The Best, Worst and Wildest Moments from the 2023 Tony Awards

Broadway's biggest night is over and done with, but we aren't finished talking about everything that happened. Despite the Tony Awards ceremony almost being cancelled completely due to the WGA strike, we got a full-bodied ceremony on Sunday, June 11, 2023. As expected, the evening included incredible musical performances, impassioned winner speeches, and unforgettable red carpet looks. Of course, there were plenty of weird, wild and unexpected things that happened (especially since the whole show was unscripted).

Here's a rundown of all the evening's biggest, most memorable moments:

The best, worst and wildest things that happened at the 2023 Tony Awards

Worst - The tropical red carpet

Why do all the celebs look like they're at the opening of a Margaritaville?

Related: Check Out the Best Looks From the 2023 Tony Awards Red Carpet

Best — The WGA-approved opening number

Since awards shows are usually HIGHLY scripted by members of the WGA, this year's Tony Awards were very different. The opening shot of the ceremony was to host Ariana DeBose opening a "script" to find nothing but blank pages in reference to the ceremony being entirely unscripted. Instead of an original (written) musical number to open the show (as DeBose performed last year), we then got a dance-only opening number. The whole thing was magnificent and reminded us just how talented DeBose is.

Related: 10 Oscar Contenders from This Year that You Can Already Watch

Best & Wildest — Everyone is unscripted

Ariana DeBose is rambling and doing weird voices, and we are saved from all the canned, dull pre-written pontificating. The presenters awkwardly introduced themselves and endearingly stumbled over their words.

Best — Anna Uzele belts "New York, New York"

SIX's Anna Uzele, who has the lead role in New York, New York, wowed the Tony audience by delivering an incredible rendition of the iconic "New York, New York" as a part of the first big musical performance. Seeing Uzele is a bit bittersweet, however, as she somehow didn't get nominated for a Tony this year. Bet voters are kicking themselves now.

Best — Winners take a stand for the trans community

Early in the night, when Brandon Uranowitz won his Tony for Leopoldstadt, told parents to believe their children when the children reveal parts of themselves. The comments were a reference to the current pushes by right-wing legislators to restrict gender-affirming care for queer minors. With the ceremony held during Pride Month, multiple other winners shouted out the trans community including Parade's director Michael Arden, Shucked's Alex Newell, Some Like It Hot's J. Harrison Ghee and Marcia Gay Harden.

Worst — Awkward transitions

You really forget just HOW MANY bits of the show rely on a script, including so many transitions. In place of the "and now the cast of Camelot" we just got dead air before cutting to pre-taped interviews. None of the show's dozens of components moved smoothly into the next reminding us just how much we need writers.

Wildest — "Directors' ugly faces"

Patrick Marber won the Tony for Best Direction of a Play and griped that there were no cutaway shots of the directors because they have "ugly faces." He also called out the fact that the directors had been sat in the back, and then was prompted to wrap up in a delightfully unhinged speech.

Worst — Katy Perry's "Roar"

"Roar" is a cursed song. It was one of Katy Perry's final hits before her career plummeted. It was overplayed to the point of exhaustion in 2013. And it's bad voodoo energy somehow caused Hillary Clinton to lose the 2016 election. Like Ghostface at the end of a Scream movie, it jump scares when you least expect it, and somehow it clawed its way onto the Tonys stage (along with the tiger claw dance move.....)

Best — "I'm a f****t with a Tony"

In his acceptance speech for Best Direction of a Musical for his work on Parade, Michael Arden said that he had been called the f-slur many times growing up. He then held up his Tony and shouted, "Now I'm a f****t with a Tony" to an eruption of applause. While the actual phrase was bleeped out on CBS, people in the room quickly reported what was said on Twitter.

Worst — The selfie gamut

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Ariana DeBose tried the Ellen selfie bit, and it was lame.

Best — Ariana DeBose and Julianne Hough perform the "Hot Honey Rag"

In a tribute to this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Joel Grey and John Kander, Ariana DeBose and Julianne Hough came out and performed a version of the "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago. PLEASE GIVE US THAT REVIVAL NOW! If anyone has the power to revive Broadway, it's those two as Roxie and Velma.

Related: Everything We Know About the 2024 Oscars, Including Important Dates

Best — Alex Newell becomes the first out nonbinary performer to win a Tony

Alex Newell, who burst onto the scene in Glee, became the first out nonbinary performer to win a Tony when they won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for Shucked. While Newell identifies as nonbinary, they had to choose to submit in either actor or actress because of the gendered acting categories. Many awards shows have eliminated the gendered categories to be more inclusive, and Newell's win makes this binary even more glaring.

Best — Parade's Performance

We here at Parade can't help but give kudos to the other Parade. We'll also give some kudos to the underwear company as well just because.

Wildest — "Grand Wizard of Florida"

While presenting the Excellence in Theatre Education Award to a Florida educator, Into the Woods's Denee Benton called Ron DeSantis "the current Grand Wizard of Florida." Grand Wizard is the title of the leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and Benton's calling out DeSantis's discriminatory behavior earned applause from the crowd.

Best — J. Harrison Ghee becomes the second out nonbinary performer to win a Tony

Only moments after Alex Newell won their Tony for Shucked, J. Harrison Ghee won the Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for their performance in Some Like It Hot. The gendered acting categories are getting even more glaring.

Worst — "Julie Comer"

When announcing the winner for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play, Marcia Gay Harden called out the winner to be "Julie Comer" rather than Jodie Comer who won for Prima Facie.

Worst — Jessica Chastain doesn't get to give a speech

No disrespect to Jodie Comer, but I ADORE Jessica Chastain and her awards speeches. She should just automatically win every award she's up for. ALSO, when I watched A Doll's House, she was sick and turned her cough into part of the performance. A QUEEN.

Best — "Alex and J did the thing"

Ariana DeBose gifted us with a reference to her iconic "Angela Bassett did the thing" moment at the BAFTAs by calling out the two nonbinary winners.

Wildest — Corn Kid introduced the Shucked musical performance

Shucked know its memes.

Best — Shucked's performance

The mashup of songs from the musical highlighted many of the best bits of the show, although I could have just watched the entirety of Alex Newell's "Independently Owned."

Worst — Great shows leave empty-handed

As is always the case, some great Broadway shows from the 2022-23 season left without earning a single Tony. Here's to the casts and crews of great shows like Ain't No Mo', Fat Ham, A Doll's House, Between Riverside and Crazy, Cost of Living, Camelot and Into the Woods.

Wildest — Lea Michele performing her Funny Girl number for some reason

Look, the girl can sing, but given that Funny Girl wasn't even eligible for the Tonys this year, it does seem a bit odd that the final musical performance of the night was Lea Michele singing "Don't Rain on my Parade."

Best — Leopoldstadt and Kimberly Akimbo win big

The big winners of the evening were Leopoldstadt in the play categories and Kimberly Akimbo on the musical side. Leopoldstadt not only took home the big prize for Best Play, but also won Best Featured Actor, Best Direction and Best Costume Design. Kimberly Akimbo won Best Musical, Best Actress, Best Featured Actress, Best Book and Best Score, giving it the most wins of the evening with five.

Next, The Full List of Winners at the 2023 Tonys