Winner-take-all may be a term more commonly associated with primary elections. But if the Tony Award nominations announced on Tuesday in New York are any indication, that phrase could very well apply on the night of the awards ceremony in June to the musical that has dominated this Broadway season like no other show in history.
To no one’s surprise, “Hamilton,” with advance sales heading toward $100 million and rows of accolades already lining its creators’ shelves, was the favorite of the Tony nominators, scooping up a total of 16 nods, including those for best musical, best score, best book and best direction. An astonishing seven cast members — including the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda — made the Tony cut as well.
The musical beat the previous record for most nominations, 15, set by “The Producers” in 2001 and “Billy Elliot the Musical” in 2009. The fact that no one is particularly surprised about that, either, suggests how massive “Hamilton’s” presence has grown on Broadway in the months since its Aug. 6 opening at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Although “Waitress,” “Bright Star,” “School of Rock” and “Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and all that Followed” were also nominated for best musical, don’t expect to hear those titles uttered too often when the envelopes are opened on Tony night, June 12. “Shuffle Along,” a reworking by director George C. Wolfe of a landmark black musical, came in second Tuesday, with a more-than-respectable 10 nominations. And “Bright Star,” the Steve Martin-Edie Brickell bluegrass musical that made a stop at the Kennedy Center before heading to Broadway, received five. The shows deprived of a best-musical nod included “American Psycho,” “Tuck Everlasting” and the tunefully infectious Gloria Estefan jukebox musical, “On Your Feet.”
With the disclosure of the nominations in 24 categories from among the 36 eligible productions, the Tonys this year present a considerably more diverse portrait of the entertainment world than did the controversial 2016 Oscars. While all 20 of the actors up for Academy Awards were white for the second year in a row, a total of 14 of the 40 acting nominees for Tonys this year are actors of color. Their nominations were spread out over five shows: “Hamilton,””Shuffle Along,” “The Crucible,” “The Color Purple” and “Eclipsed,” a play that takes place in a Liberian warlord’s encampment. (The Tonys have double the acting slots because they hand out awards separately for musicals and straight plays.)
The mega-success of “Hamilton,” with music, book and lyrics by Miranda — who personally racked up three nominations, including for one best actor in a musical — has tended to muffle the fact that this has been a strong season for non-musicals, both new and in revival. The nominees in both best-play categories reflect this fact. The race for best new play among Stephen Karam’s “The Humans,” Danai Gurira’s “Eclipsed,” Mike Bartlett’s “King Charles III” and Florian Zeller’s “The Father” should be a lively one, although “The Humans” and “Eclipsed” seem the early favorites.
And the five nominees for best revival of a play set up an equally intriguing contest: They are Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and “A View From the Bridge,” both directed by Ivo van Hove; David Harrower’s “Blackbird”; Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off” and Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.”
The competition for best musical revival may come down to a choice between two critically lauded productions: “She Loves Me,” which garnered eight nominations, and “The Color Purple,” which snagged four. The others in this category are director Bartlett Sher’s “Fiddler on the Roof” and Deaf West’s “Spring Awakening,” the latter already having shuttered. Traditionally, the several hundred members of the theater industry in New York and across the country who make up the Tony voters tilt in favor of productions that are still running, and thus can reap box office benefits.
In the acting contests, the handicapping makes the “Hamilton” entries prohibitive favorites, except perhaps in the best actress in a musical category, in which “Hamilton’s” Phillipa Soo faces extremely stiff competition from “The Color Purple’s” Cynthia Erivo. Filling in the other slots in performing categories are six other actors from the hip-hop historical musical about Alexander Hamilton: Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr., who plays Aaron Burr, face off for best actor; Daveed Diggs (Thomas Jefferson), Jonathan Groff (King George III) and Christopher Jackson (George Washington) are vying for best featured actor; and Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler) is up for best featured actress.
Other interesting acting nominations include Jessica Lange and Gabriel Byrne as best actress and actor in a play, for “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, a best-actress nominee for “Eclipsed.” Van Hove was nominated twice for best director, for each of his Miller productions.
One of the categories brimming with worthy candidates is best actress in a musical. In addition to Erivo and Soo, the nominees are Laura Benanti for “She Loves Me,” Carmen Cusack for “Bright Star” and Jessie Mueller in “Waitress.”
The fact that it’s such a highly contested category is reflected in the Tonys’ most unexpected omission. There was — shocker! — no Tony love for Audra McDonald’s bravura performance in “Shuffle Along.” But don’t cry for McDonald. She’s won six of the trophies already.
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The list of nominees:
Best Musical: “Bright Star” “Hamilton” “School of Rock-The Musical” “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” “Waitress”
Best Revival of a Musical: “The Color Purple” “Fiddler on the Roof” “She Loves Me” “Spring Awakening”
Best Play: “Eclipsed” “The Father” “The Humans” “King Charles III”
Best Revival of a Play: “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible” “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge” “Blackbird” “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” “Noises Off”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Alex Brightman, “School of Rock-The Musical” Danny Burstein, “Fiddler on the Roof” Zachary Levi, “She Loves Me” Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton” Leslie Odom, Jr., “Hamilton”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Laura Benanti, “She Loves Me” Carmen Cusack, “Bright Star” Cynthia Erivo, “The Color Purple” Jessie Mueller, “Waitress” Phillipa Soo, “Hamilton”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Gabriel Byrne, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” Jeff Daniels, “Blackbird” Frank Langella, “The Father” Tim Pigott-Smith, “King Charles III” Mark Strong, “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Jessica Lange, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” Laurie Metcalf, “Misery” Lupita Nyong’o, “Eclipsed” Sophie Okonedo, “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible” Michelle Williams, “Blackbird”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” Brandon Victor Dixon, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” Christopher Fitzgerald, “Waitress” Jonathan Groff, “Hamilton” Christopher Jackson, “Hamilton”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple” Renee Elise Goldsberry, “Hamilton” Jane Krakowski, “She Loves Me” Jennifer Simard, “Disaster!” Adrienne Warren, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Reed Birney, “The Humans” Bill Camp, “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible” David Furr, “Noises Off” Richard Goulding, “King Charles III” Michael Shannon, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Pascale Armand, “Eclipsed” Megan Hilty, “Noises Off” Jayne Houdyshell,” The Humans” Andrea Martin, “Noises Off” Saycon Sengbloh, “Eclipsed”
Best Book of a Musical: “Bright Star,” Steve Martin “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda “School of Rock-The Musical,” Julian Fellowes “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed,” George C. Wolfe
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: “Bright Star,” Music: Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Lyrics: Edie Brickell “Hamilton,” Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda “School of Rock-The Musical,” Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics: Glenn Slater “Waitress,” Music & Lyrics: Sara Bareilles
Best Direction of a Play: Rupert Goold, “King Charles III” Jonathan Kent, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” Joe Mantello, “The Humans” Liesl Tommy, “Eclipsed” Ivo Van Hove, “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge”
Best Direction of a Musical: Michael Arden, “Spring Awakening” John Doyle, “The Color Purple” Scott Ellis, “She Loves Me” Thomas Kail, “Hamilton” George C. Wolfe, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”
Best Scenic Design of a Play: Beowulf Boritt, “Therese Raquin” Christopher Oram, “Hughie” Jan Versweyveld, “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge” David Zinn, “The Humans”
Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Es Devlin & Finn Ross, “American Psycho” David Korins, “Hamilton” Santo Loquasto, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” David Rockwell, “She Loves Me”
Best Costume Design of a Play: Jane Greenwood, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” Michael Krass, “Noises Off” Clint Ramos, “Eclipsed” Tom Scutt, “King Charles III”
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes, “Tuck Everlasting” Jeff Mahshie, “She Loves Me” Ann Roth, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” Paul Tazewell, “Hamilton”
Best Lighting Design of a Play: Natasha Katz, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” Justin Townsend, “The Humans” Jan Versweyveld, “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible” Jan Versweyveld, “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge”
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Howell Binkley, “Hamilton” Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” Ben Stanton, “Spring Awakening” Justin Townsend, “American Psycho”
Best Choreography: Andy Blankenbuehler, “Hamilton” Savion Glover, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” Hofesh Shechter, “Fiddler on the Roof” Randy Skinner, “Dames at Sea” Sergio Trujillo, “On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan”
Best Orchestrations: August Eriksmoen, “Bright Star” Larry Hochman, “She Loves Me” Alex Lacamoire, “Hamilton” Daryl Waters, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: Sheldon Harnick, Marshall W. Mason
Special Tony Award: National Endowment for the Arts, Miles Wilkin
Regional Theatre Tony Award: Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award: Brian Stokes Mitchell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre: Seth Gelblum, Joan Lader, Sally Ann Parsons
Tony Nominations by Production: “Hamilton” — 16; “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” — 10; “She Loves Me” — 8, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” — 7; “Eclipsed” — 6; “The Humans” — 6; “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge” — 5; “Bright Star” — 5; “King Charles III” — 5; “Noises Off” — 5; “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible” — 4; “The Color Purple” — 4; “School of Rock-The Musical” — 4; “Waitress” — 4; “Blackbird” — 3; “Fiddler on the Roof” — 3; “Spring Awakening” — 3; “American Psycho” — 2; “The Father” — 2; “Dames at Sea” — 1; “Disaster!” — 1; “Hughie” — 1; “Misery” — 1; “On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and; Gloria Estefan” — 1; “Thérèse Raquin” — 1; “Tuck Everlasting” — 1
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Nominations courtesy of tonyawards.com