"A Strange Loop" and "Company" lead the musical nods for the 75th Annual Tony Award Nominations

by Patrick Ball

A STRANGE LOOP leads the nominations. Photo © The New York Times / Sara Krulwich

Pulitzer winner A Strange Loop led the Tony nominations this morning but only by 1. Paradise Square a period musical about NYC's five points neighborhood, and the Michael Jackson musical MJ each scored 10 nominations. While Stephen Sondheim's Company was the clear frontrunner among the Revivals with 9 nominations. Voters nearly shut out two big glitzy musicals (Funny Girl and Mrs Doubtfire scored just 1 nomination each!) and the year's priciest ticket had mixed results with The Music Man scoring just 6 nominations. If you believe nomination counts predict winners (they do sometimes) your big winners in June will be the popular gender bent revival of Company, the box office struggling revival of for colored girls (which could get a big boost from these nods), and for original musicals and plays, A Strange Loop  and the already-closed The Lehman Trilogy respectively. 

The nominations after the jump include a lot of well loved stars (Jackman, Foster, Rashad, Negga, Crystal, Dratch, Aduba, Winningham) though several other "names" were snubbed (SJP, Feldstein, Craig) were left out...

THE NOMINATIONS (MUSICALS)

* = the show has already closed

BEST MUSICAL

• Girl from the North Country (7 nominations)
• MJ (10 nominations)
• Mr Saturday Night (5 nominations)
• Paradise Square (10 nominations)
• SIX (8 nominations)
• A Strange Loop (11 nominations, the leader) 

9 shows were eligible and the voting was obviously close given the rules about percentages so we got six nominees instead of the usual 5. The only show that's open that wasn't nominated is Mrs Doubtfire but that one will sell tickets to tourists anyway given the IP. People did not expect Flying Over Sunset or Diana to place since the former closed a long time ago and the latter was viciously reviewed. 

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

• Caroline or Change* (3 nominations)
• Company (9 nominations)
• The Music Man (6 nominations)

4 shows were eligible. The first ever revival of Funny Girl was the one on the chopping block which is not surprising given the unfavorable reviews.

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL

• Girl from the North Country, Conor McPherson
• MJ, Lynn Nottage
• Mr Saturday Night, Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel
• Paradise Square, Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan
• A Strange Loop, Michael R Jackson

The surprise nominee here is surely the Michael Jackson musical MJ which pundits thought might be divisive in terms of nominations given the controversies over the late pop star (though that wasn't at all the case since it racked up the nominations). "Book" is like "screenplay" essentially. So again its Mrs Doubtfire that's the big one left out. Perhaps Six's concert nature worked against it?

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE 
Technically plays are also eligible here though rarely nominated since they dont tend to have much scoring

• Flying Over Sunset*, Tom Kitt & Michael Korie
• Mr Saturday Night, Jason Robert Browne & Amanda Green
• Paradise Square, Jason Howland, Nathan Tysen & Masi Asare
• SIX, Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
• A Strange Loop, Michael R Jackson

7 of the 9 original musicals on Broadway this season were eligible plus a scattered amount of plays. Tony voters really did not like Mrs Doubtfire.

*for the rest of the musical categories both originals and revivals are eligible

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

• Sharon D Clark, Caroline or Change* (1st show. 1st nomination)
• Carmen Cusack, Flying OVer Sunset* (2nd show. 2nd nomination)
• Sutton Foster, Music Man (12th show. 7th nomination. 2 previous wins)
• Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square (5th show. 2nd nomination)
• Mare Winningham, Girl From the North Country (3rd show. 2nd nomination)

The semi-surprise here was Carmen Cusack for the long closed Flying Over Sunset beating out Tony winner Katrina Lenk (of The Band's Visit fame) for Company... though we don't mind that so much. Company is a great production but oddly she was its weakest link. Beanie Feldstein was unsurprisingly shut out (her reviews were particularly mean) for Funny Girl. All six wives in Six were designated as leads and none could overcome that internal competition handicap. But Broadway favourite (and an actress we've loved forever) Mare Winningham overcame having a smallish role in the ensemble piece Girl from the North Country to land in the shortlist. This category was much more crowded than usual with 15 or so women vying for placement. That was a tough break for a lot of them who might have been shoo-ins in a less competitive season.

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL 

• Billy Crystal, Mr Saturday Night (2nd show. 1st nomination)
• Myles Frost, MJ (1st show. 1st nomination)
• Hugh Jackman, The Music Man (5th show. 2nd nomination. 1 previous win and 1 special award) 
• Rob McClure, Mrs Doubtfire (8th show. 2nd nomination)
• Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop (1st show. 1st nomination)

Rob McClure managed a nomination, the ONLY nomination for his tourist-friendly show, Mrs Doubtfire.

Omissions here include Tony nominees like Ramin Karimloo (Funny Girl) as Nicky Anstein and our beloved Tony Yazbeck for the long closed Flying Over Sunset (he was playing Cary Grant). Jay O. Sanders received much praise for his turn in Girl from the North Country but unlike Mare Winningham didn't overcome the smallness of the role given his competition. 

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

• Jeanette Bayardelle, Girl from the North Country
• Shoshana Bean, Mr Saturday Night (5 shows. 1st nomination)
• Jayne Houdyshell, The Music Man (12 shows. 5th nomination. 1 previous win)
• L Morgan Lee, A Strange Loop
• Patti LuPone, Company
• Jennifer Simard, Company

All of the Caroline or Change actresses were left out. And the general response to Funny Girl obviously hurt Jane Lynch. Patti LuPone is widely expected to win her third Tony for Company. But personally we preferred Simard who steals all her scenes in a part that isn't 'an awards role' in the way Patti's "Joanne" is so she's doing ALL the work. But it is also the omst I've personally ever liked Patti in a show (I'm not a Patti Gay. Sorry!) 

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

• Matt Doyle, Company (5th show. 1st nomination)
• Sidney DuPont, Paradise Square (2nd show. 1st nomination)
• Jared Grimes, Funny Girl (4th show. 1st nomination)
• John-Andrew Morrison, A Strange Loop (1st show. 1st nomination)
• AJ Shively, Paradise Square  (3rd show. 1st nomination)

THE ONLY PERFORMANCE CATEGORY THIS YEAR THAT'S ALL FIRST TIME NOMINEES!

This is one of the more surprising lineups. The nomination for Jared Grimes is the ONLY nomination for the big budget high expectations Funny Girl so that's a surprise. Everyone expected David Paymer to repeat his Oscar nomination for Mr Saturday Night with a Tony nomination but it didn't happen. Tony winner Jefferson Mays was also widely tipped to compete for The Music Man . The omission we're saddest about is Claybourne Elder (who you'll know from The Gilded Age) who took a role that isn't usually the highlight of Company (the beautiful dumb flight attendant) and made it one. He was just fantastic.

BEST DIRECTION, MUSICAL

• Company, Marianne Elliott
• Girl from the North Country, Conor McPherson
• MJ, Chrisopher Wheeldon
• Six, Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage
• A Strange Loop, Steven Brackett

The big miss here is arguably the legendary Jerry Zaks missing for The Music Man.  

BEST SCENIC DESIGN, MUSICAL

• Company
• Flying Over Sunset
• MJ
• Paradise Square 
• A Strange Loop

BEST COSTUME DESIGN, MUSICAL 

• Caroline or Change
• Diana the Musical
• MJ
• The Music Man
• Paradise Square
• Six

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN, MUSICAL

• Company
• Flying Over Sunset
• MJ
• Paradise Square
• Six
• A Strange Loop

BEST SOUND DESIGN, MUSICAL

• Company
• Girl from the North Country
• MJ
• Six
• A Strange Loop

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Technically plays are also eligible in this category though rarely nominated 

• Company
• Girl from North Country
• MJ
• Six
• A Strange Loop 

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Technically plays are also eligible in this category though rarely nominated

• for colored girls
• MJ
• The Music Man
• Paradise Square
• Six

THE NOMINATIONS (PLAYS)

* = the show has already closed 

BEST PLAY

• Clyde's* (5 nominations)
• Hangmen (5 nominations) -- Closes June 18th
• The Lehman Trilogy*
• The Minutes (1 nomination) -  Closes July 24th
• Skeleton Crew* (3 nominations)

12 shows were eligible with 4 of the 12 still running. The Lehman Trilogy looks like it's in the lead given its very impressive nomination count despite being closed. The shows that were left out were Birthday Candles (will it close early now despite only having a few weeks left?), Chicken & Biscuits, Dana H., Is This a Room, Pass Over, POTUS, and Thoughts of A Colored Man. 

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY

• American Buffalo  (4 nominations) -- Closes July 10th
• for colored girls... (7 nominations) -- Closes May 22nd
• How I Learned to Drive (3 nominations) -- Closes May 29th
• Take Me Out (4 nominations) -- Closes June 11th
• Trouble in Mind* (4 nominations)

9 shows were eligible, 7 of which were still open. The 4 that are still open just got a boost for ticket sales for their final weeks. The only closed show that made it was Trouble in Mind. The negative press about 'why is Broadway still reviving David Mamet shows?' didn't end up hurting American Buffalo. Noitable misses here included the starry modern Macbeth and Lincoln Center's The Skin of Our Teeth. 

BEST ACTRESS, PLAY

• Gabby Beans, The Skin of Our Teeth  (1st show. 1st nomination)
• LaChanze, Trouble in Mind*  (10th show. 4th nomination. 1 previous win)
• Ruth Negga, Macbeth  (1st who. 1st nomination)
• Deirdre O’Connell, Dana H.*  (3rd show. 1st nomination)
• Mary-Louise Parker, How I Learned to Drive  (9th show. 5th nomination. 2 previous wins)

The big snub here is Sarah Jessica Parker for Plaza Suite who was widely expected to be nominated. Will Mary Louise Parker win her third Tony? There's quite a narrative since she led the original production of this 25 year old show Off Broadway.

BEST ACTOR, PLAY

• Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy*  (3rd show. 2nd nomination)
• Adam Godley, The Lehman Trilogy*  (3rd show. 2nd nomination)
• Adrian Lester, The Lehman Trilogy*  (1st show. 1st nomination)
• David Morse, How I Learned to Drive  (4th show. 2nd nomination)
• Sam Rockwell, American Buffalo (3rd show. 1st nomination)
• Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues*  (8th show. 3rd nomination. 1 previous win)
• David Threfall, Hangmen  (3rd show. 2nd nomination)

Will this go to David Morse (reprising an old role) or Ruben Santiaga-Hudson's acclaimed (and remembered despite closing!) solo performance?

But overall this is insane. We're supposed to get 5 nominees and somehow it's 7. Voting must have been very tight but we dont approve of wildly varying numbers of nominees at any awards show. This is a tough break for Jon Michael Hill and Namir Smallwood from the long closed but very well reviewed Pass Over.  It's not surprising that Daniel Craig missed for Macbeth but still noteable given his stardom.  

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS, PLAY

• Uzo Aduba, Clyde’s  (3rd show. 1st nomination)
• Rachel Dratch, POTUS  (2nd show. 1st nomination)
• Kenita R Miller, for colored girls...  (5th show. 1st nomination)
• Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew  (11th show. 3rd nomination. 1 previous win)
• Julie White, POTUS (9th show. 4th nomination, 1 previous win)
• Kara Young, Clydes  (1st show. 1st nomination)

Voting was close given the extra slot but even with six nominees there were some obvious omissions like Blair Brown from The Minutes, and other actresses from Trouble in Mind, Hangmen, How I Learned to Drive, and Macbeth 

BEST FEATURED ACTOR, PLAY

• Alfie Allen, Hangmen (1st show. 1st nomination)
• Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind* (17th show. 2nd nomination. 1 previous win) 
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out (4th show. 1st nomination)
• Ron Cephas Jones, Clyde's* (4th show. 1st nomination)
• Michael Oberholtzer, Take Me Out (2nd show. 1st nomination)
• Jesse Williams, Take Me Out (first show. 1st nomination)

Voting was close so we got six nominees. This was a competitive category so it's a tough break for well liked performances from Pass Over, Hangmen, Skeleton Crew, and The Minutes.

BEST DIRECTION, PLAY

• American Buffalo, Neil Pepe
• Dana H., Les Waters
• for colored girls, Camille A Brown
• The Lehman Trilogy, Sam Mendes
• Skin of Our Teeth, Lileana Blain-Cruz

BEST SCENIC DESIGN, PLAY

• American Buffalo
• Hangmen
• The Lehman Trilogy
• POTUS
• Skeleton Crew
• The Skin of Our Teeth

BEST COSTUME DESIGN, PLAY

• Clyde's
• for colored girls...
• Plaza Suite
• The Skin of our Teeth
• Trouble in Mind

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN, PLAY

• for colored girls...
• Hangmen
• The Lehman Trilogy
• Macbeth
• Skin of Our Teeth

BEST SOUND DESIGN, PLAY

• for colored girls...
• Dana H.
• The Lehman Trilogy
• Macbeth
• The Skin of Our Teeth

If you missed the announcement show starring Tony winner Adrienne Warren and 3 time nominee Joshua Henry, here it was...

Oscar winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) will host the Tony Awards live on CBS and Paramount+, June 12th. 

Comments

[Ryan T.]

Was EXTREMELY lucky to have scored lottery tickets for A STRANGE LOOP yesterday knowing that today it would rack up these Tony nominations and thus making it even more difficult to get tickets to that show. Happy for its success!

I'm very happy Matt Doyle got his first Tony nom for a role which gave Jonathan Bailey (of BRIDGERTON fame) won an Olivier award for so I hope Doyle repeats.

Haven't seen her in it, but I'm glad Ruth Negga got this nomination after being snubbed by the Oscars this year.

I guess I need to try to see PARADISE SQUARE!

[TomG]

Didn't Ramin Karimloo get a nomination for the recent Les Miserables revival?

I am very happy for Rachel Dratch finally getting some awards attention. She has been funny for years but always seemed to get pushed to the side and never given any real chances to shine.

This is shaping up to be a very good awards season for Hugh Jackman.

[NathanielB]

Wow, A Strange Loop did so well that this really boosts Jennifer Hudson's chances of completing her EGOT (she's a nominated producer, along with RuPaul, Alan Cumming, Ilana GlazerMindy Kaling, and Billy Porter).

[DK]

I would love to see Mary-Louise Parker win her third (and second consecutive) Tony for Best Actress in a Play. She's a great actress—whatever her career has looked like through the years—and it's great to see her thriving again, especially onstage.

[StephenM]

Yeah, Karimloo was nominated for Les Mis.

Happy for Dratch - she is always so funny and underappreciated - and Parker, Threlfall (when was he last nominated? 1980?).

The mainstream press is always so ill informed about awards shows. Craig's snub seems like the headline on every article, and it wasn't at all surprising. Lol.

[rrrich7]

As someone else has said, happy for Rachel Dracht, who usually is pushed to the side. Also, love that 3 guys were nominated for Best Featured Actor in Take Me Out. I had the pleasure of reading the play recently, and it's a wonderful story with a lot of great parts. Also, happy to see my fave of many years ago (the 1970's), for colored girls. "And I didn't even get a chance to take a douche..."

[thevoid99]

Like a lot of these nods except for Diana getting a costume design nod. Ugh...

[Pam]

So sad that my weekend of A Strange Loop, Paradise Square, and 'Suffs all got cancelled due to COVID, but was able to rebook for Suffs later this month. It's always a shame that the Public Theater is not considered Broadway.

And peeps outside of NYC and London, do not forget National Theatre Live (saw Lehman Trilogy with two of the same cast-Adrian Lester subbed in for Ben Miles on Broadway-in a movie theater!) Also 2nd Stage had a version of Clyde's that streamed.