Snubs & Surprises at the 2023 Tony Awards

For the most part, the 2023 Tony Awards, which aired live on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday June 11, went as expected.  Kimberly Akimbo, a new musical from composer Jeanine Tesori and lyricist/librettist David Lindsay-Abaire, was the top winner with five awards, including best musical.

Leopoldstadt was the play with the most wins — four, including best play.

Several big names from the recorded music world received came up short on Sunday, though these losses weren’t unexpected. Josh Groban lost best actor (musical) for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Sara Bareilles lost best actress (musical) nod for Into the Woods. Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally lost best original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theatre for Shucked.

Several more record veterans were nominated as producers of best musical contenders that came up short. Max Martin, Dr. Luke, Shellback and veteran music executive Barry Weiss were among the nominated producers of & Juliet. Mariah Carey was among the nominated producers of Some Like It Hot. Jason Owen, Gary Gersh and Sony Music Entertainment were among the nominated producers of Shucked.

For the first time, the winners for lead and featured actor in a musical are both gender non-conforming. J. Harrison Ghee, the lead actor winner for Some Like It Hot, identifies as nonbinary or pansexual. Alex Newell, the featured actor winner for Shucked, identifies as gender non-conforming.

The winners for best revival of a musical and best revival of a play had both lost when the original productions were nominated for best play and best musical. Parade was nominated as best musical in 1999, but lost to Fosse. Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog was nominated as best play in 2002, but lost to Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

Ariana DeBose hosted the Tonys for the second year in a row. The show aired from the historic United Palace in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss produced the show, with Weiss also serving as director.

Here are some of the more notable snubs and surprises of the 2023 Tonys.