The nominations for the 77th Annual Tony Awards were announced and many Black folks are shining in the list of nominees. The Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, June 16, live at the David H. Hoch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, from 8-11pm. A huge light has been turned on to “Hell’s Kitchen,” as the Alicia Keys musical has 13 nominations. Included in those nominations are best musical; best book of a musical—Kristoffer Diaz; best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical—Maleah Joi Moon; best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical—Brandon Victor Dixon; best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical—Kecia Lewis.
There are nominations for best choreography for Camille A. Brown; best costume design of a musical—Dede Ayite, who is actually nominated for three different productions: Along with “Hell’s Kitchen,” Ayite is up for best costume design of a play for both “Appropriate” and “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.” “Hell’s Kitchen” is also nominated for best direction—Michael Greif; best scenic design of a musical—Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini; best sound design of a musical—Gareth Owen; Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone for best orchestration; best performance by an actress for a featured role in a musical for Shoshana Bean; and best lighting design of a musical—Natasha Katz.
The beloved revival of the late Ossie Davis’ “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch” received six impressive nominations including best revival of a play; best direction of a play—Kenny Leon; best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play—Leslie Odom Jr.; best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play—Kara Young; best scenic design of a play—Derek McLane; and best costume design of a play—Emilio Sosa.
“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” received five Tony nominations for best play—Jocelyn Bioh; best direction of a play—Whitney White; best scenic design of a play—David Zinn; best costume design of a play—again, Dede Ayite; and best sound design of a play—Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella.
“The Notebook” garnered a nomination for Dorian Harewood in the best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical. In the musical, “The Outsiders” Joshua Boone is nominated for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical. In the musical “Suffs” Nikki M. James earned a nomination for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical. “Suffs” also earned a nomination for Paul Tazewell in best costume design of a musical.
When it came to plays, William Jackson Harper earned a nomination for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for his performance in “Uncle Vanya.” Quincy Tyler Bernstine is up for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play for “Doubt: A Parable.”
A play which is quite powerful to experience and is also up for best revival of a play is “Appropriate” by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.
The Black folks nominated in these categories delivered exceptional performances and displayed awe-inspiring talent. CBS, Channel 2 will run the production live and Paramount+ will have it on demand. This awards show always lets people see what Broadway has to offer, and right now that is certainly a lot. I’ll be at the awards covering it, and I hope you’ll be enjoying it at home.
For more info visit www.tonyawards.com