Tony Awards 2023: Here are 10 facts about Broadway's big night

WASHINGTON — The 76th annual Tony Awards are on Sunday, June 11 and Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose is returning to the ceremony to doing her "thing" as host.

Broadway's "Some Like It Hot," the jazz-filled production based on the comedy film, leads with 13 nominations for Sunday night. Productions "& Juliet," "Shucked" and "New York, New York" closely followed behind with each garnering nine nominations.

Amid an ongoing strike, the Writers Guild of America have said they will not picket this year's Tony Award telecast, clearing a thorny issue in Hollywood and opening the door for some sort of Broadway razzle-dazzle on TV.

From Jodie Comer's performance in the one woman show about the legal system's challenges to Betsy Wolfe's reimagined Romeo and Juliet story, the competition for the year's top performances and productions is tight.

Before the start of Broadway's biggest night, here are 10 facts about the Tony Awards.

The musical with the most Tony Awards is the 2001 production of "The Producers." Having earned 15 nominations that year, the musical won 12 Tony Awards.

For plays, the production with the most Tonys is Tom Stoppard's 2007 "The Coast of Utopia," which won seven of its 10 nominations.

While "The Producers, the new Mel Brooks musical" may have the most awards for a musical, it was Lin Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" production that set the record as the most-nominated production in Tony history with 16 nominations.

In the play category, the production with the most Tony Award nominations is the 2020 Jeremy O. Harris production "Slave Play," which earned 12 nominations but won no awards.

The first Tony Awards in 1947 cost $7 to attend. The award show was hosted in the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom and was broadcast on radio. As a result of the program's success, the attendance cost went up to $10 in 1948.

The late Angela Lansbury, who won several Tony Awards in her lifetime, has hosted or co-hosted more Tony telecasts than any other individual. Lansbury hosted five telecasts during her life with events in 1968, 1971, 2988 and 1989.

Actors Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman are tied for second place with four telecasts each. Jackman belongs to a special group of hosts who have won a Tony Award while hosting the ceremony after winning best actor for his role in the 2004 production of "The Boy from Oz."

There have been 10 ties in Tony history, where two productions have taken the same award home. Most notably in 1960, the musical productions of "The Sound of Music" and "Fiorello!" both won one of the nights biggest award.

The most recent Tony tie happened in 2009 when best orchestrations was won by both Martin Koch and Michael Starobin.

Talent runs in the family, at least for three sets of family members who were all nominated for a Tony Award in the same category in the same year.

Richard Rodgers and his daughter Mary Rodgers were both nominated as composers for the best musical in 1960. Rodgers was up for "The Sound of Music," while his daughter was nominated for "Once Upon a Mattress." He won the top award.

Lynn Redgrave and her niece Natasha Richardson both received nominations for best actress in 1993. Redgrave was up for her role in "Shakespeare for My Father" and Richardson was up for "Anna Christie."

Jennifer Ehle and her mother Rosemary Harris were the most recent family members to share nominations in the same category. Ehle won for her performance in "The Real Thing" in 2000 while her mother was nominated for her role in "Waiting in the Wings."

The youngest performer to win a Tony Award was Frankie Michaels, who in 1966 at the age of 11 won for his performance in "Mame." However, the youngest nominee is Evanna Lien, who was 8 at the time she received a recognition for her role in "The Sound of Music."

Being an "EGOT," a person who's earned an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and a Tony, is hard enough to accomplish. However, songwriter Robert Lopez is the only person to achieve "double EGOT" status. He's won two of each of the entertainment industry's top awards.

Director and Producer Harold Prince has earned 21 Tony Awards, the most for any person in multiple categories. Prince has won eight awards for directing, eight for producing, two for producer of the best musical of the year and three special awards. While Roger Berlind has won 25 Tony Awards, all of them have been for producing.

There was no official Tony Award during the first two Tonys, held in 1947 and 1948. The winners instead received a scroll, a money clip and either a cigarette lighter for men or a compact for women.

The Tony Awards are on Sunday, June 11 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and Paramount+.