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Broadway has been dark for the last seven months (and will continue to be until at least next summer), but the curtain is finally lifting on the delayed — and now virtual — 2020 Tony Awards.
Nominations were announced Thursday for the annual accolades honoring the best of the Broadway season, a roster far different from usual due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has forced theaters closed since March 12.
The Alanis Morissette-soundtracked Jagged Little Pill and the flashy, screen-to-stage Moulin Rouge! The Musical led with 15 and 14 nominations, respectively, with both appearing in the Best Musical category alongside Tina – The Tina Turner Musical. Jeremy O. Harris' searing debut work Slave Play leads the contenders for Best Play with 12 nominations in all — setting a record for most nominations earned by a play — and is in that category alongside Grand Horizons, The Inheritance, Sea Wall/A Life, and The Sound Inside.
Just four new musicals were eligible for awards because of the shortened season, along with 10 new plays and four play revivals (nominees for that award are Betrayal, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and A Soldier's Play), making for a much shorter roster than usual because many shows weren't able to open — or had opened but weren't able to have enough Tony nominators and voters attend before the shutdown. Last year, for context, 34 shows were eligible in all.
Another interesting twist from the truncated season: There's only one actor nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a MusicalL= Aaron Tveit for Moulin Rouge! Tonys rules state that voters will still have to cast a ballot, and he'll need to receive 60 percent of those votes to receive the award.
The 74th annual Tony Awards were originally slated for a June 7 broadcast on CBS, before being postponed in the wake of the pandemic. In August, after months of uncertainty over when and how the ceremony would proceed, it was announced that the show would take place in a digital format in the fall. (An exact date has not yet been announced.)
"Though unprecedented events cut the Broadway season short, it was a year full of extraordinary work that deserves to be recognized," Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, president & CEO of the American Theatre Wing, said in a joint statement. "We are thrilled not only to have found a way to properly celebrate our artists' incredible achievements this season, but also to be able to uplift the entire theatre community and show the world what makes our Broadway family so special at this difficult time. The show must go on, no matter what — and it will."
Thursday's nominations were announced by Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart. See the full list of nominees below:
Best Play
Grand Horizons
The Inheritance
Sea Wall/A Life
Slave Play
The Sound Inside
Best Musical
Jagged Little Pill
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Best Revival of a Play
Betrayal
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
A Soldier's Play
Best Book of a Musical
Diablo Cody, Jagged Little Pill
John Logan, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
A Christmas Carol, Music: Christopher Nightingale
The Inheritance, Music: Paul Englishby
The Rose Tattoo, Music: Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb
Slave Play, Music: Lindsay Jones
The Sound Inside, Music: Daniel Kluger
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Ian Barford, Linda Vista
Andrew Burnap, The Inheritance
Jake Gyllenhaal, Sea Wall/A Life
Tom Hiddleston, Betrayal
Tom Sturridge, Sea Wall/A Life
Blair Underwood, A Soldier's Play
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Joaquina Kalukango, Slave Play
Laura Linney, My Name is Lucy Barton
Audra McDonald, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Mary-Louise Parker, The Sound Inside
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
**From The Tony Awards Rules: If the Tony Awards Nominating Committee has determined that if there is only one nominee in a category listed, such category shall be submitted to the Tony Voters which may, by the affirmative vote of sixty (60%) percent of the total ballots cast, grant an Award in that category.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Karen Olivo, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill
Adrienne Warren, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Ato Blankson-Wood, Slave Play
James Cusati-Moyer, Slave Play
David Alan Grier, A Soldier's Play
John Benjamin Hickey, The Inheritance
Paul Hilton, The Inheritance
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Jane Alexander, Grand Horizons
Chalia La Tour, Slave Play
Annie McNamara, Slave Play
Lois Smith, The Inheritance
Cora Vander Broek, Linda Vista
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Derek Klena, Jagged Little Pill
Sean Allan Krill, Jagged Little Pill
Sahr Ngaujah, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Daniel J. Watts, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Kathryn Gallagher, Jagged Little Pill
Celia Rose Gooding, Jagged Little Pill
Robyn Hurder, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill
Myra Lucretia Taylor, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Soutra Gilmour, Betrayal
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Derek McLane, A Soldier's Play
Clint Ramos, Slave Play
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Riccardo Hernández and Lucy Mackinnon, Jagged Little Pill
Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Best Costume Design of a Play
Dede Ayite, Slave Play
Dede Ayite, A Soldier's Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Clint Ramos, The Rose Tattoo
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Emily Rebholz, Jagged Little Pill
Mark Thompson, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
Jon Clark, The Inheritance
Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside
Allen Lee Hughes, A Soldier's Play
Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Bruno Poet, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Justin Townsend, Jagged Little Pill
Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti & Christopher Reid, The Inheritance
Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
Lindsay Jones, Slave Play
Daniel Kluger, Sea Wall/A Life
Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, Jagged Little Pill
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Nevin Steinberg, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Best Direction of a Play
David Cromer, The Sound Inside
Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
Kenny Leon, A Soldier's Play
Jamie Lloyd, Betrayal
Robert O'Hara, Slave Play
Best Direction of a Musical
Phyllida Lloyd, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Diane Paulus, Jagged Little Pill
Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Choreography
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jagged Little Pill
Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Anthony Van Laast, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Best Orchestrations
Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill
Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Ethan Popp, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
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