(The deposed champs, “The Producers” and “Billy Elliot”, had 15 each.) It received at least one nomination in every category in which a new musical was eligible.
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Let’s get to the plays; with seven nominations is Best Revival hopeful “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, with Michael Shannon up for an award for his Featured Role.
The nominees for lead actress in a play are Jessica Lange, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”; Laurie Metcalf, “Misery”; Lupita Nyong’o, “Eclipsed”; Sophie Okonedo, “The Crucible”; and Michelle Williams, “Blackbird”.
The nominees were Kinnelon native Laura Benanti (“She Loves Me”), Jessie Mueller (“Waitress”), Carmen Cusack (“Bright Star”), Cynthia Erivo (“The Color Purple”) and Phillipa Soo (“Hamilton”). “Hamilton” also saw six of its stars also nominated, including “Frozen” star Jonathon Groff.
“Hamilton”, which has triggered a ticket-buying frenzy not seen on Broadway in years, features a multiracial cast in a hip-hop and R&B-inflected musical that tells the story of US statesman Alexander Hamilton, who was killed in an 1804 duel with Vice President Aaron Burr.
Last year, five Tony Awards, including best musical, went to Fox Theatricals’ “Fun Home”, a groundbreaking show about a lesbian artist re-evaluating her childhood.
Is Hamilton really the greatest show ever to have graced Broadway?
Julieta Cervantes/AP “Shuffle Along” star Audra McDonald isn’t in the Tony race.
The Tony Awards are being nicknamed the “Hamil-Tonys” in recognition that “Hamilton” is the show to beat this year. “Van Hove, whose “A View From the Bridge” comes to the Kennedy Center this fall, was nominated for his direction of that play, but both “Bridge” and his production of “The Crucible” received berths for best revival of a play”.
Best Play: “Eclipsed” by Danai Gurira; “The Father” by Florian Zeller; “The Humans” by Stephan Karam; “King Charles III” by Mike Bartlett.
The winners will be announced in a ceremony hosted by James Corden, himself a Broadway veteran and one-time Tony Award victor, on July 12.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
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Shuffle Along, or the Making Of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, a Jazz Age chronicle that cast a critical eye on history without sacrificing exuberance, earned 10 nominations, including best musical.
