At the Tony Awards, after the statues are given to the winners, they are taken to the media room, where they speak to journalists about their prizes. Playbill was able to have some one-on-one time with some of the 2023 Tony winners. We spoke with Bonnie Milligan after winning the prize for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her work in the Tony-winning Kimberly Akimbo. Watch the video above to see Milligan react to winning.

Milligan's win is not only a well-earned honor for her show-stopping performance in Jeanine Tesori's new musical. To Milligan and countless others, it's also a signal of a long-awaited shift in the celebration of diverse bodies onstage. Milligan, a plus-sized actress, has long been put into a box by the entertainment industry. But she's never stopped advocating for herself, nor have those rallying around her. "My agent from the get-go has always truly believed that I was a star and if anything offensive came along like a fat joke, she'd say, 'we're better than this, we're building a career," she shared with Playbill.

Says Milligan, "I look at this lineup of nominees this year and it's such a beautiful array that looks a little bit more like the world than previous years. So for me to be awarded with this means maybe the dial is moving. It means that more of us are seen, more of us get to be seen as humans, not just caricatures on the side, that we are worthy of being up there, too."

Check Playbill for the most complete Tony Awards coverage, including photos from the red carpet, a list of winners, analysis from Playbill's theatre experts, and more. For more about the Tony Awards, visit Playbill.com/Tonys.