76th Tony Awards

“I'm live and unscripted. You're welcome. So to anyone who may have thought that last year was a bit unhinged, to them, I say, ‘Darlings, buckle up.’”
—76th Tony Awards host Ariana DeBose during her opening monologue[1]

On May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.[6] On May 12, the WGA denied the American Theatre Wing's request for a waiver to allow the CBS telecast, thereby placing the ceremony's broadcast in uncertainty.[7] (CBS, along with the other major broadcast networks, are represented by the AMPTP in collective bargaining.) The Tony Awards Management Committee held an emergency meeting on May 15 to discuss the future of the ceremony. The meeting, however, was unproductive, with sources saying the committee would make another effort to convince the WGA for a strike waiver.[8] The options were to either hold a non-televised press conference on the original date—akin to the response of the 65th Golden Globe Awards to the 2007–08 WGA strike—or to postpone the ceremony until the strike is resolved—similar to the 74th Tony Awards, which were postponed by more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The same day as the emergency meeting, the WGA still once again denied the waiver but announced they would not picket the event, and the broadcast was set to continue as planned.[10]

The Tonys ceremony ultimately went on unscripted. Before the show began, host Ariana DeBose revealed to the audience the only words that would appear on the teleprompter that night: "Please wrap up" (the advisory to award winners to close their acceptance speech). The broadcast's opening performance number began with DeBose paging through a script of blank pages before launching into a dance number that was backed by music but free of lyrics.[1] Lin-Manuel Miranda initially wrote an opening number for the awards, but it was not performed because of the strike.[11][12]

The following shows and performers performed on the ceremony's telecast:[13]

• "Cheering for Me Now" / "Theme from New York, New York" – New York, New York
• "C'est Moi" / "The Lusty Month of May" / "If Ever I Would Leave You" / "Camelot (Reprise)" – Camelot
• "Roar" – & Juliet
• "Some Like It Hot" – Some Like It Hot
• "It Takes Two" – Into the Woods
• "Hot Honey Rag" – Ariana DeBose and Julianne Hough
• "This Is Not Over Yet" – Parade
• "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• "Sweet Caroline" – A Beautiful Noise
• "Wishing You Were Here Somehow Here Again" (In Memoriam) – Joaquina Kalukango
• "Anagram" – Kimberly Akimbo
• "Corn" / "Independently Owned" / "Somebody Will" / "Woman of the World" – Shucked
• "Don't Rain On My Parade" – Funny Girl

The nominees for the 76th Tony Awards were announced on May 2, 2023 by Lea Michele and Myles Frost.[15][16][17] The year's nominations included several non-binary performers, with J. Harrison Ghee (for Some Like It Hot) and Alex Newell (for Shucked) becoming the first two non-binary performers to be nominated for performances in the same year and ultimately winning in their respective categories,[18] while others, such as Justin David Sullivan (from & Juliet), opted out of Tony consideration due to their gendered categories, urging awards shows to "expand their reach".[19] On their nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, Newell noted the genderless nature of the term "actor", hence their decision to be included for Tony consideration.[20]

The musical Some Like It Hot, based on the classic 1959 Billy Wilder film of the same name, led the nominations, with 13 nominations,[21] while Ain't No Mo' and Leopoldstadt tied for the most nominations for a play, each receiving six.[22]

The decision to go unscripted won general acclaim. Many reviewers gave praise to the event for its ability to persist and make an entertaining show in spite of the fallout from the WGA strike. Neal Justin of the Star Tribune gave praise to DeBose's performance in the show and also added that "theater lovers may no longer be able to see that chandelier drop at the Majestic Theater in New York, but the Tonys ceremony on Sunday evening proved there was still plenty of reasons for viewers to make the trip East."[29] Charles, McNulty of the Los Angeles Times applauded the recognition to writers made throughout the event and stated that without pre-written scripts, "theater people were allowed to be theater people." McNulty also gave praise to the event for its social justice messaging.[30] Writing for The Washington Post, Peter Marks described the show as "akin to a kitchen accidentally creating a great dish by leaving out a classic ingredient," and echoed similar statements by McNulty, adding that the show demonstrated to actors, audiences, and writers to "let theater be theater."[31] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter described the show as a much-needed victory for Broadway theater.[32]

Though the show was generally praised, some criticized the unscripted show; Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post dismissed the unscripted joint as "sleepy," and "cringeworthy," adding that the show lacked any of the typical banter and skits due to lack of written lines.[33] Matthew Huff of Parade, though generally complimentative of the show, criticized the awkward transitions that resulted from going unscripted.[34]

During the airing of the event, viewers on Paramount+ complained that instead of seeing the 76th Tony Awards, they instead were shown footage of the previous years' Tony Awards. It was later revealed that this was due to confusion over Paramount+ subscription levels; the 76th Tony Awards were only available to premium users, leaving those who weren't only with the 75th. The distinction was not made in any of the Tony Awards' press release, resulting in viewers and news outlets being unaware of that the 2023 version was a premium only service. Further confusion ensued as DeBose hosted both the 2022 and 2023 events.[35]

The 76th Tony Awards accumulated 4.3 million viewers, earning it the title as the most viewed Tony Awards since 2019. According to CBS, based on data from Paramount+, the show was also the most live streamed show ever, with a 13% streaming increase compared to 2022. Act one became the most watched live event in Pluto TV's history.[36] The increase was notable in a time where while viewership for live U.S. television events are declining, several viewership increases occurred during the 2023 editions of the Super Bowl, Oscars and Grammys. While the 76th Tony Awards was the third least viewed Tony Awards show since records began, it is so far the largest viewership for the Tony Awards since its switch to live coast-to-coast U.S. telecasts the year prior, and marked the first time the Tony Awards experienced consecutive years of ratings increase since the 63rd Tony Awards in 2009.[37]