Every year, the Tony nominees gather to meet the press and share what's going on in their heads in the week after the nominations were announced. From little theatre kids all grown up to artists celebrating their community, the nominees were filled with expressions of gratitude and joy. 

Get to know the 2023 nominees with moments from their interviews and Playbill's portraits. The four part series begins here, with the nominees from musical revivals.

Ruthie Ann Miles

"I think Steve is with us every day in the building. He left us his puzzle; he left us his masterpiece. And we get to build it every single day with our entire team. To play this role that is central to a lot of the stories that are happening onstage reminds me that we are all in the same orbit. We are suns. We are all on the same planet. We are orbiting each other. And that's really special." 

Miles is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her role as the Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Sara Bareilles

"A lot of us are walking around as little theatre kids who dreamed about this moment. So for it to come true is a pretty extraordinary thing."

Bareilles is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role as the Baker's Wife in Into the Woods.

Jordan Roth

"Into the Woods is the show that holds our hand through everything in our lives. And right now, we need some hand holding. And it's there for us."

Roth is lead producer for Into the Woods, nominated for Best Revival of a Musical.

Alex Neumann

"The best part of it is knowing that the work you did impacted people. The nomination is great, but what's behind that is knowing that the work my co-designer, Scott Lehrer, and I did was appreciated and affected people."

Neumann and Lehrer are nominated of Best Sound Design of a Musical for Into the Woods. 

Brian d'Arcy James

"I adore everybody in this company. We created something really special. I've never really experienced anything like the reception the show has received. The relationship between what we were doing and what the audience gave us every single night was really astounding. It's a testament to Sondheim and Lapine and what they've created. But I think we can pat ourselves on the back a little bit, and [director Lear DeBessonet] especially, for creating the the chemistry of it all. It was really, really special."

James is nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as The Baker in Into the Woods. 

Ben Platt

"I've loved Parade forever as a musical theatre nerd from birth. And I always thought that it should have another wonderful moment like this. To be part of that, and bring this character to life and work with Micaela [Diamond] and with Michael Arden, who's just one of my favorite directors and a dear friend, has been like the universe letting me know that this is the right place at the right time, and I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing."

Platt is nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Leo Frank in Parade.

Lear deBessonet

"The reward is the storytelling that we get to do as artists every night. It's really about that."

DeBessonet is nominated for Best Direction of a Musical for Into the Woods. 

Julia Lester

"I'm a true theatre kid. Every single year, I gather around the TV with some Trader Joe's hors d'oeuvres, and I watch the Tonys with my family. It's the biggest night of the year. It's like our Super Bowl. As a theatre kid, you go to bed every night being like, 'Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please, one day make this happen for me.' And how am I here now? It's really nuts."

Lester is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her role as Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods.

Micaela Diamond

"On the day after the Tonys, we get to go back to our theatre and do another show. I love the work. I love our show so much. I love that we get to do it again and again for audiences over and over again. That, to me, is the reward."

Diamond is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role as Lucille Frank in Parade.

Josh Groban

"There's obviously a lot of pressure when you take on one of the great roles in all of theatre. Stepping into a role like Sweeney Todd is the equivalent in the comics world of stepping into Batman. There's gonna people be people who are for it, and people who are scratching their heads. And you just want to make your stamp, you want to hold the torch as brightly as you can until it goes off to the next brilliant Sweeney production. We're so delighted that people are loving it as much as they are. And to be recognized for this role is among the most special moments of my life."

Groban is nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Heather Gilbert

"We keep saying that it's best design that gets nominated, not best designer. Our associates, the makers, the electricians, the follow spot operators—all of them are a big part of this. And it feels like that when you're at the Jacobs [Theatre], everybody is a huge community."

Gilbert is nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Parade.

Susan Hilferty

"We've all coming out of a very dark time, theatre shutting down for a certain period of time. We've all had to relearn a language; we've learned how to work together again. And we're going into a whole new world that nobody knows what's in front of us, kind of like a Star Trek moment. So for us to be able to celebrate together, to see each other's faces while we're celebrating is a very special moment."

Hilferty is nominated for Best Costume Design of a Musical for Parade.

Jordan Donica

"Every day I get to do this show. It makes me feel closer to my Aunt Kathy. This is the last show she saw me in before she passed. The anniversary of her passing was last week. So it just puts me in a place where I feel close to her."

Donica is nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his role as Lancelot in Camelot.

Annaleigh Ashford

"I am so honored to get to play this part every day and celebrate the spirit of the great Angela Lansbury. And also, the genius of Stephen Sondheim. It's overwhelming. Every day when the play ends, I say thank you. 'Thank you God for this lovely gift.'"

Ashford is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

See the full Tony nominees portrait gallery from Playbill below.

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Check Out Portraits of the 2023 Tony Award Nominees

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