The megahit musical “Hamilton” has grabbed a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations, the biggest haul in Broadway history and another step in the show’s march into theatrical history. Hamilton also got nods for best original score, best costume design, best directing, and best choreography, among others.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip hop phenomenon garnered a stunning 16 nominations, a new record. Miranda has already won a Pulitzer Prize for his work on the show.
The nominations are not surprising, The Washington Post said, because of the growing audience since the play opened last August.
The popularity of “Hamilton”, intensified by social media, late-night television, music downloads and now a fast-selling behind-the-scenes book, is so great that it is expected to boost viewership of this year’s Tony Awards, which are to be broadcast from the Beacon Theater on June 12.
The Tony Awards are being nicknamed the “Hamil-Tonys” in recognition that “Hamilton” is the show to beat this year.
Best musical revival nominees were She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof, The Colour Purple and Spring Awakening. A whopping seven “Hamilton” performers received nominations; in two categories, “Hamilton” actors will be competing against one another.
On the male side, Jeff Daniels (“Blackbird“), Gabriel Byrne (“A Long Day’s Journey Into Night”), Mark Strong (“A View from the Bridge”), Frank Langella (“The Father”) and Tim Pigott-Smith (“King Charles III”) will go head-to-head.
Joining Lange in the category of best actress in a play were Laurie Metcalf in Misery, Lupita Nyong’o (who voiced Maz Kanata in Star Wars: The Force Awakens) in Eclipsed, Sophie Okonedo for The Crucible and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) in Blackbird. Another victor, regardless of the voting, is the nonprofit Roundabout Theatre Company, with 15 nominations for its productions of Thérèse Raquin, Noises Off, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and She Loves Me. The other nominees are Laura Benanti of “She Loves Me”, Carmen Cusack of “Bright Star”, Jessie Mueller of “Waitress” and Phillipa Soo of “Hamilton”. Bright Star, a bluegrass musical written by Martin and Edie Brickell, has been a slow starter at the box office but earned five nominations.
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The success of “Hamilton” has one downside – all scheduled shows are sold out through January 29, 2017, with tickets going for as much as $8,278 on the secondary market.
