Well, hello, 2017 Tonys
Nominations more evenly doled out with ‘Hello, Dolly!’ and ‘Great Comet’ in double digits
It’s the Hamiltonys no more. A year after the groundbreaking musical dominated the awards season, the 2017 Tony Award nominations were more evenly doled out, with Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 leading the way with 12 nominations while the much-buzzed-about Dear Evan Hansen earned nine and the Bette Midler-led Hello, Dolly! earned 10. A Doll’s House, Part 2 led the way for plays, garnering eight nominations.
Come From Away, Great Comet, Groundhog Day and Dear Evan Hansen will battle it out for best musical, and A Doll’s House, Part
2, Indecent, Sweat and Oslo earned nominations for best play.
Each of the nominated musicals relies on distinctly different strengths, with Dear Evan Hansen hitting timely messages on social media and mental health Great Comet using its immersive staging to craft a grand spectacle.
Only three shows were selected for best revival of a musical, with Falsettos, Hello, Dolly! and Miss Saigon earning nods. Jitney, The Little Foxes, Present Laughter and Six Degrees of Separation earned nominations for best revival of a play.
On the musicals side, Ben Platt ( Dear Evan Hansen), whose name has been tossed around for a nomination since the show’s outof-town and off-Broadway runs; Christian Borle ( Falsettos), now headlining his second show of the season in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Broadway newcomer and recording artist Josh Groban ( Great Comet); Andy Karl, battling through a leg injury sustained just before the show opened ( Groundhog Day); and veteran David Hyde Pierce ( Hello, Dolly!) earned leading-actor nominations.
Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, who go head to head each night as cosmetics mavens in War Paint, will take each other on yet again in the leading-actress category, joined by stage
veteran Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! and Denée Benton ( Great Comet) and Eva Noblezada ( Miss Saigon).
Cate Blanchett ( The Present), Jennifer Ehle ( Oslo), Sally Field ( The Glass Menagerie), Laura Linney ( The Little Foxes) and Laurie Metcalf ( A Doll’s House,
Part 2) earned nominations for leading actress in a play, and Denis Arndt ( Heisenberg), Chris Cooper ( A Doll’s House, Part 2), Corey Hawkins ( Six Degrees of Separation), Kevin Kline ( Present Laughter) and Jefferson Mays ( Oslo) earned leading-actor nods. The 2017 Tony Awards, hosted by Tony winner Kevin Spacey, are set for 8 p.m. ET June 11 at Radio City Music Hall. The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS.