Funny Girl and Sweeney Todd cast among acts to perform at 2023 Tony Awards
By Naomi Clarke, PA Entertainment Reporter
The cast of Funny Girl and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street are among the acts who will perform at the upcoming Tony Awards, it has been announced.
Joaquina Kalukango, last year’s leading actress in a musical winner, will also take to the stage at the 76th annual award show being held on June 11 from New York City’s United Palace theatre.
Nominated best musicals and revivals including Camelot, Into The Woods, & Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo, New York, New York, Parade, Shucked and Some Like It Hot will also feature at the event honouring Broadway theatre.
The Tony Award performers are HERE and we couldn’t have asked for a better lineup! 👏👏
Watch them all celebrate the best of Broadway LIVE at the #TonyAwards THIS Sunday at 8pm ET/5pm PT on CBS! pic.twitter.com/4kBhmtag0n— CBS (@CBS) June 8, 2023
There will also be a special performance for the Lifetime Achievement In The Theatre recipients, Joel Grey and John Kander.
This year’s show is expected to not be televised in the same way as previous years amid the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) previously denied a request by Tony organisers to have a waiver for the event.
The WGA later said organisers were “altering this year’s show to conform with specific requests from the WGA, and therefore the WGA will not be picketing the show”.
Among the nominees this year is British actress Jodie Comer, who has landed her first Tony nod for her Broadway debut Prima Facie.
The Killing Eve star is nominated for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play for her role as Tessa in the one-person production by playwright Suzie Miller.
The production, about a British defence lawyer who ends up in the witness box, secured four Tony Award nominations in total, including for best scenic design, best lighting design and best sound in a play.
Comer will face competition in the category from Oscar winner Jessica Chastain, who received her first Tony nomination for a stripped-down version of A Doll’s House which scored six Tony nods; Jessica Hecht for Summer, 1976 and Audra McDonald, who stars in Ohio State Murders.
The British actress is among a number of high profile faces to make the nominations this year, including Academy Award winner Samuel L Jackson for his role in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles for Into The Woods.
Jack Sussman, executive vice president of specials, music, live events and alternative programming at CBS, said: “CBS has been home to the Tony Awards for more than 40 years.
“We are proud to once again celebrate the best of theatre this season, and continue our support for Broadway, the broader theatre community and all the incredible artistic talents both on stage and behind the scenes who bring the shows to life.”
Charlotte St Martin, president of The Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, president and chief executive of the American Theatre Wing, added: “This year’s Tony Award nominees are a reflection of a tremendous year of Broadway.
“The show will feature performances by Broadway’s brightest lights – from breakthrough performers to industry icons – in recognition of the momentous productions wowing audiences worldwide.”
The Tony Awards is produced in collaboration with Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, and White Cherry Entertainment.
West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose will host the awards ceremony on June 11 from New York City’s United Palace theatre live on CBS and on Paramount+.
