Three productions – “Death Becomes Her,” “Maybe Happy Ending” and “Buena Vista Social Club” – earned 10 nominations each for the 78th annual Tony Awards, which will be held June 8 at 8 p.m. ET at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
The nominations were unveiled early Thursday by Tony winners Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce, with this year’s roster featuring several high-profile Hollywood names. George Clooney, Sarah Snook, Sadie Sink and Bob Odenkirk all received nods in major categories. Cynthia Erivo, known for her role as Elphaba in “Wicked,” will host the ceremony.
Audra McDonald, nominated among the candidates for the Best Actress in a Musical, made history with her 11th nomination – most ever for a single performer. She has won six Tony Awards in her career, including the 2012 Best Actress in a Musical honor for her work in Porgy and Bess.
Competing for Best Play are “Purpose,” “John Proctor Is the Villain,” “English,” “Oh, Mary!” and “The Hills of California.” On the musical side, “Maybe Happy Ending,” “Dead Outlaw,” “Death Becomes Her,” “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical” and “The Buena Vista Social Club” will vie for Best Musical.
In the performance categories for plays, Sadie Sink (“John Proctor Is the Villain”), LaTanya Richardson Jackson (“Purpose”) and Sarah Snook (“The Picture of Dorian Gray”) headline the Best Actress race, while George Clooney (“Good Night, and Good Luck”) goes up against Henry Lennix and Jon Michael Hill (both for “Purpose”) in Best Actor. For musicals, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard (both in “Death Becomes Her”) earned Best Actress nominations, as did Darren Criss (“Maybe Happy Ending”) for Best Actor.
Among the other noteworthy nominations, Cole Escola is recognized for his leading role in “Oh, Mary!,” Jonathan Groff gets a nod for “Just in Time,” and Bob Odenkirk secured a Featured Actor nomination for “Glengarry Glen Ross.”
In design, directing, and choreography categories, heavy hitters include Sam Mendes (“The Hills of California”), Christopher Gattelli (“Death Becomes Her”), Saheem Ali (“Buena Vista Social Club”) and Jerry Mitchell (“BOOP! The Musical”). Composers David Yazbek, Julia Mattison, Noel Carey and others are recognized for original scores for this season’s new musicals.
Below is the full list of nominees as announced – shop for tickets to see each nominated event at TIcket Club by clicking through the event name. Ticket Club features discounted tickets with no service fees for members – and TicketNews readers can grab a free 1-year membership to Ticket Club using the code TICKETNEWS.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
- Sadie Sink, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- LaTanya Richardson Jackson, “Purpose”
- Laura Donnelly, “The Hills of California”
- Sarah Snook, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
- Mia Farrow, “The Roommate”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
- Henry Lennix, “Purpose”
- Jon Michael Hill, “Purpose”
- George Clooney, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Louis McCartney, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
- Daniel Dae Kim, “Yellow Face”
- Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!”
Best Play
- “Purpose”
- “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- “English”
- “Oh, Mary!”
- “The Hills of California”
Best Musical
- “Maybe Happy Ending”
- “Dead Outlaw”
- “Death Becomes Her”
- “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”
- “The Buena Vista Social Club”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
- Audra McDonald, “Gypsy”
- Nicole Scherzinger, “Sunset Boulevard”
- Megan Hilty, “Death Becomes Her”
- Jennifer Simard, “Death Becomes Her”
- Jasmine Amy Rogers, “BOOP! The Musical”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
- Tom Francis, “Sunset Boulevard”
- James Monroe Iglehart, “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical”
- Andrew Durand, “Dead Outlaw”
- Darren Criss, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Jeremy Jordan, “Floyd Collins”
- Jonathan Groff, “Just in Time”
Best Book of a Musical
- Marco Ramirez, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Itamar Moses, “Dead Outlaw”
- Marco Pennette, “Death Becomes Her”
- Will Aronson and Hue Park, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts, “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”
Best Original Score
- David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, “Dead Outlaw”
- Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, “Death Becomes Her”
- Will Aronson (music), Will Aronson and Hue Park (lyrics), “Maybe Happy Ending”
- David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts, “Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical”
- Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical”
Best Scenic Design of a Play
- Marsha Ginsberg, “English”
- Rob Howell, “The Hills of California”
- Marg Horwell and David Bergman, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
- Miriam Buether and 59, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
- Scott Pask, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
- Rachel Hauck, “Swept Away”
- Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Arnulfo Maldonado, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Derek McLane, “Death Becomes Her”
- Derek McLane, “Just in Time”
Best Costume Design of a Play
- Brenda Abbandandolo, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Marg Horwell, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
- Rob Howell, “The Hills of California”
- Holly Pierson, “Oh, Mary!”
- Brigitte Reiffenstuel, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
Best Costume Design of a Musical
- Dede Ayite, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Gregg Barnes, “BOOP! The Musical”
- Clint Ramos, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Paul Tazewell, “Death Becomes Her”
- Catherine Zuber, “Just in Time”
Best Lighting Design of a Play
- Natasha Chivers, “The Hills of California”
- Jon Clark, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
- Heather Gilbert and David Bengali, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Natasha Katz and Hannah Wasileski, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Nick Schlieper, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
- Jack Knowles, “Sunset Boulevard”
- Tyler Micoleau, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, “Floyd Collins”
- Ben Stanton, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Justin Townsend, “Death Becomes Her”
Best Sound Design of a Play
- Paul Arditti, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
- Palmer Hefferan, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Daniel Kluger, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
- Nick Powell, “The Hills of California”
- Clemence Williams, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Best Sound Design of a Musical
- Jonathan Deans, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Adam Fisher, “Sunset Boulevard”
- Peter Hylenski, “Just in Time”
- Peter Hylenski, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Dan Moses Schreier, “Floyd Collins”
Best Direction of a Play
- Knud Adams, “English”
- Sam Mendes, “The Hills of California”
- Sam Pinkleton, “Oh, Mary!”
- Danya Taymor, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Kip Williams, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Best Direction of a Musical
- Saheem Ali, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- Michael Arden, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- David Cromer, “Dead Outlaw”
- Christopher Gattelli, “Death Becomes Her”
- Jamie Lloyd, “Sunset Boulevard”
Best Choreography
- Joshua Bergasse, “Smash”
- Camille A. Brown, “Gypsy”
- Christopher Gattelli, “Death Becomes Her”
- Jerry Mitchell, “BOOP! The Musical”
- Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Best Orchestrations
- Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, “Just in Time”
- Will Aronson, “Maybe Happy Ending”
- Bruce Coughlin, “Floyd Collins”
- Marco Paguia, “Buena Vista Social Club”
- David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, “Sunset Boulevard”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
- Tala Ashe, “English”
- Jessica Hecht, “Eureka Day”
- Marjan Neshat, “English”
- Fina Strazza, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Kara Young, “Purpose”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
- Glenn Davis, “Purpose”
- Gabriel Ebert, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
- Francis Jue, “Yellow Face”
- Bob Odenkirk, “Glengarry Glen Ross”
- Conrad Ricamora, “Oh, Mary!”
Winners will be announced live from Radio City Music Hall on June 8. The awards ceremony will air at 8 p.m. ET, celebrating Broadway’s top performances and creative achievements of the past season.
