TONYS TO GO ON
Noms announced for bug-hit season
There’s no official date or venue, but the months-delayed Tony Awards gave Broadway buffs something to cheer about on Thursday, announcing this year’s nominees for a season clipped by the pandemic.
“Jagged Little Pill,” the hit musical broaching sexuality, drug addiction, race and consent, hauled in a field-topping 15 nominations.
Other shows shining bright in the nomination process included the jukebox musical “Moulin Rouge!” (14 nominations), the buzzy and controversial “Slave Play” (12) and “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” (12). “The Inheritance” earned 11 nominations and “A Soldier’s Play” grabbed seven.
The coronavirus crisis dropped an unwelcome curtain on Broadway in mid-March. And The Great White Way is officially closed until the spring, ensuring the industry shutdown will last at least a year — and possibly longer.
Though there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, Charlotte St. Martin, the president of the Broadway League, and Heather Hitchens, the American Theatre Wing president, said in a joint statement in August that Broadway saw “a year full of extraordinary work that deserves to be recognized.”
The Tonys were initially scheduled to take place June 7 at Radio City Music Hall.
A total of 18 productions were eligible for nominations this year, about half as many as a year ago, when 34 shows vied for the awards.
It’s not clear when the awards will be dished out. In August, organizers said the ceremony will take place virtually this fall.
Blair Underwood, nominated for his role in “A Soldier’s Play,” called the uncertainty “par for the course” for entertainers amid the pandemic. But he told the Daily News that it was gratifying to receive recognition for the take on the Pulitzer-winning play by Charles Fuller, which tackles racism in the military.
“It’s really amazing, partially because of contextually where we all are in 2020,” Underwood said, noting that the play’s exploration of injustice resonates poignantly after nationwide protests against racism. “There’s an awareness that the country didn’t have eight months ago.”
A visually stirring take on “A Christmas Carol” that infused with the holiday classic with music scored five Tony nominations. The intimate two-performer play “Sea Wall/A Life” received four, as did a revival of “Betrayal.”
In the shrunken season, Aaron Tveit was the only nominee for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical. Tveit starred in “Moulin Rouge!”
Productions joining “Jagged Little Pill” as nominees for best musical were “Moulin Rouge!” and “Tina.”
The nominees in the best play category included “Grand Horizons,” “The Inheritance,” “Sea Wall/A Life,” “Slave Play” and “The Sound Inside.”
“Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” the hard-edged tale of a night of romance by the playwright Terrence McNally, garnered a nomination for best revival.
In March, McNally died at age 81 of complications of COVID-19.