73rd Tony Awards: "Hadestown" and "The Ferryman" lead the nominations
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 10:26AM
NATHANIEL R in Broadway and Stage, Hadestown, The Prom, Tony Awards, Tootsie

by Nathaniel R

Tony nominee Brandon Victor Dixon and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth announced the nominations this morning for Broadway's top honor. "Hadestown" led the nominations for musicals with 14 (wow) while "The Ferryman" and Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird" led the plays with 9 nominations each. In a surprise twist though, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was NOT nominated for Best Play despite such a wealth of nominations across the board; it's even nominated for Original Score (a category usually reserved for musicals only).

 A full list of nominations with trivia and commentary is after the jump...

THE 73RD ANNUAL TONY NOMINATIONS
If a show has already closed it has an asterisk by its name. 

BEST MUSICAL:

There were 11 original musicals on the board this season, only 2 of which have already closed. The eligible shows that were passed over were: Be More Chill (which was thought to have a good chance at the nod), The Cher Show, Getting the Band Back Together*, Head Over Heels*, King Kong, and Pretty Woman. 

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

These were the only eligible revivals (strange since revivals are often quite common), so this double nomination was a done deal. The polarizing Oklahoma! is expected to win for its daring take on the material, whereas Kiss Me Kate is largely viewed as the fun but inessential musical comedy fare.

Oklahoma! has actually never won the Tony for Best Musical (the original production in 1943 pre-dated the Tony Awards) or Best Musical Revival. The most recent previous revival in 2002 was nominated but lost. In contrast Kiss Me Kate has won the statues for both Musical (1949) and Revival of a Musical (2000) previously.

BEST PLAY:

There were 14 eligible productions this year, half of which are still running. The 9 eligible shows that were passed over were: American Son*, Bernhardt/Hamlet*, Hillary and Clinton, The Lifespan of a Fact*, The Nap*, Network, The New One*, Straight White Men*, and To Kill a Mockingbird. The biggest surprise is surely the absence of Mockingbird which has been a big hit and the Tony nominating committee obviously loved it given the high nomination count.

 

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY:

The really cool thing about this category is due to a new ruling (that was long in coming) if a play was deemed sufficient reworked or had never been on Broadway before, than the author of the play is now a nominee, too. Which means Harvey Fierstein, Matt Crowley, and Kenneth Lonergan are all nominees this year. The only one of those three who was previously Tony-honored for these plays was Fierstein, but he rewrote Torch Song (cutting out a third of its length to make it a two-act -- it was originally called Torch Song Trilogy)

This race was less competitive than last year with only 7 eligible productions. The two eligible shows that were passed over were True West (2nd time on Broadway) and King Lear. Lear has been on Broadway six times since the Tony Awards began in 1947 but only the most recent previous revival in 2004 was Tony nominated)

 

BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY:

In a shocker this morning despite an expanded category of six, Glenda Jackson was shut out. She's a five time nominee who won just last year for "Three Tall Women" and was on the boards again with an acclaimed performance as the title character in "King Lear". Trivia of note: Heidi Schreck is not the first woman to write herself to a Tony nomination (Claudia Shear also did that for "Dirty Blonde" in 2000) but if she wins she'll be the first to win for a role she wrote for herself.

BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY:

Can Paddy Considine win a Tony for "The Ferryman"?

We knew this category would be star-filled but it's a bit of a surprise to see Tony favourites like Tracy Letts for "All My Sons", John Lithgow for "Hillary and Clinton", and Nathan Lane for "Gary" all shut out. It's actually possible to imagine ANY of these five nominees winning which makes it exciting (though starpower and high nomination tallies suggests this is a fight between Daniels and Considine)

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:

The surprise this morning, while not a true shocker, is the absence of Rebecca Naomi Jones from "Oklahoma!". We're not sure who will win this other than it won't be O'Hara, who some feel was miscast but she is to the Tony Awards what Amy Adams is to the Oscars, always nominated regardless. 

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:

 

Santino Fontana looks like the man to beat for playing the woman that made him a better man in the musical comedy adaptation of Tootsie (1982). Eligible performers that failed to make the cut include Reeve Carney for "Hadestown" and Will Chase for "Kiss Me Kate" 

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY:

 

The big exclusions here are Joan Allen and Mercedes Ruehl (both previous Tony winners) for "The Waverly Gallery" and "Torch Song" but what a category. All of these women are so talented. 

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY:

Benjamin Walker in "All My Sons"

 

This was an extremely competitive category for nominations but some notable absences are John Clay III from "Choir Boy," Hampton Fluker from "All My Sons" and Tom Glynn-Carney for "The Ferryman". It's nice to see Benjamin Walker nominated since Tony did him so wrong by passing him over previously for his awesome performance in "American Psycho"

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:

Several ouch snubs here. Stephanie Hsu in "Be More Chill," Leslie Kritzer in "Beetlejuice" and Bonnie Milligan in "Head Over Heels" (three totally hilarious ladies) were all honored by precursors but shut-out here. I was a bit surprised to see Lilli Cooper honored in their place. She plays the Jessica Lange role in Tootsie but Sarah Stiles totally steals this version in the Terri Garr role. 

None of these women have ever won so it will be an exciting moment when the envelope is opened.

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:

Ephraim Sykes (nominated), Jeremy Pope (nominated), Jawan M Jackson, James Harkness, and Derrick Baskin (nominated) in "Aint Too Proud"

Jeremy Pope accomplishes the rare feat of a double nomination at the Tonys. That's less common than at the Oscars since it's really difficult to star in two Broadway shows in one season given that you can only do one show a night. But his performance in "Choir Boy" early in the season was remembered well enough to get him a lead nomination there and he left that show a bit early for a supporting role in this one. For what it's worth Grotelueschen has the Bill Murray role in the adaptation of Tootsie. 

It's a pity that John Behlmann was shut out for his totally hilarious performance as a dim social media hunk turned actor "Tootsie"  (taking the plot place of the old lecherous soap actor in the movie). Other notable omissions were Patrick Vaill for "Oklahoma!", Corbin Bleu from "Kiss Me Kate" and George Salazar who slays "Be More Chill"'s best song and received precursor nominations.

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY

 

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Is it finally Scott Ellis's time to win or will Rachel Chavkin take it with the show with the most nominations?

 

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL:

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

A lot of fresh blood this time. Eddie Perfect also made his Broadway debut this season with TWO shows, the earlier production being "King Kong".

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY:

You'll know Santo Loquasto from his film work. The 74 year old does costume and set design for Broadway and mostly production design for the movies. He's been nominated for 3 Oscars (2 for production design and 1 for costume design -- all for Woody Allen pictures)

 

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL:

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY:

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Adronicus

A DOUBLE NOMINATION for 87 year old Ann Roth who you'll know as Meryl Streep's preferred costume designer. Roth most recently gave Streep that glorious gold caftan in The Post. She won her Oscar for The English Patient (1996) and her Tony for The Nance (2013) starring Gary Lane. She's also been Emmy nominated but never won there.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL:

Sad to see "Head Over Heels" miss here but it's SO fun that Bob Mackie gets a nomination for a musical in which an actor (Michael Beresse) actually plays him! That has to be a first for a costume designer. 

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY:

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL:

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY:

 Ink

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY:

Choir Boy, a rare play to get a "Choreography" nomination

Disappointed that "Head Over Heels" missed here. And no "The Cher Show" either? "Tootsie" and "Choir Boy" feel a little surprising here as one is not a dance musical and the other is a play (albeit a play with some musical numbers).

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS:

 

NON COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre:

Rosemary Harris, actress
Terence McNally, playwright
Harold Wheeler 

Special Tony Award

Marin Mazzie (posthumous honor for her advocacy and leadership within the theatre community for women's health issues and organizations)
Sonny Tilders & Creature Technology Company (puppetry of King Kong) 
Jason Michael Webb (for his vocal arrangements for Choir Boy) 

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award:
Judith Light

Regional Theatre Tony Award
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre:
Broadway Inspirational Voices - Michael McElroy, Founder
Peter Entin
FDNY Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9
Joseph Blakely Forbes 

 

three painful notes-to-go...

OUCH THAT HURTS
Plays Hillary and Clinton and King Lear, and the musical Be More Chill each received only one nomination and had reason to hope for at least a couple of more. 

COMPLETE SHUTOUTS!
The eligible Broadway productions among musicals that received not a single nominatio this year were Getting the Band Back Together, Head Over Heels, and Pretty Woman. Head Over Heels surely deserved a few nods so we're quite unhappy about that one. As for the plays, True West (starring Ethan Hawke),  American Son (starring Kerry Washington), The Lifespan of a Fact (starring Cherry Jones and Daniel Radcliffe), The Nap, Mike Birbiglia's The New One, and Straight White Men all came up completely empty. 

WHAT WILL ANNOUNCE A CLOSING NOTICE FIRST?
Generally after the Tony nominations shows that didn't do well start dropping like flies but this year most of the shows that were completely shut out have already closed, so what will fall first? Most of the plays already have summer closing dates so they're immune to this question. Care to place a bet? Perhaps the lukewarm Tony response will be most damaging to Be More Chill and The Cher Show? 

 

 

The 73rd annual Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS on Sunday June 9th, 2019. Tony winner James Corden returns to hosting duties this year. He previously hosted in 2016.

 

 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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