‘Hamilton’ sets record with 16 nods – National Endowment, Wilkin win special Tony Awards

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NEW YORK, May 3, (Agencies): The megahit musical “Hamilton” has grabbed a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations, the biggest haul in Broadway history and another notch in the show’s march into theatrical history. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop-flavored biography about the first US treasury secretary on Tuesday broke the 15-nominations record held by “The Producers” and “Billy Elliot.” “Hamilton” was nominated in virtually every category it could compete in, from acting to scenic design.

Next month, it will compete for Broadway’s biggest crown — best new musical — with “Bright Star,” “School of Rock,” “Shuffle Along” and “Waitress.” The best play category is composed of “Eclipsed,” “The Father,” ‘’The Humans” and “King Charles III.” The awards will be handed out June 12, with James Corden playing host from the Beacon Theatre.

Groundbreaking

After “Hamilton,” the other top nominations went to the new musical “Shuffle Along,” a show that explores a groundbreaking 95-year-old musical starring, written and directed by African-Americans, which got 10 nominations, and the revival of “She Loves Me,” which earned eight.

Audra McDonald, who was eligible as a lead actress in a musical, was not nominated and will not be able to win her seventh Tony.

“Hamilton” earned seven acting nominations — Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson and Renee Elise Goldsberry. It also earned nominations for scenic design, costumes, lighting design, direction, choreography, orchestrations, best book and best original score.

“Hamilton” has burst through the Broadway bubble like few shows. US presidential candidates have tweeted about it, it has influenced the debate over the nation’s currency and the show has been referenced on “Saturday Night Live” and “Inside Amy Schumer.”

Hollywood stars didn’t do so well on Tuesday, with Clive Owen, Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan and George Takei all missing out on nods.

Select nominations for the 2016 Tony Awards, announced Tuesday.

* Best Musical: “Bright Star”; “Hamilton”; “School of Rock_The Musical”; “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”; “Waitress”

* Best Play: “Eclipsed” by Danai Gurira; “The Father” by Florian Zeller; “The Humans” by Stephan Karan; “King Charles III” by Mike Bartlett.

* Best Book of a Musical: “Bright Star” by Steve Martin; “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda; “School of Rock_The Musical” by Julian Fellowes; “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed” by George C Wolfe.

* Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater: “Bright Star” with music by Steve Martin and music and lyrics by Edie Brickell; “Hamilton” with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda; “School of Rock_The Musical” with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Glenn Slater; “Waitress” with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles.

* Best Revival of a Play: “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible”; “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge”; “Blackbird”; “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”; “Noises Off”

* Best Revival of a Musical: “The Color Purple”; “Fiddler on the Roof”: “She Loves Me”; “Spring Awakening”

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Gabriel Byrne, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”; Jeff Daniels, “Blackbird”; Frank Langella, “The Father”; Tim Pigott-Smith, “King Charles III”; Mark Strong, “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge”

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Jessica Lange, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”; Laurie Metcalf, “Misery”; Lupita Nyong’o, “Eclipsed”; Sophie Okonedo, “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible”; Michelle Williams, “Blackbird”

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Alex Brightman, “School of Rock_The Musical”; Danny Burstein, “Fiddler on the Roof”; Zachary Levi, “She Loves Me”; Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton”; Leslie Odom Jr, “Hamilton”

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Laura Benanti, “She Loves Me”; Carmen Cusack, “Bright Star”; Cynthia Erivo, “The Color Purple”; Jessie Mueller, “Waitress”; Phillipa Soo, “Hamilton”

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Reed Birney, “The Humans”; Bill Camp, “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible”; David Furr, “Noises Off”; Richard Goulding, “King Charles III”; Michael Shannon, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Pascale Armand, “Eclipsed”; Megan Hilty, “Noises Off”; Jayne Houdyshell, “The Humans”; Andrea Martin, “Noises Off”; Saycon Sengbloh, “Eclipsed”

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton”; Brandon Victor Dixon, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”; Christopher Fitzgerald, “Waitress”; Jonathan Groff, “Hamilton”; Christopher Jackson, “Hamilton”

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”; Renee Elise Goldsberry, “Hamilton”; Jane Krakowski, “She Loves Me”; “Jennifer Simard, “Disaster!”; Adrienne Warren, “Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed”

Also:

LOS ANGELES: The National Endowment for the Arts and longtime theater-industry executive Miles Wilkin will received the 2016 Special Tony Awards.

These specials prizes are part of a slate of awards handed out beyond the Tonys’ usual roster of competitive trophies. The Tonys also hand out Tony Honors, for industry denizens whose work isn’t eligible for the usual awards, and an laurel trophy for regional theater, among others.

Meanwhile, Paper Mill Playhouse has been named the winner of the 2016 Regional Theater Tony Award, the annual trophy handed out to companies beyond the Broadway world on which the Tony Awards focus.

Located just across the river from New York City in Millburn, NJ, Paper Mill has, in recent years, grown increasingly prominent as a pre-Broadway tryout for musical titles. “Newsies,” the current revival of “Les Miserables” and “Honeymoon in Vegas” all played at Paper Mill prior to landing on Broadway.

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