Alicia Keys’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Leads The Tony Awards Noms, ‘Purlie Victorious,’ Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’ And More Also Recognized

Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen tops the 2024 Tony Awards nominations list with a whopping 13 recognitions.

BlackFilmandTV.com founder Wilson Morales posted on Instagram the nominations given to Black productions, noting that Hell’s Kitchen, inspired by Keys’ upbringing in New York City, will take on multicultural-led musical The Outsiders in the fight for Best Musical. Essence reports that Hell’s Kitchen has been nominated not only for Best Musical, but also Best Book of a Musical, Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical (Maleah Joi Moon), Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical (Brandon Victor Dixon), Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical (Kecia Lewis), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Dede Ayite) and Best Choreography (Camille A. Brown), among others.

Other Black productions nominated include Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, written by Jocelyn Bioh, for Best Play. Also, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, starring Leslie Odom Jr., written by Ossie Davis and directed by Kenny Leon, has been nominated for Best Revival of a Play. More great news for Purlie Victorious: Kara Young was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, making her the first Black performer to get nominated for a Tony Award three years in a row. Purlie Victorious‘ director Leon has also been nominated for Best Direction of a Play, going against Jaja’s African Hair Braiding director Whitney White.

Odom and Uncle Vanya star William Jackson Harper have been nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, with Odom’s Purlie Victorious co-star Kara Young nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play. She will battle for the award against Doubt: a Parable‘s Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Stereophonic‘s Juliana Canfield.

The Notebook‘s Dorian Harewood nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. Black actors nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical include The Outsiders‘ co-stars Joshua Boone and Sky Lakota-Lynch alongside Hell’s Kitchen‘s Dixon. The Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical category also includes Lempicka‘s Amber Iman and Suffs‘ Nikki M. James alongside Hell’s Kitchen‘s Lewis.

Ayite, who is nominated for her costume design for Hell’s Kitchen, is also against Suff’s‘ Paul Tazewell in that category. But Ayite is also battling against herself in the Best Costume Design of a Play category for her work on Appropriate and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Jaja’s African Hair Braiding‘s sound designers Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella also received a nomination for Best Sound Design of a Play.

Several stars are getting closer to EGOT territory, with Keys, LaChanze, Taraji P. Henson and Kerry Washington earning nominations. Theatrical producer Lamar Richardson and television producer Debra Martin Chase are also among notable producers getting recognized.

The 77th Annual Tony Awards will be hosted once again by Ariana DeBose and will air June 16 at 8/7c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. CBS and Pluto TV will stream the live, exclusive pre-show The Tony Awards: Act One ahead of the Tony Awards on Pluto TV.

Here’s the full list of nominations, as well as the playback of the nominations announcement.

Nominations for the 2024 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards®:

Presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing

Best Book of a Musical

Hell’s Kitchen

Kristoffer Diaz

The Notebook

Bekah Brunstetter

The Outsiders

Adam Rapp and Justin Levine

Suffs

Shaina Taub

Water for Elephants

Rick Elice

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

Days of Wine and Roses

Music & Lyrics: Adam Guettel

Here Lies Love

Music: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim

Lyrics: David Byrne

The Outsiders

Music & Lyrics: Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine

Stereophonic

Music & Lyrics: Will Butler

Suffs

Music & Lyrics: Shaina Taub

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

William Jackson Harper, Uncle Vanya

Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Liev Schreiber, Doubt: A Parable

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 at the Kit Kat Club

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: A Parable

Juliana Canfield, Stereophonic

Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play

Sarah Pidgeon, Stereophonic

Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

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

Roger Bart, Back to the Future: The Musical

Joshua Boone, The Outsiders

Brandon Victor Dixon, Hell’s Kitchen

Sky Lakota-Lynch, The Outsiders

Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along

Steven Skybell, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

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 at the Kit Kat Club

Best Scenic Design of a Play

dots, Appropriate

dots, An Enemy of the People

Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

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

Takeshi Kata, Water for Elephants

David Korins, Here Lies Love

Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini, Lempicka

Tim Hatley and Finn Ross, Back to the Future: The Musical

Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Costume Design of a Play

Dede Ayite, Appropriate

Dede Ayite, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic

Emilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

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 at the Kit Kat Club

Paul Tazewell, Suffs

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Isabella Byrd, An 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 at the Kit Kat Club

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 for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Gareth Owen, Hell’s Kitchen

Cody Spencer, The Outsiders

Best Direction of a Play

Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic

Anne Kauffman, Mary Jane

Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

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

Annie-B Parson, Here Lies Love

Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen

Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders

Justin Peck, Illinoise

Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants

Best Orchestrations

Timo Andres, Illinoise

Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic

Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance), The Outsiders

Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, Hell’s Kitchen

Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along

Best Play

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Author: Jocelyn Bioh

Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Chris Jennings, Madison Wells Live, LaChanze, Taraji P. Henson

Mary Jane

Author: Amy Herzog

Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Chris Jennings

Mother Play

Author: Paula Vogel

Producers: Second Stage Theater, Carole Rothman, Lisa Lawer Post, Salman and Vienn Al-Rashid, Courtney Lederer and Mark Thierfelder, Jerry and Roz Meyer, Alix L.L. Ritchie, Jayne Baron Sherman

Prayer for the French Republic

Author: Joshua Harmon

Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Chris Jennings

Kara Young, nominated in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Purlie Victorious, is the first Black performer to be nominated for a Tony 3 years in a row in your 2024 Tony Awards coverage

Purlie Victorious’ Kara Young has also been nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play. She is also the first Black performer to get nominated for a Tony Award three years in a row.