Alicia Keys’ musical Hell’s Kitchen and David Adjmi’s critically adored play Stereophonic, about a 1970s band rehearsing and combusting in an atmospherically rendered recording studio, each picked up 13 Tony Award nominations Tuesday. The Outsiders musical, based on S.E. Hinton's classic 1967 novel, picked up 12 nominations. Next, expect weeks of fevered lobbying by the contenders for theater-land’s Oscars, which will be held in New York on June 16.
In a boisterously packed season of show openings, one notable snub was for movie star Steve Carell, locked out of the Best Actor Play category for his title role in Uncle Vanya—his co-star William Jackson Harper beat him to the nomination instead. (Danny DeVito was also snubbed for his role in the poorly received I Need That.) Also nominated were Leslie Odom Jr. for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, Succession star Jeremy Strong for An Enemy of the People, Liev Schreiber for Doubt, and Michael Stuhlbarg for Patriots.
The Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category is a vibrant list of boldface names: Sarah Paulson for Appropriate (her first Tony nomination), Rachel McAdams (Mary Jane), Jessica Lange (Mother Play), Betsy Aidem (Prayer for the French Republic), and Amy Ryan for Doubt: A Parable. (Despite its strong showing in the acting categories, Doubt was locked out of the Best Play Revival category alongside a similarly unloved Uncle Vanya.)
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In the highly contested Best Musical category, where 15 productions were vying for nominations, the five productions nominated were: Hell’s Kitchen, Water for Elephants, The Outsiders, Illinoise, and Suffs. Locked out were shows including Lempicka, Days of Wine and Roses, The Notebook, Here Lies Love, Back to the Future: The Musical, and The Heart of Rock and Roll. Given the commercial jet-fuel a Tony nomination can deliver, those musicals locked out all face individual battles to stay afloat.
The highly favored Stereophonic was nominated for Best Play, alongside Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Prayer for the French Republic, Mary Jane, and Mother Play, while Patriots was locked out. Five of the seven actors from Stereophonic were honored in the featured actor categories.
Notable snubs in the Best Musical Revival category came for The Wiz (which received no nominations in any category) and Monty Python’s Spamalot.
In the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category, Jonathan Groff for Merrily We Roll Along will be competing against Brody Grant (The Outsiders), Dorian Harewood (The Notebook), Brian D’Arcy James (Days of Wine and Roses), and Eddie Redmayne for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. That locked out many performers—including Ali Louis Bourzgui for The Who’s Tommy, Chip Zien (Harmony), Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad (Gutenberg! The Musical!), Corey Cott (The Heart of Rock and Roll), Jeremy Jordan (The Great Gatsby), and James Monroe Iglehart and Taran Killam (Spamalot).
Daniel Radcliffe finally scored a Tony nomination—after four previous roles failed to scoop one—in the featured actor (musical) category for his winningly energetic performance in Merrily We Roll Along.
In the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category, Eden Espinosa (Lempicka) will be competing against Maleah Joi Moon (Hell’s Kitchen), Kelli O’Hara (Days of Wine and Roses), Maryann Plunkett (The Notebook), and Gayle Rankin for her rendering of Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Despite her success in the creative categories, Shaina Taub for Suffs was among those locked out of the lead performer category, alongside McKenzie Kurtz (The Heart of Rock and Roll), Nichelle Lewis (The Wiz), Isabelle McCalla (Water for Elephants), and Eva Noblezada (The Great Gatsby).
As the New York Times noted, three actors who played Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway received Tony nominations—Shoshana Bean (Hell’s Kitchen), Eden Espinosa (Lempicka), and Lindsay Mendez (Merrily).
Will Keen (Patriots), Michael Imperioli (An Enemy of the People), and Alfred Molina (Uncle Vanya) missed out on featured actor (play) nominations—three actors from Stereophonic (Will Brill, Eli Gelb, and Tom Peckinka) are perched in that category.
Sam Gold missed out on a play-directing nomination for An Enemy of the People. Alex Timbers (Here Lies Love), Rebecca Frecknall (Cabaret), and Justin Peck (Illinoise) all missed out on directing nods in the musical category.
The 44 Tony nominators considered 36 Tony-eligible plays and musicals that opened on Broadway between April 28, 2023, and April 25, 2024. 28 of those shows received at least one nomination.
The Best Musical category was the most competitive before Tuesday's announcement and the most baffling one to predict an eventual winner for, as none has won the kind of uniform critical love Stereophonic did in the play category. 10 of the 15 new musicals are still running, and so the continued life of the shows locked out of contention—and all the publicity and public awareness that being a Tony nominee brings with it—immediately becomes that bit more perilous.
Now the Tonys scramble to the finish line begins: expect to see lots of dance numbers on morning TV, and the most boldface of nominees on any chat show their reps can book. It is always a vigorous, competitive race, as shows and nominees seek to make an indelible impression on both voters and mass audiences. Whatever else, the Tonys gives Broadway itself a shop window to sell itself to America and the world.
As to who wins—that’s now it’s up to the approximately 800 Tony voters.
Full list of Tony nominations, 2024
Best New Play
Mary Jane
Prayer for the French Republic
Best New Musical
The Outsiders
Suffs
Water for Elephants
Best Revival of a Play
Best Revival of a Musical
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
William Jackson Harper, Uncle Vanya
Leslie Odom Jr., Purlie Victorious
Liev Schreiber, Doubt
Jeremy Strong, An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
Jessica Lange, Mother Play
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson, Appropriate
Amy Ryan, Doubt: A Parable
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Brody Grant, The Outsiders
Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses
Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Eden Espinosa, Lempicka
Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Will Brill, Stereophonic
Eli Gelb, Stereophonic
Jim Parsons, Mother Play
Tom Pecinka, Stereophonic
Corey Stoll, Appropriate
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Doubt
Juliana Canfield, Stereophonic
Celia Kenan-Bolger, Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon, Stereophonic
Kara Young, Purlie Victorious
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Roger Bart, Back to the Future
Joshua Boone, The Outsiders
Brandon Victor Dixon, Hell’s Kitchen
Sky Lakota-Lynch, The Outsiders
Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along
Steven Skybell, Cabaret
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, Hell’s Kitchen
Amber Iman, Lempicka
Nikki M. James, Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s Spamalot
Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen
Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along
Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret
Best Direction of a Play
Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic
Anne Kauffman, Mary Jane
Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate
Whitney White, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Best Direction of a Musical
Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif, Hell’s Kitchen
Leigh Silverman, Suffs
Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor, The Outsiders
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
Shana Carroll and Jesse Robb, Water for Elephants
Rick and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
Annie-B Parson, Here Lies Love
Justin Peck, Illinoise
Best Orchestrations
Timo Andres, Illinoise
Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, Hell’s Kitchen
Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival, The Outsiders
Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along
Best Book of a Musical
Bekah Brunstetter, The Notebook
Kristoffer Diaz, Hell’s Kitchen
Rick Elice, Water for Elephants
Adam Rapp and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
Shaina Taub, Suffs
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Will Butler, Stereophonic
Adam Guettel, Days of Wine and Roses
Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine, The Outsiders
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Here Lies Love
Shaina Taub, Suffs
Best Scenic Design of a Play
dots, An Enemy of the People
dots, Appropriate
Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious
David Zinn, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
David Zinn, Stereophonic
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen
Tim Hatley and Finn Ross, Back to the Future
Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini, Lempicka
Takeshi Kata, Water for Elephants
David Korins, Here Lies Love
Tom Scutt, Cabaret
Best Costume Design of a Play
Dede Ayite, Appropriate
Dede Ayite, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic
Emilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious
David Zinn, An Enemy of the People
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Dede Ayite, Hell’s Kitchen
Linda Cho, The Great Gatsby
David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
Tom Scutt, Cabaret
Paul Tazewell, Suffs
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Isabella Byrd, Enemy of the People
Amith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French Republic
Jiyoun Chang, Stereophonic
Jane Cox, Appropriate
Natasha Katz, Grey House
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Brandon Stirling Baker, Illinoise
Isabella Byrd, Cabaret
Natasha Katz, Hell’s Kitchen
Bradley King and David Bengali, Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders
Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Leah Gelpe, Mary Jane
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate
Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic
Best Sound Design of a Musical
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer, Here Lies Love
Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along
Nick Lidster, Cabaret
Gareth Owen, Hell’s Kitchen
Cody Spencer, The Outsiders
