History has its eyes on the hit musical, Hamilton, which has 16 Tony Award nominations in 2016 – the record for nominations in Broadway history.
I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing any of the New Best Musical nominees, but based on not only the cast recordings, but reviews as well, I’m on Team Hamilton. I’ll be honest, when I first heard about Hamilton last year while it was running off-Broadway, I scoffed at the thought (not knowing at the time that Lin-Manuel Miranda of In the Heights fame had written it). But I haven’t stopped listening to that cast album since it was released early last fall.
It won’t be a surprise when Hamilton takes home most, if not all, of the awards they are up for on June 12, all simply because they deserve it. Plus, I think the Tony Voters are more than happy with the attention and money Broadway is getting thanks to this hit.
The only “snub” I think we will see is if Leslie Odom Jr. gets the award for his performance of Aaron Burr instead of Miranda earning it for the title role. Although it is based solely on the cast album, I’m rooting for Odom.
I believe this year we will also see a historic number of Tony Award viewers. Typically ranked last out of the the EGOT Award shows in viewership, people won’t want to miss the performance of Hamilton. I just hope that it will also shed some light on the other musicals who also deserved their nominations this year. Those include Shuffle Along, Waitress, School of Rock the Musical, and Bright Star.
As for Best Musical Revival…I think we all know where my opinion stands on that as I had the pleasure of seeing Deaf West’s Revival of Spring Awakening back in January. I think this is another groundbreaking hit that also expands the audience like Hamilton has done for theatre. What I think will really happen with Tony Voters though….I think it’ll be a tough call between Spring Awakening and The Color Purple. Other revivals include Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me.
The Tony Awards will air on Sunday, June 12 at 8pm on CBS.
The full list of the 70th Annual Tony Award 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
“Blackbird”
“The Crucible”
“Long Day’s Journey Into Night”
“Noises Off”
“A View from the Bridge”
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, “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, “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”
Renée 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, “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
“Bright Star,” Music: Steve Martin and Edie Brickell; Lyrics: Edie Brickell
“Hamilton,” Music and Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
“School of Rock — The Musical,” Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics: Glenn Slater
“Waitress,” Music and 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, “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, “Thérèse Raquin”
Christopher Oram, “Hughie”
Jan Versweyveld, “A View from the Bridge”
David Zinn, “The Humans”
Best scenic design of a musical
Es Devlin and 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, “The Crucible”
Jan Versweyveld, “A View from the Bridge”
Best lighting design of a musical
Howell Binkley, “Hamilton”
Jules Fisher and 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 theater
Sheldon Harnick
Marshall W. Mason
Special Tony Award
National Endowment for the Arts
Miles Wilkin
Regional Theater Tony Award
Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, N.J.
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Tony Honors for excellence in the theater
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
“Bright Star” — 5
“King Charles III” — 5
“Noises Off” — 5
“A View from the Bridge” — 5
“The Color Purple” — 4
“The Crucible” — 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
Nominations courtesy of tonyawards.com