Tony Nods 2020: "Jagged Little Pill" and "Slave Play" dominate

by Nathaniel R

The controversial "Slave Play," featuring multiple interracial couples and sexual power dynamics, transferred from Off-Broadway and was huge at the Tony nominations

We're not sure what possessed the Broadway League to announced Tony nominations in mid October (and some probable virtual ceremony in December), just after announcing that Broadway will not return before next summer (thereby missing another Tony season -- the theater season runs June to May). It's especially baffling because earlier it was understood that because the shutdown happened in March while so many of the shows that were expected heavyhitters were still in previews (like revivals of Company and West Side Story) so they never got a chance to be seen by Tony voters. Curious. As are the unusual nominations. But for those who miss Broadway (or just news of it from afar) here is the list that was announced this afternoon...

Best Musical 

• Jagged Little Pill (15 nominations)
• Moulin Rouge: The Musical (14 nominations)
• Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (12 nominations)

I was only able to see Moulin Rouge before Broadway closed. Reviewed here. The only musical that opened that wasn't nominated was The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. New musicals that were expected to open before the shutdown but didn't get a chance to were: Girl From the North Country, Six, Diana, Mrs. Doubtfire, Flying Over Sunset, and Sing Street which would have made the Tonys so much more competitive.

Best Play 

• Grand Horizons (2 nominations)
• The Inheritance (11 nominations)
• Sea Wall: A Life (4 nominations)
• Slave Play (12 nominations)
• The Sound Inside (6 nominations)

I was only able to see The Inheritance before Broadway closed. For those who haven't heard it was an epic two part gay play that was a riff on E.M. Forster's Howards End (transposed to a more contemporary setting and taking place in the gay scene.)

Shows that were eligible that were not nominated were: A Christmas Carol, My Name is Lucy Barton,  The Great Society, Linda Vista by our beloved Tracy Letts, and The Height of the Storm (by the playwright who brought us The Father which will be an Oscar seeking movie this year). Shows that didn't get to open before the shut down were: The Minutes (also by Tracy Letts), Hangmen (by Martin McDonagh), The Lehman Trilogy, and Birthday Candles. 

Best Revival of a Play

Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, and Charlie Cox in "Betrayal" 

• Betrayal (4 nominations)
• Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (2 nominations)
• A Soldier’s Play (7 nominations)

Frankie & Johnny was a flop at the box office but there wasn't much competition this year. The only eligible title that was shut out was Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo starring Marisa Tomei. The spring/summer was going to be very exciting for revivals with planned openings of Take Me Out, How I Learned To Drive, American Buffalo, Plaza Suite, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?... but none of them made it before shutdown.

A Soldier's Play was on Broadway for the first time but generally if a play is famous already it is considered a revival. A Soldier's Play was a hit in the 1980s off Broadway and became the Oscar nominated movie A Soldier's Story (1984).

Best Revival of a Musical

• [no nominees]

It was already going to be a strangely vacant year for this category but all three productions hoping to win this prize -- West Side Story, Company, and Caroline or Change -- didn't get to open before the shutdown. Pity since all three are great musicals so it might have been an exciting competition. 

Best Book of a Musical

• Jagged Little Pill Diablo Cody (1st show, 1st nomination)
• Moulin Rouge! The Musical John Logan (4th show as writer, 2nd nomination for writing)
• Tina – The Tina Turner Musical Katori Hall (2nd show), Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins (1st nomination for all)

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre 

• A Christmas Carol Music: Christopher Nightingale
• The Inheritance Music: Paul Englishby
• The Rose Tattoo Music: Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb
• Slave Play Music: Lindsay Jones
• The Sound Inside Music: Daniel Kluger

A fascinating shortlist. This category is always dominated by new musicals with only an occassional play showing up as a fifth slotter if you know what I mean. But since all three of the major musicals that opened were jukebox titles and thus not eligible, the category is entirely made up of plays. I don't believe this has ever happened before. 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Glowing reviews for the double-monologue production SEA WALL / A LIFE starring Jake & Tom

• Ian Barford (4th show, 1st nomination) Linda Vista
• Andrew Burnap (1st show, 1st nomination) The Inheritance
• Jake Gyllenhaal (3rd show, 1st nomination) Sea Wall/A Life
• Tom Hiddleston (1st show, 1st nomination) Betrayal
• Tom Sturridge (3rd show, 2nd nomination)  Sea Wall/A Life
• Blair Underwood (2nd show, 1st nomination) A Soldier’s Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

• Joaquina Kalukango (4th show, 1st nomination) Slave Play
• Laura Linney (12th show, 5th nomination) My Name is Lucy Barton
• Audra McDonald (12th show, 9th nomination, 6 wins) Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
• Mary-Louise Parker (8th show, 4th nomination, 1 win) The Sound Inside

Yes it's true Laura Linney has a tough time winning awards outside of the Emmys. She's been a favourite for nominations at both the Tonys and the Oscars but never a winner. Audra McDonald on the other hand has only lost two of her Tony nominations to date AND she's won in every single female acting category. (The major shut out here is Marisa Tomei in The Rose Tattoo.)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical 

• Aaron Tveit (5th show, 1st nomination) Moulin Rouge! The Musical

What a strange experience for Aaron Tveit, who we like a lot, to win by default on the first nomination he's waited for for quite some time. UPDATE: He could actually lose. He will need 60% support from the Tony voters a la a yes or no vote, apparently. 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical 

• Karen Olivo (5th show, 2nd nomination, 1 win) Moulin Rouge! The Musical
• Elizabeth Stanley (5th show, 1st nomination) Jagged Little Pill
• Adrienne Warren (3rd show, 1st nomination) Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

James and Ato as lovers in "Slave Play" - they were both nominated

• Ato Blankson-Wood (3rd show, 1st nomination) Slave Play
• James Cusati-Moyer (2nd show, 1st nomination) Slave Play
• David Alan Grier (6th show, 4th nomination) A Soldier’s Play
• John Benjamin Hickey (8th show, 2nd nomination, 1 win)  The Inheritance
• Paul Hilton (1st show, 1st nomination) The Inheritance

John Benjamin Hickey, who we've loved long time, had the fussy conservative Anthony Hopkins in Howards End role. He's also headlining a new gay film called Sublet which is playing at NewFest this weekend.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play 

Lois Smith in "The Inheritance"

• Jane Alexander (14th show, 8th nom, 2 wins) Grand Horizons
• Chalia La Tour (1st show, 1st nomination) Slave Play
• Annie McNamara (1st show, 1st nomination) Slave Play
• Lois Smith (11th show, 3rd nomination) The Inheritance
• Cora Vander Broek (1st show, 1st nomination) Linda Vista

True confession: I rarely actually physically cry at theater or movies (though I feel misty-eyed often) but Lois Smith had me bawling with her late-play monologue in The Inheritance.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Danny Burstein as Harold Zidler. If you ever get a chance to see Burstein perform, do not hesitate.

• Danny Burstein (18th show, 7th nomination) Moulin Rouge! The Musical
• Derek Klena (4th show, 1st nomination) Jagged Little Pill
• Sean Allan Krill (4th show, 1st nomination) Jagged Little Pill
• Sahr Ngaujah (3rd show, 2nd nomination) Moulin Rouge! The Musical
• Daniel J. Watts (9th show, 1st nomination) Tina – The Tina Turner Musical 

Burstein is one of Broadway's greatest treasures but somehow he's never won a Tony. He famously contracted a severe case of COVID during the run of the show and was hospitalized (thankfully he recovered). We still find it odd that there wasn't any controversy about Sahr Ngaujah's casting, so quickly after disabled actress Ali Stoker blew everyone away in Oklahoma!. Why they cast a normal sized abled actor to play a famously disabled man who was dwarf height in real life remains a mystery. But he got a Tony nomination for his role.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Adrienne Warren and Myra Lucretia Taylor as future rock star and her grandmother in "Tina"

• Kathryn Gallagher (2nd show, 1st nomination), Jagged Little Pill
• Celia Rose Gooding (1st show, 1st nomination), Jagged Little Pill
• Robyn Hurder (6th show, 1st nomination) Moulin Rouge! The Musical
• Lauren Patten (2nd show, 1st nomination), Jagged Little Pill
• Myra Lucretia Taylor (7th show, 1st nomination) Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Hurder was playing "Nini" in Moulin Rouge!

Best Scenic Design of a Play 

• Bob Crowley (28th show, for scenic design this is his 16th nom, 9 wins) The Inheritance
• Soutra Gilmour, (2nd show, 1st nomination in this category) Betrayal
• Rob Howell (13th show, for scenic design 7th nomination, 2 wins) A Christmas Carol
• Derek McLane (42nd show, 5th nom for scenic design), A Soldier’s Play
• Clint Ramos (as scenic designer 3rd show, 1st nomination) Slave Play

On Broadway designers often do both costume design AND scenic design, hence confusing stats... some of these men have also been nominated and won for costume design. Derek McClane only does scenic design. Clint Ramos does either scenic design or costumes but never both at once. The others do both simultaneously. 

Best Scenic Design of a Musical 

• Riccardo Hernández and Lucy Mackinnon, Jagged Little Pill
• Derek McLane (43rd show, 6th nom for scenic design), Moulin Rouge! The Musical
• Mark Thompson (15th show, 3rd nom for scenic design) and Jeff Sugg (10th show as projection designer, 2nd nomination), Tina – The Tina Turner Musical 

Projection Design which Jeff Sugg does used to be its own category but now it's part of Scenic Design. 

Best Costume Design of a Play 

• Dede Ayite (3rd show as lead designer, 1st nomination), Slave Play
• Dede Ayite (4th show as lead designer, 2nd nominaton), A Soldier’s Play
• Bob Crowley (for costume design 21st show, 6th nomination), The Inheritance
• Rob Howell (for costume design 12th show, 4th nomination, 1 win), A Christmas Carol
• Clint Ramos (for costume design 10th show, 4th nomination, 1 win), The Rose Tattoo

Best Costume Design of a Musical

• Emily Rebholz (8th show, 1st nomination), Jagged Little Pill
• Mark Thompson (for costume design 13th show, 4th nomination) Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
• Catherine Zuber (51st show, 17th nomination, 9 wins) Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Lighting Design of a Play

• Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
• Jon Clark, The Inheritance
• Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside
• Allen Lee Hughes, A Soldier’s Play
• Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

• Bruno Poet, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
• Justin Townsend, Jagged Little Pill
• Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play 

• Paul Arditti & Christopher Reid, The Inheritance
• Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
• Lindsay Jones, Slave Play
• Daniel Kluger, Sea Wall/A Life
• Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside

Best Sound Design of a Musical 

• Jonathan Deans, Jagged Little Pill
• Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
• Nevin Steinberg, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical 

Best Direction of a Play 

• David Cromer, The Sound Inside
• Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
• Kenny Leon, A Soldier’s Play
• Jamie Lloyd, Betrayal
• Robert O’Hara, Slave Play 

Best Direction of a Musical

• Phyllida Lloyd, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
• Diane Paulus, Jagged Little Pill
• Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Choreography

• Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jagged Little Pill
• Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
• Anthony Van Laast, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Orchestrations 

• Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill
• Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
• Ethan Popp, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Comments

[Mark Kushin]

Broadway is a dinosaur.

[Eoin Daly]

It is slightly odd that the tony committee have chosen to announce a list of nominees given the announcement from early this week as you mentioned in the article. As a person who gest excited by any nomination even if it's odd I don't have a major issue with it.

If actors like Aaron Tveit, Laura Linney and Danny Burstein can finally win a tony award for their years of work on the stage I won't be made and won't treat it as them only winning due to the closure of theatre.

[Brian]

I’m very disappointed that even if they didn’t actually like The Lightning Thief it was still the only musical that opened that had an original score. The fact that the whole show was snubbed feels like just one giant middle finger to that show. Also, the lead of that show still did wonderful work and it’s sad that he couldn’t be at least recognized with a nomination.

[JW]

It made me happy to see Tony nominations today.

[Working stiff]

No offense, Nathaniel, but saying that Slave Play is "about multiple interracial couples" is like saying Oedipus Rex is "about a Greek royal family." ;-)

[Joe G]

I kind of feel sad for Aaron Tevit. Yes, he finally has a nomination, and will win. However, it's kind of a shame he'll win against... no one. It reminds me of when Glenn Close won for Sunset. A towering performance and a deserved win, but one that seems lesser because she was only against one person.

[NATHANIEL R]

working stiff -- but aren't interracial relationships the entire theme? That's what i understood but If not i apologize and thought it unwise to get specific in the description since I didn't see the show.

Brian -- yeah that is a big middle finger. Especially since it makes Aaron Tveit an automatic winner.

eoin -- that will be the bright side (possibly) yes

[Working stiff]

Well, Slave Play features interracial relationships, but it's about the inherited trauma of American slavery through the lens of sexual power dynamics. A brilliant piece of theater, darkly comedic and super uncomfortable.

[Andrew Carden]

JANE ALEXANDER!!

[James]

Please recheck your list. Numerous sites are reporting that The Sound Inside was nominated for Best Play.

[StephenM]

I like having a positive attitude better than questioning the "curious" timing. It's great seeing actors like Linney, Smith, Tveit and Gyllenhaal nominated. And perusing the nominees added such a nice bit of normalcy to my life today, even if they were a few months late. I'm glad the Tonys are finally happening!

Also, I think Tveit still needs 60% of the votes to win his category. So if enough voters abstain he could still lose, which would be cruel.

[Ian]

I hope Tony voters know this, because I surely didn't. Aaron Tveit still has to be voted in the affirmative by 60% of the membership to actually win. So there's a chance he could LOSE as the sole nominee! Is this unprecedented? How would he react on a Zoom Tonys not winning? That would be horrible. This category shouldn't be awarded at all.

How awful was "The Lightning Thief" to be snubbed so thoroughly by the nominating committee?

[JF]

It's Mary Louise Parker's first major acting nomination in 11 years, which is nice to see.

She's had an odd and sometimes frustrating career, but in the right vehicle she's incredible. I wish she worked more but she also feels hard to cast.

[NATHANIEL R]

James -- i pulled the list (copy/paste) from Variety so let's blame them Let me see if i can find official proof of the nomination. and if so will fix straightaway

[NATHANIEL R]

James -- okay confirmed from the official Tony Awards site and updated here.

[Philip H.]

What's the point in nominating one person in a category? That's not a competition.

[Peggy Sue]

No one is going to take awards shows seriously after all this.

[JF]

@Peggy Sue—

I think I agree with you. All of the big ones are flailing in one way or another—unable to keep up with the splintering of the culture, new political pressures, general cynicism and bad headlines. And now COVID and the puncturing of celebrity culture in general. It's not a good time to be a major awards show.

[JF]

And I'll add that the Tonys always had it hard (or maybe they had/have it easy?) since the Broadway echo chamber is so small.

[Harry]

Wonder why they didn't campaigned Jane Alexander in lead.
And speaking of, a pity she's not being given more movie roles. A great Oscar comeback role for a 5th nomination/1st win would be fabulous.

[Victor S.]

They should have consolidated categories instead of having Aaron Tveit as a single nominee, something like “best actor in a musical - lead or featured” or “best actor in a play or musical” or a genderless category like “best actor or actress in a musical”.
Anyway, congratulations Aaron.

[kin]

The HK Film Awards will actually take a year off due to the limited numbers of productions (this is not an Oscars-like situation, as there really weren't too many new Hong Kong films released this year...most current releases are eligible for this past year's awards instead.) Of all the major awards, Tonys should really have taken this route. Isn't it the point of the Tonys to drive interest in the Broadway productions? Why drive interest now if audiences can't find the winners for another half year(+)?

[Jaragon]

I'm glad Jake G got nominated- and no Broadway is not a dinosaur- its the heart beat of New York City which for now is sadly silenced

[MK]

It's a dinasour that produces the same plays over and over again with different movie stars and overpriced musicals that sound like karaoke night.

[Aaron T.]

They stole my moment. I'll forever be the guy who won with no competition.

[Lurie]

Is Slave Play good or is it bait for liberals with a bad conscience?

[Working stiff]

@ Lurie

Think I answered that in my comment.

[Pam]

The annual Tony Awards is my favorite awards show to watch--always so much love and goodwill in the room. But I'm okay with a zoom ceremony. Though I don't get down to NYC often, I did, sadly, have tickets to see Sharon D Clarke in Caroline or Change at the Roundabout, Hadestown (Tony winner from 2019), and Girl from the North Country (Olivier nom from 2018) in the spring.

But some good news for theater fans during COVID, there's SO MUCH available to stream. For free, or for a small donation (usually $10 or $20), it's a way to support smaller theaters or general actor/crew funds. Plus, there are options from other countries. Time Out NYC publishes a list each week, as does Playbill. I missed the all-female Shakespeare productions from St Ann's Warehouse a couple of years ago, but filmed versions of the original productions from London are now available to stream directly from the St Ann's site.

[NATHANIEL R]

Pam -- yes. it's true. i should start doing this soon because I basically am missing theater so much lately i feel like crying every day (among other reasons)

[Rebecca]

Aaron Tveit, still in my book the best performance in "Les Miserables". I hope to see him in many many movies!

[Owl]

I was eager to watch Girl from the North Country after being blown away by it during its run at the Public Theatre.

Sea Wall / A Life is my favorite play. Jake Gyllenhaal was fantastic but Tom Sturridge was out of this world sublime. May he win the Tony.

I also saw Grand Horizons where I thought the cast was uniformly good. If I calibrate Jane Alexander's performance like a vocal performance, she is like a veteran jazz singer who stays in tune and was never off-key even if the big-band arrangements do all sorts of crazy improvisations behind her. She is disciplined and affecting when needed. I wonder who the Tony voters will choose between her and Lois Smith in The Inheritance (which I have not seen).

The cast of Jagged Little Pill were also uniformly good. Elizabeth Stanley was affecting but I thought Lauren Patten was the show's MVP with her bring-down-the-house version of 'You Oughta Know'. That standing O when Lauren finished that song lasted as long as when I saw Glenn Close sing 'As if We Never Said Goodbye' on Broadway in the second iteration of Sunset Boulevard. Lauren Patten will most likely win but her co-stars are also good but not given a rock star treatment like Patten.

Wasn't blown away by The Rose Tattoo that night I saw it and maybe I just didn't get it. Maybe Marisa Tomei was having an off-night that evening but at least the bonus for me was seating close to the great Isabelle Huppert who was also in the audience.

But yes, a win please, for Laura Linney, Danny Burstein and Aaron Tveit even if I have not seen their shows.

[George]

Bummer that Laura Linney will likely lose to Mary-Louise Parker. I feel like she's almost always runner-up at the Tonys!

[Peggy Sue]

"Maybe Marisa was having an off-night that evening but at least the bonus for me was seating close to the great Isabelle Huppert who was also in the audience."

Owl - That means they're pals! Marisa saw Isabelle playing her wonderful monologue in Paris. Saw it on Instagram.

[sam]

(p.s. this is Warren's second nomination, after Shuffle Along)

[Mark Ha]

I married kushner!

[Troy H.]

The American Theatre Wing really should have taken the year off because this whole list of nominations comes off as a desperate attempt simply to keep people interested in coming back to Broadway whenever that happens. In the face of such limited competition all of the wins will seem like gimmes, even if deserved. I gather that most of the productions with double-digit nods would have seen drastically lower numbers under normal circumstances.