In what we're choosing to interpret as a "changing of the guard" moment, two Book of Mormon stars (Andrew Rannells and Nikki M. James) announced the Hamilton Awards this morning. Or, rather, the Tony Award Nominations though the bulk of them went to the hot show of the now, Hamilton. In fact it busted the previous record of most nominations which was 15 (held jointly by The Producers and Billy Elliott) by 1 nomination. Shouldn't Rory O'Malley have been present, too, in this announcement since he's the only Tony-nominated Book of Mormon alum in Hamilton (having just replaced Jonathan Groff)?
The Tony Awards will be held on June 12th and broadcast on CBS at 8 pm EST.
Most Nominations Musicals:
Hamilton - 16
Shuffle Along - 10
She Loves Me - 8
Can Jessica Lange add a Tony to her trophy shelf for "Long Day's Journey Into Night"? She already has 1 SAG, 2 Oscars, 3 Emmys, and 5 Golden Globes
Most Nominations Plays:
Long Day's Journey Into Night - 7
The Humans - 6
All the nominees (including several Oscar players) and some errant thoughts come after the jump...
Best Musical
Bright Star
Hamilton
School of Rock
Shuffle Along
Waitress
This is very good news for Bright Star, which doesn't have quite the built-in audience that the other shows have. A bluegrass musical on Broadway? That's thanks to Steve Martin (co-writing with Edie Brickell). But fans of American Psycho probably arent pleased with the Tony nominating committee this morning.
Best Play
Eclipsed by Danai Gurira -- closes June 19th
King Charles III by Mike Bartlett - already closed
The Father by Florian Zeller -- closes June 12th
The Humans by Stephen Karam
Best Revival of a Musical
The Color Purple (REVIEWED)
She Loves Me (REVIEWED) -extended to July 10th
Fiddler on the Roof -
Spring Awakening - already closed
I'm a little surprised that She Loves Me performed the best in nominations from all the revivals. It's well produced and charming but featherweight really and not "exciting" in the way some productions are. I'm guessing The Color Purple wins this.
Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller's The Crucible (REVIEWED) - closes July 17th
Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge - already closed
Blackbird - closes June 11th
Long Day's Journey Into Night - closes June 26th
Noises Off - already closed
This looks like a big showdown between Long Days Journey Into Night and the much-raved A View From the Bridge which has already closed.
Best Leading Actor 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
These men have 1 Oscar nomination, 6 Emmy nominations and 1 Emmy, 13 Tony nominations and 3 Tonys between them and the bulk of those stats (including every single Tony win) belong to Frank Langella.
Best Leading Actress 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
What a lineup. Pass it on!
Nominees for BEST ACTRESS, PLAY have 11 Oscar noms, 3 Oscar wins, 6 Emmy wins, 8 Tony Noms and 1 Tony win between them. #TonyAwards
— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) May 3, 2016
Best Leading Actor in a Musical
Alex Brightman, School of Rock
Danny Burstein, Fiddler on the Roof
Zachary Levi, She Loves Me
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton
Danny Burstein won't be a familiar name to people outside of theater-going but he's amazing onstage every time. I'm pleasantly surprised for Zachary Levi (loved him in his show) but at the expense of Benjamin Walker in American Psycho makes me sad (I'm finally seeing that show on Wednesday). Hamilton's campaign has been pushing Leslie Odom Jr hard for the win. You'll remember him as Sam on TV's "Smash"
Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Laura Benanti, She Loves Me
Carmen Cusack, Bright Star
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
Jessie Mueller, Waitress
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton
This is probably a contest between Erivo and Soo. If Soo wins Hamilton could win the most Tonys ever (since The Producers had no leading lady when it won its every eligible awards) but Erivo has the buzz right now.
SURPRISE: There's no Audra McDonald. It's literally the first time she has NOT been nominated for a musical role, and only the second time she's been on Broadway where she's missed a nomination (the first was a dramatic role in Henry IV). Her Tony history is stellar with 8 noms and 6 wins from 10 eligible productions, both plays and musicals. She stars in Shuffle Along which the voters obviously loved so it must have been a just-miss.
Best Score
Sara Bareilles, Waitress
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Bright Star
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater, School of Rock
Sara Bareilles, Waitress
Though this prize will obviously go to Lin-Manuel Miranda it's so fun to see Steve Martin nominated for his lesser known passion, right?
Best Orchestrations
August Eriksmoen, Bright Star
Larry Hochman, She Loves Me
Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton
Daryl Waters, Shuffle Along
Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
Savion Glover, Shuffle Along
Hofesh Shechter, Fiddler on the Roof
Randy Skinner, Dames at Sea
Sergio Trujillo, On Your Feet!
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Es Devlin and Finn Ross, American Psycho
David Korins, Hamilton
Santo Loquasto, Shuffle Along
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
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton
Best Book
Julian Fellowes, School of Rock
Steve Martin, Bright Star
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Howell Binkley, Hamilton
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Shuffle Along
Ben Stanton, Spring Awakening
Justin Townsend, American Psycho
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
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Pascale Armand, Eclipsed
Megan Hilty, Noises Off
Jayne Houdyshell, The Humans
Andrea Martin, Noises Off
Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed
Megan Hilty. YES. You know what that means since Leslie Odom Jr is also nominated (for leading actor in Hamilton)
Two SMASH alums nominated today! Congrats Ivy & Sam! pic.twitter.com/3zUR1ziNHQ
— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) May 3, 2016
Best Featured Actor 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
The Crucible didn't fare as well as I'd hoped but Bill Camp was quite terrific as the remorseful Reverend John Hale.
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along
I haven't seen enough of these to have a favorite yet but Brooks was just phenomenal in the Oprah role in The Color Purple. And since she's practically my favorite on Orange is the New Black (Go Taystee!) this is welcome news.
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Brandon Victor Dixon, Shuffle Along
Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton
Christopher Jackson, Hamilton
Jonathan Groff has already left Hamilton, FYI (busy schedule). But you can still see the other 4 nominees if you manage tickets.
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
Ivo Van Hove also directed The Crucible this year so he's had quite an amazing season.
TAKEAWAY BOOSTS
This means a huge boost in box office to most of the major nominees (though Hamilton and some of the limited runs -- like Long Day's Journey --don't need the help). I'd wager this will be most helpful in keeping Bright Star (currently playing at just 62% capacity) and getting Eclipsed through its final weeks. And it could prove a huge boon to shows that just barely opened like Shuffle Along.
For the curious the top sellers last weekend were...
- The Lion King (1.9 million)
- Hamilton (1.8 million)
- Wicked (1.6 million)
- The Book of Mormon (1.3 million)
- Circue du Soleil: Paramour (1 million)
- School of Rock (1 million)
- Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (.9)
- On Your Feet! (.9)
- An American in Paris (.9)
- Waitress (.9)
But box office charts never tell the full story on Broadway just as they don't with movies since there are operating costs, trying to make back your budget, what percentage of the theater you're filling, and other such things to consider. For instance: Phantom of the Opera only plays to 80% or so capacity but it's probably never going to close (sigh) because it's earned billions and even though it's only earning around half of its potential each week that's still all gravy if they keep operating costs down. (And for some reasons tourists still want to see that ancient creeky thing.)
WILL WE SEE CLOSING NOTICES?
Every year after the Tony nominations closing notices tend to happen if shows didn't fare well and are already not dynamo box office. Disaster the Musical (1 nomination), which sends up Hollywood disaster flicks, is one such musical but it's already scheduled to close on July 3rd. The lack of Tony noms won't boost but probably won't hurt On Your Feet: The Gloria Estefan Story (1 nomination) since its selling on brand recognition to a degree (i.e. doing fine but not close to selling out). But this is definitely not good news for the family friendly Tuck Everlasting (1 nomination) based on the book of the same name.