In the Tony Award nominations, there is no clear juggernaut, but rather opportunities for female directors

NEW YORK — After a final, frantic effort to open the last run of Broadway shows before the eligibility window closes, the final list of nearly 40 plays and musicals vying for Tony Award nominations this year is ready and waiting for its closes.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Renée Elise Goldsberry will announce the nominees for the 26 competitive Tony Awards on Tuesday morning, the result of a vote by the 60-member nominating committee.

The spring flurry — 14 shows opening in an 11-day span this year — isn’t unusual these days, as producers hope their work will be fresh in voters’ minds ahead of the June 16 Tony Awards ceremony. emerged, like the megahit “Hamilton” in 2016 or a critical darling like last year’s “Kimberly Akino”.

A possible shift this year indicates that women may be about to overtake men for the first time in director nominations. Almost half of the 21 musicals – new and revivals – that premiered this season were directed by a woman or had a team of co-directors where at least one was a woman. Five of the season’s 16 new plays and play revivals were also performed by women.

The 2022 Tony Awards currently hold the record for the most female directing nominations, with four total across the two races. Only 10 women have achieved the title of director.

Eligible shows this season include reworkings of existing films or books — “The Outsiders,” “The Great Gatsby,” “The Notebook,” “Back to the Future” and “Water for Elephants” — and new works transferring to Broadway, like the suffrage play “Suffs,” Sufjan Stevens’ danceable “Illinoise,” the imploding rock band “Stereophonic,” and “Hell’s Kitchen,” loosely based on the life of Alicia Keys.

There are some coincidences, like that of Huey Lewis & News’ songs are heard both in their jukebox show “The Heart of Rock and Roll” and in the standalone musical “Back to the Future.” Rachel McAdams, who had great success in the film version of “The Notebook,” is competing with the musical version of the film just a few blocks away in the play “Mary Jane.” Additionally, “The Wiz” and “Wicked” now share Broadway, and Nazis are in “Cabaret” and a musical about artist Tamara de Lempicka.

This season has attracted many big stars to Broadway in addition to McAdams, such as Jessica Lange and Jim Parsons in “Mother Play,” Steve Carell in a revival of “Uncle Vanya,” Eddie Redmayne in a new “Cabaret,” Liev Schreiber in “ Doubt,” “Succession” star Jeremy Strong in a revival of “An Enemy of the People” and Sarah Paulson in the play “Appropriate.”

There were a few firsts this season, including “Here Lies Love” with Broadway’s first all-Filipino cast, as well as mostly Filipino producers, including singer HER, comedian Jo Koy and Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas. And seven openly autistic actors starred in “How to Dance in Ohio,” a Broadway debut.

Great musical revivals were made by “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” “The Wiz,” “The Who’s Tommy,” Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” and the fourth revival of “Cabaret.”

Oscar winner and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose, who hosted the 2023 and 2022 ceremonies, will be back this year and will produce and choreograph the opening number.

This year’s venue – the David H. Koch Theater – is home to the New York City Ballet and is located in the same building complex as the Lincoln Square Theater, which is home to Broadway’s Beaumont Theatre.

Like last year, the three-hour main broadcast will air on CBS and Paramount+ from 8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT with a pre-show on Pluto TV and some Tony Awards handed out there.

This season’s Broadway numbers — about $1.4 billion in revenue and 11.1 million tickets — are slightly less than the 2022-23 season, with revenues down about 4% and revenues down 1%. tickets.

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Mark Kennedy is in