a Play (Brandon Uranowitz) & Best Direction (Patrick Marber).
Creatives:
Director: Patrick Marber
Playwright: Tom Stoppard
Scenic Design: Richard Hudson
Lighting Design: Neil Austin
Show Synopsis:
Vienna in 1900 was the most vibrant city in Europe, humming with artistic and intellectual excitement and a genius for enjoying life. A tenth of the population were Jews. A generation earlier they had been granted full civil rights by the Emperor, Franz Josef. Consequently, hundreds of thousands had fled from the Pale and the pogroms in the East and many found sanctuary in the crowded tenements of the old Jewish quarter, Leopoldstadt.
