NEW YORK (AP) — Two Broadway shows celebrating the spark of sonic creativity — Alicia Keys’ semi-autobiographical musical “Hell’s Kitchen” and the play “Stereophonic” about a ’70s rock band recording a popular album — They earned 13 Tony Award nominations on Tuesday, a list that also saw a record number of women nominated for best director.
“This is totally crazy. It took me like an hour to calm down. I couldn’t even get the words out,” Keys said after a morning in which the show loosely based on her life was nominated for best new musical and four acting awards, as well as for best scenic design, costumes, lighting, sound design, direction, choreography and orchestration. “I’m speechless. Don’t ask me to write a song.”
A total of 28 shows earned a Tony nomination or more. The musical “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of SE Hinton’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film, earned 12 nominations; an all-star revival of “Cabaret” starring Eddie Redmayne, nine; and “Appropriate,” Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ scathing play about a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has conflicting motivations and grievances, took eight.
The nominations set a Tony record for the most women directing nominees in a single season. The 2022 Tony Awards had held the record, with four in total in its two divisions: musical and theater. Only 10 women have won the directing award.
This year, seven women filled the 10 possible directing nominations. Three women were nominated for best theater direction: Lila Neugebauer (“Appropriate”), Anne Kauffman (“Mary Jane”) and Whitney White (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”), while four were nominated in the musical category: Maria Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along”), Leigh Silverman (“Suffs”), Jessica Stone (“Water for Elephants”) and Danya Taymor (“The Outsiders”).
“The only thing I feel is that it’s starting to feel less notable, which is great news,” Stone said after her nomination. “We are directors and not women directors. I’m noticing that more and more and that’s a wonderful thing to think about. It’s a wonderful place to be.”
“Stereophonic,” which became the most nominated play in Tony history, earned nominations for playwright David Adjmi and former Arcade Fire member Will Butler for its songs. It’s the story of a Fleetwood Mac-like band during a life-changing year, with personal wounds opening and closing and then reopening. Butler says it’s about the “horror and beauty” of art.
The album of roots rock music heard during the play will be available next month, and Butler has high hopes: “We wanted it to go up against Tom Petty and ‘Rumors’ and Beyoncé’s new country record,” he said. “Doing it was his own reward.”
Rachel McAdams, who made her Broadway debut in “Mary Jane,” earned a nomination for best actress in a play, while “Succession” star Jeremy Strong earned his first nomination, for a revival of “An Enemy.” of the People” and Liev Schreiber of “Ray Donovan” for starring in “Doubt.” Jessica Lange in “Mother Play,” Sarah Paulson in “Appropriate” and Amy Ryan, who stepped in at the last minute for a revival of “Doubt,” also earned nominations in the best actress in a play category.
“The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons earned a supporting nomination for “Mother Play,” and Daniel Radcliffe in his fifth Broadway show, a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” won his first nomination.
Radcliffe, who was babysitting his young son on the morning of the Tony nominations, said he felt incredibly lucky and called being in the musical alongside Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez, both also nominated, “one of the most special experiences.” of my professional career”.
“I’ve always felt that doing theater and particularly doing it here has been a big part of my career and kind of discovering who I was as an actor outside of Harry Potter,” he said. “I think it’s been something he’s done to me.”
Redmayne, in his second Broadway show, received a nomination for best lead actor in a musical, as did Brian d’Arcy James for “Days of Wine and Roses,” Brody Grant in “The Outsiders,” Jonathan Groff in “Merrily We Roll Along” and Dorian Harewood, 73, in “The Notebook,” the Nicholas Sparks adaptation. Harewood, in his first Broadway show in 46 years, earned his first Tony nomination.
It was one of three nominations for “The Notebook,” but the musical’s composer, Ingrid Michaelson, didn’t get a nomination, nor did Barry Manilow for his show “Harmony.” A revival of “The Wiz” also garnered no nominations, nor did Huey Lewis’ jukebox “The Heart of Rock and Roll.”
Redmayne’s “Cabaret” co-star Gayle Rankin earned a nomination for best actress in a musical, as did Eden Espinosa in “Lempicka,” Maleah Joi Moon in “Hell’s Kitchen,” Kelli O’Hara in “Days of Wine and Roses” and Maryann Plunkett, 71, who plays the aging wife at the heart of “The Notebook.”
Steve Carell, in his Broadway debut in a poorly received revival of the classic play “Uncle Vanya,” and “The Sopranos” star Michael Imperioli in “An Enemy of the People” failed to earn nominations, but the Star producers who did include Keys, Angelina Jolie (for “The Outsiders”) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (for “Suffs”).
The musical crown will be a battle between “Hell’s Kitchen,” “The Outsiders,” the stage adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album “Illinois,” “Suffs,” based on the American suffragettes of the early 20th century, and “Water for Elephants,” which combines Sara Green’s 2006 bestseller with circus elements.
The Tony for best new play will pit “Stereophonic” against “Mother Play,” Paula Vogel’s look at a mother and her children spanning from 1964 to the 21st century; “Mary Jane,” Amy Herzog’s humanistic portrait of a divorced mother of a child with health problems; “Prayer for the French Republic,” Joshua Harmon’s sprawling family comedy-drama dealing with Zionism, religious fervor and anti-Semitism; and “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy about the lives of West African women working in a salon.
Lamar Richardson, an actor turned producer, had plenty of reasons to smile Tuesday. He helped produce the three new revivals of “The Wiz,” “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Appropriate.”
“I really think this is Broadway at its best,” he said. “There really is something for everyone. There’s the quintessential jukebox musical. There’s the three-hander niche. I think this is really a smorgasbord of what Broadway can offer, and still show it, of course. , is an important player in the art scene. And he is here to stay.”
A spring flurry of new shows – 14 shows premiered in a span of 11 days this year – is not unusual these days, as producers hope their work is fresh in voters’ minds before the Awards ceremony Tony on June 16.
There were some firsts this season, including “Here Lies Love” with Broadway’s first all-Filipino cast, which earned four nominations, including best original score for David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim. And seven openly autistic actors starred in “How to Dance in Ohio,” a first for Broadway but one that didn’t get any Tony love.
Academy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Ariana DeBose, who hosted the 2023 and 2022 ceremonies, will return this year and produce and choreograph the opening number.
Like last year, the three-hour main telecast can be seen on CBS and will stream on Paramount+ from 8 pm to 11 pm New York (0000-0300 GMT) with a pre-show on Pluto TV, and some Tony Awards presented over there.
