Nominations for Hell’s Kitchen and Stereophonic Lead Tony Award

Ttwo Broadway shows that celebrate the origins of sonic creativity — the musical “Hell’s Kitchen,” fueled by songs by Alicia Keys, and the play “Stereophonic” about a ’70s rock band on the brink of stardom — each earned 13 nominations for the Tony Award on Tuesday, a list that also saw a record number of women nominated for best director.

A total of 28 shows earned a Tony nomination or more, with the musical “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of S. E. Hinton’s beloved novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film, receiving 12 nominations; a star-studded revival of “Cabaret,” starring Eddie Redmayne, garnering nine; and “Appropriate,” Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ landmark play about a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has conflicting motivations and grievances, making eight in total.

Rachel McAdams, making her Broadway debut in “Mary Jane,” earned a nomination for best actress in a play, while “Succession” star Jeremy Strong received his first nomination, for a revival of “An Enemy of the People”. 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 received nominations in the best actress in a play category. “The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons received a supporting nomination for “Mother Play,” and Daniel Radcliffe in his fifth Broadway show, a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” got his first recommendation. Redmayne, in his second Broadway show, was nominated for best leading actor in a musical, as were 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 adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ romantic film.

Harewood, in its first Broadway show in 46 years, scored its first Tony nomination. Redmayne’s “Cabaret” co-star Gayle Rankin was nominated for best actress in a musical, as was Eden Espinosa in “Lempicka,” Maleah Joi Moon in “Hell’s Kitchen,” Kelli O’Hara in “Days of Wine and Roses” and 71-year-old Maryann Plunkett, who plays the elderly wife at the center of “The Notebook.” Steve Carell in his Broadway debut in a poorly received revival of the classic play “Uncle Vanya” failed to secure a nod, but star producers who have earned Tony nods include Keys, Angelina Jolie (for “The Outsiders”) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (by “Sufa”).

The best new musical crown will be a battle between “Hell’s Kitchen,” “The Outsiders,” the dance-heavy, dialogue-free stage adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 “Illinois” album, “Suffs,” based on early American suffragettes. 20th century, and “Water for Elephants”, which combines Sara Green’s 2006 bestseller with circus elements.

The best new play Tony will pit “Stereophonic” against “Mother Play,” Paula Vogel’s play about a mother and her children from 1964 to the 21st century; “Mary Jane,” Amy Herzog’s humanistic portrait of a divorced mother of a boy in poor health; “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,” a comedy by Jocelyn Bioh about the lives of West African women who work in a beauty salon.

The nominations marked the breaking of the Tony record for the most women nominated in a single season. The 2022 Tony Awards held the record for the most female directing nominations, with four in total across the two races – musical and play. Only 10 women have achieved the title of director. This year, three women were nominated for best play 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”). A flurry of new shows in the spring — 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 Tony Awards ceremony on June 16. .

There were a few firsts this season, including “Here Lies Love,” with Broadway’s first all-Filipino cast, which received 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 Broadway debut but one that didn’t win Tony’s love. 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.