“Hamilton” will be hoping to break another record: The musical with the most Tonys is “The Producers” with 12.
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“Hamilton” has burst through the Broadway bubble like few shows.
As Jeff Lunden reports for our Newscast unit, Shuffle Along scored 10 nominations despite beingthe last musical to open this season.
But “Hamilton”, which recently won the Pulitzer for drama, an accolade that only rarely goes to a musical, has officially become the hottest thing EVER.
Tuck Everlasting’s newcomer, 11-year-old Sarah Charles Lewis, might have gotten a Best Actress nod if the voters were feeling generous, while its lavish set and musical arrangements could have sneaked into the Best Scenic Design and Best Orchestration categories.
Pop star Sara Bareilles was nominated for a Tony Award for penning music and lyrics for Waitress. While for a second year in a row, all 20 actors up for Academy Awards were white, a total of 14 of the 40 acting nominees for Tonys this year are actors of color. This show is also looking at prizes in all backstage categories, with creator George C. Wolfe up for Best Book and Best Direction. The Evanston-bred Mueller received the 2014 Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical for her portrayal of Carol King in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”.
The best new play nominees include “Eclipsed”, by Danai Gurira; “The Father”, by Florian Zeller; “The Humans”, by Stephen Karam and “King Charles III”, by Mike Bartlett. I also think its incandescent star, Cynthia Erivo will deservedly walk away with the Tony for best actress in a musical.
The four shows in the best musical revival category are “The Color Purple”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, “She Loves Me” and “Spring Awakening”.
This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows, Keala Settle, left, Jessie Mueller and Kimiko Glenn, right, during a performance of “Waitress“, at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in NY.
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Nominations were announced this morning (May 3) in NY, with the groundbreaking hip-hop musical about the nation’s founding fathers receiving nods for best musical, best score, best book and best direction, not to mention the SEVEN cast members who were nominated for their performances as well. And actor Michael Shannon was nominated in the best supporting actor category for his work in the revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”. The production will face off against Bright Star, School Of Rock and Waitress for the latter award.
