A deep dive into the Tony Awards nominations: Who made history?
When the Tony Award nominations dust settled “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Stereophonic” received the most nominations with 13 each, followed by “The Outsiders” with 12, followed by the revivals of “Cabaret” with nine and “Appropriate” earning eight. Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose returns as host of the third consecutive year of the Tony Awards which CBS and Pluto will telecast June 16th from Lincoln Center.
How well to you know your Tony history? Here are some fun facts about the latest crop of nominees.
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The revival of Stephen Sondheim’s 1981 musical “Merrily We Roll Along” earned seven nominations including best revival of a musical, best performance by an actor in a musical for Jonathan Groff, featured actor for Daniel Radcliffe, featured actress for Lindsay Mendez and best director for Maria Friedman (her sister Sonia Friedman is nominated for outstanding play for “Stereophonic”). The troubled original production of “Merrily We Roll Along’ only received a Tony nomination for original score. After 44 previews, the production only ran for 16 performances.
Adam Guettel is nominated for best original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theater for “Days of Wine and Roses.” He won two Tonys in 2005 for orchestrations and original score for 2005’s “The Light in the Piazza.” His mother, Mary Rodgers, penned the music to the 1960 best musical nominee “Once Upon a Mattress.” And his grandfather was one of the titans of musical theater, composer Richard Rodgers, who, with his partner lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, provided the scores of classics as “Oklahoma!” “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” “The King & I” and “The Sound of Music.” He received six competitive Tonys, as well as three special awards.
Veterans Dorian Harewood and Maryann Plunkett are nominated for lead actor and actress in the musical “The Notebook.’ Harewood made his Broadway debut as a swing performer in the 1971-73 musical “Two Gentlemen of Verona”; Plunkett won the Tony for lead actress in a musical 37 years ago for “Me and My Girl.” And speaking of “The Notebook,” Rachel McAdams, who is nominated for lead actress in a drama for her Broadway debut in “Mary Jane,” starred in the 2004 hit film.
Bebe Neuwirth has received her third Tony nomination for “Cabaret” for featured actress in a musical category. She previously won in this category in 1986 for “Sweet Charity” and as best actress eleven years later for “Chicago.” And speaking of “Cabaret,” the original 1966 production of the Kander and Ebb classic won eight Tonys including best musical, director for Harold Prince and featured actor for Joel Grey as the Emcee. Grey reprised his iconic role in the 1987-88 revival which earned three Tony nominations. The most popular revival was director Sam Mendes’ 1998 production which ran 2, 377 performances and won Tonys for revival, actor for Alan Cumming as the Emcee, lead actress for Natasha Richardson and featured actor for Ron Rifkin. Mendes returned as director (Rob Marshall was co-director) for the 2014-15 revival which earned just two Tony nods. The current revival starring lead actor nominee Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee is in contention for nine Tonys. Redmayne is also a co-producer of the best revival nominee.
Sky Lakota-Lynch, who earned a featured actor in a musical nomination as Johnny Cade in “The Outsiders,” is half Native American and half black. Lakota-Lynch told Playbill: “I specifically relate to Johnny as a mixed person. Being half Black and half Native American truly makes you the outsider. You’re not Native American to the Native Americans. You’re not Black to the Blacks. So where does Johnny belong?” Ralph Macchio played Johnny in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film version.
Justin Peck is nominated for his choreography of the musical “Illinoise”; he won the award in 2018 for the revival of “Carousel.” In 2015, he was the subject of the documentary feature “Ballet 422.”
The revival of Ossie Davis’ “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp through the Cotton Patch” is nominated for three Tonys including best actor in a leading role for Leslie Odom Jr. and for actress in a featured role for Kara Young. The original production opened on Broadway in 1961 and starred Davis, his wife Ruby Dee, comedian Godfrey Cambridge and Alan Alda. It only scored a Tony nod for Cambridge. All but one of the Broadway cast appeared in the 1963 film adaptation ‘Gone Are the Days!” The hit 1970 musical version “Purlie” won lead actor for Cleavon Little and featured actress for Melba Moore.
The acclaimed revival of Henry Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People,” — this new version is by Amy Herzog — is nominated for four Tonys including best revival of a play and lead actor for Jeremy Strong. According to IBDB.com, this is the 11th Broadway production of Ibsen’s 1882 play: the first being in 1895. It is the first to ever receive Tony nominations.
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