The 76th Tony Awards ceremony is all about drama, and we’re not just talking about the Broadway performances being honored during a three-hour show that starts June 11 at 8 p.m. on CBS.
The Awards are named for actress, director and producer, Antoinette Perry, who led the American Theatre Wing from 1940 to 1946. Her most famous work was directing the play Harvey, which later was turned into a Jimmy Stewart movie.
This year’s Tony Awards started making headlines long before the red carpet was primped. The Writers Guild of America is on strike, which throws a wrench into the ceremony because it is a scripted event. The script was complete when the WGA went on strike on May 2 — the same day the Tony Award nominees were announced. Though the words were ready, the WGA asked producers to put on an unscripted show in deference to the strike. While the WGA reached a deal with producers to allow the event to continue, the WGA asked members not to attend the event in New York City. The WGA also asked nominated members to pre-record acceptance speeches or have a non-union member accept the award.
This year’s nominees include popular names, Sara Bareilles (Into the Woods), Josh Groban (Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) and Ben Platt (Parade), as well as veteran choreographer, Susan Stroman (New York, New York). J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot) and Alex Newell (Shucked) became the first two non-binary nominees for performances in the same year. Notably, non-binary performer, Justin David Sullivan (& Juliet), asked to be excluded from consideration because the Tony Awards only have gendered categories.
Anything could happen this year. It’s an unscripted show. There’s tension. There’s intrigue. What can you expect beyond the drama? Singing, dancing and spectacle only Broadway can deliver.
How to Watch the Tony Awards on DIRECTV
Tune into the 76th annual Tony Awards on CBS on June 11 at 8 p.m.
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The Tony Awards Host — Ariana DeBose
DeBose will reprise her role as host of the awards from last year. DeBose is no stranger to the stage, with a Tony nomination for her work in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. The 32-year-old won an Oscar for her role as Anita in West Side Story in 2021. Her other Broadway credits include Hamilton, A Bronx Tale and Pippin.
Biggest Star — Jessica Chastain
As with anything at an awards show, the title of “biggest star” is debatable. Chastain is undoubtedly in the conversation, fresh off winning an Oscar for her role in 2022’s The Eyes of Tammy Faye. She also won a Golden Globe for her 2013 role in Zero Dark Thirty.
Chastain was nominated for a Tony for her star turn in A Doll’s House. The Sacramento native spends most of the play seated in a chair, including during the famous Tarantella dance scene. She told Variety that the decision to stay mostly seated was to echo the constrictions her character faced as a wife and a mother.
‘Some Like It Hot’ Stays Hot
Based on the number of nominees, this year’s top play was the musical version of Some Like It Hot, the 1959 film featuring Marilyn Monroe. The play scored 13 nominations to lead all Broadway shows. Ain’t No Mo‘ and Leopoldstadt both had six nominations, tying for the most this year by a play. KPOP, a musical about Korean pop music, had 24 newcomers to Broadway in its production, the most of any show this past season.
In Memoriam
The Tony Awards will honor a pair of legends who made it big in nearly every show business way. Angela Lansbury, who died last October, made her name as a host of the Tony Awards, taking the lead on five telecasts. Lansbury had one of the most-awarded careers in show business history, with one Oscar, six Tony Awards and six Golden Globes. The longtime Murder She Wrote star was also nominated a stunning 18 times for an Emmy Award and once for a Grammy.
And, of course, the Tony Awards will remember Harry Belafonte, who died in April. He also had a varied show business career, winning three Grammy Awards, an Emmy and a Tony. He won a lifetime achievement Oscar statuette, giving him all major acting awards in the Western Hemisphere. Belafonte was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a Kennedy Center honor in 1989.
Rare Honors
Among performers, only four have won all four major show business awards: an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno were the first to complete the grand slam in 1977. Hayes’ last award was a Grammy, which she earned for her spoken word performance of Great American Documents. Moreno completed the slam with an Emmy for a guest appearance on The Muppet Show in 1977, and she won again in 1978 for an appearance on The Rockford Files.
Setting Records
The all-time record-holder for most Tony Awards for performances is Audra McDonald, who locked down six different awards in four different categories. Lansbury won five competitive awards and received a lifetime achievement Tony. Julie Harris also won five awards and a lifetime achievement nod.
Picking Favorites
Did you have some favorite Broadway shows from the past season? You can bet on your instincts.
Josh Groban is a 4-1 bet to win a cluttered best actor category, according to some betting sites. Justin Cooley is a 7-2 favorite for singing in the musical Kimberly Akimbo. And Jodie Comer (Prima Facie) is a 49-20 favorite in the best actress in a play category, just ahead of Chastain’s 3-1 odds.
But there are no dead-certain picks at the Tony Awards, except this: There will be singing, dancing and … flubbed lines. There’s still that writers’ strike to contend with, after all.
Full List of Tony Awards Nominees
Best New Play
Ain’t No Mo’
Between Riverside and Crazy
Cost of Living
Fat Ham
Leopoldstadt
Best New Musical
& Juliet
Kimberly Akimbo
Continue reading the main story
New York, New York
Shucked
Some Like It Hot
Best Play Revival
A Doll’s House
The Piano Lesson
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Topdog/Underdog
Best Musical Revival
Camelot
Into the Woods
Parade
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Leading Actor in a Play
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Topdog/Underdog
Corey Hawkins, Topdog/Underdog
Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Wendell Pierce, Death of a Salesman
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 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 Akimbo
Best Book of a Musical
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
Robert Horn, Shucked
Matthew López and Amber Ruffin,Some Like It Hot
David West Read, & Juliet
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
John Clancy, Kimberly Akimbo
Jason Howland, Shucked
Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, Some Like It Hot
Bill Sherman and Dominic Fallacaro, & Juliet
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
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
Settle in for a night at the Tony Awards when you have DIRECTV.