7 Moments You Didn't Get to See at the 2023 Tony Awards
There were many highlights from the 2023 Tony Awards, like the dance-only opening number, and a small handful of low-lights (the tropical-themed red carpet). But there were also several moments from the evening that you didn't get to see at all, because they didn't happen at the ceremony itself—they happened backstage. Fear not, because Parade had a reporter in the press room. Below, some highlights you won't want to miss.
Related: The Best, Worst and Wildest Moments from the 2023 Tony Awards
7 things you didn't get to see at the 2023 Tony Awards
1. Jerry Mitchell compares his first Broadway Bares show to Magic Mike
Jerry Mitchell received the Isabelle Stevens Award at the 76th Tony Awards in honor of his work with Broadway Bares, a burlesque show that's raised $22 million for lifesaving medications, health care, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance to those in need due to HIV/AIDS and other illnesses.
Backstage, he shared his organization's origin story, explaining that he was trying to raise money for Broadway Cares when his dressing-roommate suggested he go dance at a local gay bar and raise money that way.
"And I said, 'Bingo,'" he told the press room. "Light went off over my head." He called some friends and they "put on a show sort of like Magic Mike."
The year was 1992, so Channing Tatum was barely a teenager and Ginuwine's "Pony" was still four years off from radio-play. But Mitchell's efforts raised $8,000 and Broadway Bares was born.
Related: How to Win a Tony for Stripping, a Profile of Jerry Mitchell
2. Bonnie Milligan recalls her grandmother's early (and formative) support
Bonnie Milligan was a first-time nominee and winner at the 2023 Tony Awards, taking home the trophy for her featured performance as Aunt Debra in the musical Kimberly Akimbo.
When asked backstage who in her life helped her follow her wildest dreams, Milligan told reporters that her "whole family" supported her through the years, but that if she had to pick one person to single out, "I would say my grandmother, who's not with us anymore."
Not only did her grandma pay for her to go to musical theater camp, but she would also act in "little skits" that Milligan wrote and recorded. "I wrote commercials for her to do, like I just remember "Milk, it does a body good,' and my grandma did that. So I think that she just really always encouraged every bit of that imagination for as long as I can remember."
3. Michael Arden stands up for LGBTQ youth (one more time, for the people backstage!)
Accepting the trophy for Best Director of a Musical for this season's production of Parade, Michael Arden used his time at the microphone to send a proud and inspirational message to the LGBTQ community.
"Growing up, I was called the f-word more times than I can count," he said. "But now, I'm a f----t with a Tony."
He repeated those words backstage, where he aimed his message of love and acceptance at LGBTQ youth in particular. "Keep making challenging art, keep loving each other, supporting each other, standing up for those who don't have the strength or courage to do so," he said. "And ... vote at every possible moment."
4. J. Harrison Ghee explains the gospel
J. Harrison Ghee won the Tony for Best Leading Actor in a musical for Some Like It Hot, making them the category’s first performer identifying as nonbinary to win.
"My mother raised me to understand that my gifts that God gave me were not about me [but] to use them to be effective in the world," Ghee said on stage. "To help somebody else's journey. So thank you for teaching me how to live, how to love, how to give."
"For every trans, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming human who ever was told you couldn’t be, you couldn’t be seen, this is for you," they said.
Backstage, Ghee was asked to "riff" a little more on their speech and "give more of the gospel."
"That's the thing," they said with a laugh. "The gospel comes from spontaneity. Truly, people always want it, and I can't force it. I do things like that on my own terms, where it comes to me...in the moment, and that's something I hope to inspire in people. That thing of playing more."
5. Suzan-Lori Parks wants you to feel alive
Suzan-Lori Parks's Topdog/Underdog won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play at the ceremony. When asked backstage whether she had any idea where the play would take her when she was working on it, Parks said:
"I had hopes that it would take me out of the very sad place where I was before I wrote it. I was feeling a lot of despair. I wasn’t seeing plays that resonated with, not just my experience as a Black person in the world, but my experience as a human being. I wasn’t seeing enough plays that made me go, 'Yeah, I’m alive! I’m alive. We’re alive." ...So I was feeling very sad about that, and when I wrote the splay I said, 'Okay, this is an opportunity to remind people that we’re alive. That we’re here. That we mean something to each other.'"
6. Jodie Comer is in "bit of a daze"
Jodie Comer won Best Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for Prima Facie.
"It's very surreal," she told reporters backstage. "When I started [the play] in London [in 2021], I was so fearful, and I didn't know how I was going to get there, but was willing and really wanted to take the journey. And I feel like these moments are just the cherry on the cake in that sense of it's not what you set out to achieve, but it's been remarkable...It's such an honor...I'm in a bit of a daze."
7. Sean Hayes taps into his own mental health issues for his role in Good Night, Oscar
Sean Hayes took home the Tony for Lead Actor in a Play for his role as Oscar Levant, the pianist/composer/conductor/actor who famously struggled with addiction and depression, in Good Night, Oscar.
"I fortunately and unfortunately share some of the characteristics of Oscar Levant," the Will & Grace actor told reporters backstage. "I have a family tree of addiction and mental health issues. I suffer myself from extreme anxiety, and that’s what Oscar had as well. And depression. ...And so it was familiar to me enough to tap into that part of myself that experienced that as well."
"But as actors, we try to find, or at least I try to find, a role that challenges you but you can still be truthful to it, so it’s not just a mimic but it’s not false and it’s not inauthentic…I try my best to really, truly feel it every single performance."
