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Tony Award Nominations 2024: 'Hell's Kitchen' and 'Stereophonic' Lead with 13 Nods Each

By: Raven Snook
Date: Apr 30, 2024
Broadway

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On Tuesday, April 29, Tony winners Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Take Me Out) and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) announced the 2024 Tony Award nominations. From May 2023 to April 2024, 39 new productions opened: 21 were musicals, 16 were plays and two were classified as specials. While those numbers didn't break any records, there were more contenders than usual in the new musical category.

Biggest Winners & History Makers

Alicia Keys' semi-autobiographical musical Hell's Kitchen and David Adjmi's portrait of a rock band Stereophonic both received the most nominations, 13 each. That makes Stereophonic the most nominated play ever! Since Hell's Kitchen mostly features preexisting hits by Keys, it was not eligible for Best Original Score. However, the cluster of rock songs written by Will Butler (of Arcade Fire fame) for Best Play nominee Stereophonic earned him a Best Original Score nomination. So it is possible (though unlikely) that Stereophonic will win Best Play and Best Original Score.

Best Featured Actress in a Musical and Best Scenic Design of a Musical both have seven nominees due to a three-way tie for the fifth nomination slot. Best Featured Actor in a Musical has six nominees due to a tie for the fifth nomination slot.

Kara Young is the first performer to earn nominations three seasons in a row for Best Featured Actress in a Play. And Amy Herzog is the first playwright to be nominated for Best Play and Best Revival of a Play in the same season.

Women directors made history this year. Four of the five Best Director of a Musical nominees are women, and three of the five Best Director of a Play nominees are women. That easily beats the previous record of four women directors being nominated for Tony Awards in one season.

While we're on the subject of gender, while other awards have done away with gendered categories, the Tonys still separate performers by gender. Last year, that was a hot-button topic since multiple nominees (and, ultimately, two winners, Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee) were nonbinary. That does not seem to be the case this year, however, it's an ongoing issue the Tonys still need to address.

Artists with Multiple Nominations

Shaina Taub was nominated for both her book and score for Suffs, though she was not honored for her lead performance in that musical. Tom Scutt was nominated for his costume and scenic design for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Cody Spencer was recognized for his sound design for Here Lies Love and The Outsiders. In lighting design, Natasha Katz was nominated for Hell's Kitchen and Grey House, and Isabella Byrd was honored for An Enemy of the People and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. The set design collective dots was nominated for Appropriate and An Enemy of the People. Costume designer Dede Ayite was thrice recognized for her work on Appropriate, Jaja's African Hair Braiding and Hell's Kitchen. David Zinn also received three nods for his scenic design for Jaja's African Hair Braiding and Stereophonic, and his costumes for An Enemy of the People.

Shutout Shows

Eight shows failed to score nominations: Once Upon a One More Time, Harmony, How to Dance in Ohio, The Cottage, The Shark Is Broken, I Need That, The Wiz and The Heart of Rock and Roll. The solo shows El Mago Pop, Melissa Etheridge: My Window and Alex Edelman: Just for Us were not eligible for Tony consideration.

Other Notable Snubs

Many had hoped Chip Zien would receive his first Tony nomination for his performance in Harmony. Ali Louis Bourzgui not receiving a nod for his turn in The Who's Tommy was a shock (odd that show was only nominated for Best Musical Revival). Considering How to Dance in Ohio was the first Broadway show to feature autistic performers playing autistic characters, it's disappointing no one was recognized—Liam Pearce was particularly impressive. Francis Benhamou's showstopping monologue in Prayer for the French Republic was forgotten. None of the performers in Here Lies Love, the first Broadway musical with an all-Filipino cast, received any love. And almost all the actors from Stereophonic being nominated when no one was recognized from Jaja's African Hair Braiding is a reminder that there really needs to be a Best Ensemble category.

Tony Awards 411

Produced by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, the 77th annual ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 16 at Lincoln Center with West Side Story Oscar winner Ariana DeBose returning to host for her third year in a row. Unlike 2023, when there was a writers' strike, she'll have a script this time (for better or worse). The Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS starting at 8 p.m. on June 16 and also available to stream on Paramount+. As in recent years, some statuettes will be given out during a streaming preshow on Pluto TV, which is free to watch.

The complete list of 2024 Tony Award nominations is below along with links to articles we've written about the nominees.

Best Musical

Hell's Kitchen
Illinoise
The Outsiders
Suffs
Water for Elephants

Best Play

Jaja's African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh
Mary Jane by Amy Herzog
Mother Play by Paula Vogel
Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon
Stereophonic by David Adjmi

Best Revival of a Musical

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gutenberg! The Musical
Merrily We Roll Along
The Who's Tommy

Best Revival of a Play

Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
An Enemy of the People adapted by Amy Herzog
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by Ossie Davis

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Eden Espinosa in Lempicka
Maleah Joi Moon in Hell's Kitchen
Kelli O'Hara in Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett in The Notebook - read our interview with Plunkett on TDF Stages
Gayle Rankin in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Brody Grant in The Outsiders
Jonathan Groff in Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood in The Notebook - read our interview with Harewood on TDF Stages
Brian d'Arcy James in Days of Wine and Roses
Eddie Redmayne in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Betsy Aidem in Prayer for the French Republic
Jessica Lange in Mother Play
Rachel McAdams in Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson in Appropriate
Amy Ryan in Doubt: A Parable

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

William Jackson Harper in Uncle Vanya
Leslie Odom, Jr. in Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Liev Schreiber in Doubt: A Parable
Jeremy Strong in An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg in Patriots

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Roger Bart for Back to the Future: The Musical
Joshua Boone for The Outsiders
Brandon Victor Dixon for Hell's Kitchen
Sky Lakota-Lynch for The Outsiders
Daniel Radcliffe for Merrily We Roll Along
Steven Skybell for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Shoshana Bean for Hell's Kitchen
Amber Iman for Lempicka - read an interview with Iman on TDF Stages
Nikki M. James for Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer for Spamalot - read an interview with Kritzer on TDF Stages
Kecia Lewis for Hell's Kitchen
Lindsay Mendez for Merrily We Roll Along
Bebe Neuwirth for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Will Brill for Stereophonic - read an interview with Brill on TDF Stages
Eli Gelb for Stereophonic
Jim Parsons for Mother Play
Tom Pecinka for Stereophonic
Corey Stoll for Appropriate

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Quincy Tyler Bernstine for Doubt: A Parable
Juliana Canfield for Stereophonic
Celia Keenan-Bolger for Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon for Stereophonic
Kara Young for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Best Book of a Musical

Hell's Kitchen by Kristoffer Diaz
The Notebook by Bekah Brunstetter
The Outsiders by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine
Suffs by Shaina Taub
Water for Elephants by Rick Elice

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Days of Wine and Roses by Adam Guettel
Here Lies Love by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
The Outsiders by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine
Stereophonic by Will Butler
Suffs by Shaina Taub

Best Orchestrations

Timo Andres for Illinoise
Will Butler and Justin Craig for Stereophonic
Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) for The Outsiders
Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone for Hell's Kitchen
Jonathan Tunick for Merrily We Roll Along

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian for The Outsiders
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini for Hell's Kitchen
Takeshi Kata for Water for Elephants
David Korins for Here Lies Love
Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini for Lempicka
Tim Hatley and Finn Ross for Back to the Future: The Musical
Tom Scutt for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Scenic Design of a Play

dots for Appropriate
dots for An Enemy of the People
Derek McLane for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn for Jaja's African Hair Braiding
David Zinn for Stereophonic

Best Costume Design of a Play

Dede Ayite for Appropriate
Dede Ayite for Jaja's African Hair Braiding
Enver Chakartash for Stereophonic
Emilio Sosa for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn for An Enemy of the People

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Dede Ayite for Hell's Kitchen
Linda Cho for The Great Gatsby
David Israel Reynoso for Water for Elephants
Tom Scutt for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Paul Tazewell for Suffs

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Isabella Byrd for An Enemy of the People
Amith Chandrashaker for Prayer for the French Republic
Jiyoun Chang for Stereophonic
Jane Cox for Appropriate
Natasha Katz for Grey House

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Brandon Stirling Baker for Illinoise
Isabella Byrd for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Natasha Katz for Hell's Kitchen
Bradley King and David Bengali for Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim for The Outsiders

Best Sound Design of a Play

Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella for Jaja's African Hair Braiding
Leah Gelpe for Mary Jane
Tom Gibbons for Grey House
Bray Poor and Will Pickets for Appropriate
Ryan Rumery for Stereophonic

Best Sound Design of a Musical

M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer for Here Lies Love
Kai Harada for Merrily We Roll Along
Nick Lidster for Autograph for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gareth Owen for Hell's Kitchen
Cody Spencer for The Outsiders

Best Direction of a Play

Daniel Aukin for Stereophonic
Anne Kauffman for Mary Jane
Kenny Leon for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Lila Neugebauer for Appropriate - read an interview with Lila Neugebauer on TDF Stages
Whitney White for Jaja's African Hair Braiding

Best Direction of a Musical

Maria Friedman for Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif for Hell's Kitchen
Leigh Silverman for Suffs
Jessica Stone for Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor for The Outsiders

Best Choreography

Camille A. Brown for Hell's Kitchen
Annie-B Parson for Here Lies Love
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman for The Outsiders
Justin Peck for Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll for Water for Elephants


Number of Tony Nominations by Show

Hell's Kitchen - 13
Stereophonic - 13
The Outsiders - 12
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club - 9
Appropriate - 8
Merrily We Roll Along - 7
Water for Elephants - 7
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch- 6
Suffs - 6
An Enemy of the People - 5
Jaja's African Hair Braiding - 5
Here Lies Love - 4
Illinoise - 4
Mary Jane - 4
Mother Play - 4
Days of Wine and Roses - 3
Doubt: A Parable- 3
Lempicka - 3
The Notebook- 3
Prayer for the French Republic - 3
Back To The Future: The Musical - 2
Grey House - 2
The Great Gatsby - 1
Gutenberg! The Musical! - 1
Monty Python's Spamalot - 1
Patriots - 1
Uncle Vanya - 1
The Who's Tommy - 1

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre

Wendall K. Harrington, projection designer
Colleen Jennings-Roggernsack, arts leader
Judith O. Rubin, arts organization board member
Dramatists Guild Foundation
Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts

Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

Jack O’Brien, director, writer and producer
George C. Wolfe, director, writer and producer

Special Tony Awards

Alex Edelman, writer-performer of Just for Us
Abe Jacob, sound designer
Nikiya Mathis, hair and wig designer for Jaja's African Hair Braiding as well as an actor

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Awards

Billy Porter

Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her on Facebook at @Raven.Snook. Follow TDF on Facebook at @TDFNYC.