Sarah Paulson is among 70 first-time nominees this year
Actor Sarah Paulson could soon add a Tony Award to her growing collection of accolades, which already includes a Golden Globe and an Emmy. Paulson is one of this year’s 70 first-time nominees.
“Pinch me is what I feel,” Paulson, who is nominated for her role in “Appropriate,” told CBS News after she received her nomination. “Pinch me. And if this is a dream, I don’t wanna wake up. We all have dreams as children, right? And some of us get to experience them. And I feel like I’m getting to experience it, and it’s really special.”
‘Hell’s Kitchen’ actor Kecia Lewis on what it was like working with Alicia Keys
NBC News’ Joe Fryer sat down with Kecia Lewis after she earned a Tony Award nomination for her role in the Broadway musical “Hell’s Kitchen.”
Lewis also shared what it was like collaborating with Alicia Keys, who wrote the play’s music and lyrics, on a song about police brutality.
How do the Tonys affect ticket sales on Broadway?
The Tonys have a significant impact on the financial success of Broadway shows. Winning the biggest awards of the night has the power to extend the lives of struggling shows or turn already strong sellers into box office juggernauts. Missing out can lead to closing notices for some.
The week after “Leopoldstadt” won the 2023 Tony Award for best new play, its grosses rose 42% from the previous week. “Kimberly Akimbo,” which won the Tony for best new musical, got a 32% box office boost after having had weaker sales in the lead-up to the broadcast.
For those who leave empty-handed, the opportunity to perform on the broadcast can be a vital marketing opportunity. However, without a boost from the Tonys spotlight, some shows tend to shutter in the weeks after the ceremony.
Leslie Odom Jr. shares power of ‘Purlie Victorious’
Leslie Odom Jr., nominated for best leading actor in the buzzy revival of “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch,” hopes audiences can find meanings in this stage production that they might not find on the page.
The play, set in the Jim Crow era, follows Purlie Victorious Judson, a preacher, as he returns to the Georgia plantation where he grew up. There, he hopes to recoup the money his family is owed from the land’s current owner, Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee. At the heart of Ossie Davis’ play, Odom said, is a very American story about liberation, not only the liberation of a people, but also the self-liberation that must come first.
“Truth doesn’t go out of style,” he said.
Read the full story here.
That's a wrap on the pre-show
Just over 5 minutes to go until the Tony Awards begin.
Billy Porter gets emotional while accepting honorary Tony
Actor Billy Porter is taking home an honorary Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for his contributions to the LGBTQ community. He won his first Tony in 2013 for his leading role in "Kinky Boots" and was the first gay Black man to win the Emmy for lead actor in a drama series for his role in "Pose."
Porter delivered a multi-pronged acceptance speech that included a standing ovation, a declarative opening song and a request for his phone (“OK here it goes, my Tony speech,” he eventually said, once it was delivered to him.)
"The fact that I'm standing before you is a miracle," Porter said, becoming emotional as he named the moments that shaped his life and career, including coming out as gay in 1985.
That feeling when a Pluto TV stream cuts out
For us viewers at home, it appears we missed the bulk of his speech after winner Cody Spencer dropped an F-bomb.
Best sound design of a musical
Cody Spencer wins the Tony for best sound design of a musical for “The Outsiders”
Best sound design of a play
Ryan Rumery wins the Tony for best sound design of a play for “Stereophonic”
Most surprised reaction goes to Hana S. Kim
Hana S. Kim was clearly surprised by her Tony win. The best lighting design winner joked that, when she was picking her outfit, she "didn’t expect to have this much flesh out in the world."
Kim said the "generosity and patience that this community had for me" propelled her to her Tony-winning work on "The Outsiders." She ended with a bewildered, "Like, thank you."