Curtain call! The 2020 Tony Awards nominations have arrived!
As we recently reported, the Tony Awards will be going virtual this year (like every other major award ceremony).
On Thursday, Tony Award Winner James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin) hosted the nominations announcement in true dramatic flair.
Black Broadway is having a good year as Slave Play and Tina - The Tina Turner Musical were each tied in the Top 3 with 12 nominations, each. Both shows scored the big category in their respective lanes—Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play getting the Best Play nomination and Tina - The Tina Turner Musical getting the Best Musical nomination.
The directing and writing categories have some Black representation, including Kenny Leon (Best Direction of a Play; A Soldier’s Play), Robert O’Hara (Best Direction of a Play; Slave Play) and Katori Hall (Best Book of a Musical; Tina - The Tina Turner Musical).
Let’s get into the actors! In the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play, we have Audra McDonald (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune) and Joaquina Kalukango (Slave Play). Adrienne Warren (Tina - The Tina Turner Musical) scored a nom under the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category.
Ato Blankson-Wood (Slave Play) and David Alan Grier (A Soldier’s Play) land noms in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play category and Chalia La Tour (Slave Play) was nominated in the actress equivalent category. As for Featured Actors / Actresses in the Musical category, you can congratulate Daniel J. Watts (Tina - The Tina Turner Musical) and Myra Lucretia Taylor (Tina - The Tina Turner Musical) for their respective noms.
Blair Underwood (A Soldier’s Play) got a nom for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play. The category for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical only has one nominee and he’s white so I guess we’ll move on from there!
Per the Tonys press release sent to The Root:
Legitimate theatrical productions that opened in any of the 41 eligible Broadway theatres during the abbreviated 2019-2020 season and met all eligibility requirements were considered for Tony nominations. The 2019/2020 eligibility season began April 26, 2019 and ended February 19, 2020. The Tony Awards will be voted in 25 competitive categories by 784 designated Tony voters within the theatre community.
The 2019-2020 Tony Award Nominating Committee consists of: Emily Altman, Bob Alwine, Becky Ann Baker, Pun Bandhu, Milly Barranger, Suzy Benzinger, Brenda Braxton, Christopher Burney, Dawn Chiang, Eisa Davis, Kristoffer Diaz, Jerry Dixon, Judith Dolan, Jill BC Du Boff, John Erman, Peter Jay Fernandez, Kamilah Forbes, Scott Frankel, Maija Garcia, Mason Granger, Ann Harada, JoAnn Hunter, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Michael Kantor, Nina Lannan, Martyna Majok, John Mauceri, Jonathan McCrory, Sheila Nevins, Peter Parnell, Benj Pasek, Neil Patel, Rosalba Rolón, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Don Scardino, Kimberly Senior, Natasha Sinha, Randy Skinner, Niegel Smith, Michael Stotts and Michael Benjamin Washington.
For the full list of the 74th Annual Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards nominations, head to tonyawards.com. The 2020 Tonys ceremony will take place digitally in Fall/Winter 2020.