Given the prominence and harvest of Tony nominations of “Hamilton” and “Shuffle Along,” the Great White Way is a little bit darker this year.
Most notably, “Hamilton,” a hip-hop musical about one of the nation’s so-called founding fathers, has received 16 nominations, breaking the previous record held by “The Producers” and “Billy Elliott.”
Adding to this accomplishment, the nominations amassed by other productions where people of color are featured or worked include “The Color Purple,” “Eclipsed” and “On Your Feet,” and this is a rare bumper crop. In several categories there are two or more nominees from a single production.
Significant, too, are the number of nominations in categories in which Blacks and people of color are hardly ever honored. While it is remarkable to see that George C. Wolfe of “Shuffle Along” is nominated in two categories—Best Direction of a Play and Best Book of a Musical—it is even more rewarding that Daryl Waters is nominated for his orchestrations in “Shuffle Along,” that Savion Glover of “Shuffle Along” and Sergio Trujillo of “On Your Feet” are nominated in Best Choreography category and Clint Ramos of “Eclipsed” is nominated in the Best Costume Design of a Play.
Of course, these are only nominations, but they should not be taken lightly in a realm in which performers of color are usually invisible during the award season, especially those who work behind the scenes.