Nominations Announced For Hamilton-ys
The Tony Award nominations were announced this morning, and “Hamilton” set a record with sixteen nods. Nothing unexpected about that: I knew it was headed for history when its leading lady, Philippa Soo, was nommed, and Audra McDonald, who has a record 6 Tonys and who is in “Shuffle Along,” did not. “Shuffle Along” got the second-most noms (10), but I doubt it will win many Tonys in the face of “Hamilton.” A bright spot was the 5 noms for “Bright Star,” created by the new Steve and Edie (Martin and Brickell). I’m not surprised: it’s a satisfying show which is starting to develop word-of-mouth. The biggest underperformer among the musicals was “American Psycho,” which managed only two noms. And Jennifer Hudson will have to keep waiting for her EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), having failed to score a nom for “The Color Purple.” But that show will win a Tony in the best actress category for the sensational Cynthia Erivo, whose award will probably be the only major one in the musicals category that will not go to “Hamilton.” (Danny Burstein also has a shot for “Fiddler on the Roof.”) Even though the two biggest snubs in the acting categories (McDonald, Hudson) were African-American, the Tonys won’t have the Oscars’ diversity problem: 14 of the 40 nominees in the acting categories are people of color. As for the plays, “Eclipsed” and “The Humans” both got 6 noms, and I expect the latter to win Best Play. I also expect veterans Jessica Lange (“Long Day’s Journey”) and Frank Langella (“The Father”) to win acting awards. As usual, to win your Tonys betting pool you will have to be lucky in the difficult categories of featured actor and featured actress in both Play and Musical.
