The stage musical adaptations of two filmed, non-musical entertainments — the TV show SPongeBob Squarepants and the film Mean Girls — led the rangy list of Tony Award nominees this season, with 12 apiece, while in the play category, the revival of Tony Kushner’s AIDS drama Angels in America, pictured, took 11 nominations.
Unlike in previous years where Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton and The Book of Mormon were as much cultural phenomena as successful plays, this season has boasted fewer consensus superstars, which might account for the up-and-now number of nominees in the categories. Typically, four nominees are selected per category, with five in each of the acting categories, but this year three to six are common.
Last year, the Dallas Theater Center won the Tony Award for Best Regional Theater. This year it went to New York’s La MaMa E.T.C.
The winners will be announces on June 10. All nominees listed below.
Best Musical: The Band’s Visit; Frozen; Mean Girls; SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical.
Best Revival of a Musical: Carousel; My Fair Lady; Once on This Island.
Best Director of a Musical: David Cromer, The Band’s Visit; Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls; Tina Landau, SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Bart Sher, My Fair Lady; Michael Arden, Once on This Island.
Best Play: The Children; Farinelli and the King; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Junk; Latin History for Morons.
Best Revival of a Play: Angels in America; Lobby Hero; Three Tall Women; The Iceman Cometh; Travesties.
Best Director of a Play: Marianne Elliott, Angels in America; John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Joe Mantello, Three Tall Women; George C. Wolfe, The Iceman Cometh; Patrick Marber, Travesties.
Best Actor in a Musical: Tony Shalhoub, The Band’s Visit; Ethan Slater, SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Joshua Henry, Carousel; Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady.
Best Actress in a Musical: Katrina Lenk, The Band’s Visit; Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady; Hailey Kilgore, Once on This Island; LaChanze, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.
Best Featured Actor in a Musical: Ari’el Stachel, The Band’s Visit; Grey Henson, Mean Girls; Gavin Lee, SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Alexander Gemignani, Carousel; Norbert Leo Butz, My Fair Lady.
Best Featured Actress in a Musical: Ashley Park, Mean Girls; Renee Fleming, Carousel; Lindsay Mendez Carousel; Diana Rigg, My Fair Lady; Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.
Best Actor in a Play: Mark Rylance, Farinelli and the King; Jamie Parker, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Andrew Garfield, Angels in America; Denzel Washington, The Iceman Cometh; Tom Hollander, Travesties.
Best Actress in a Play: Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women; Condola Rashad, Saint Joan; Lauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God; Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower.
Best Featured Actor in a Play: Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Nathan Lane, Angels in America; Michael Cera, Lobby Hero; Brian Tyree Henry, Lobby Hero; David Morse, The Iceman Cometh.
Best Featured Actress in a Play: Deborah Findlay, The Children; Noma Dumezweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Susan Brown, Angels in America; Denise Gough, Angels in America; Laurie Metcalf, Three Tall Women.
Best Choreography: Mean Girls; SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Carousel; My Fair Lady; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two.
Best Orchestrations: The Band’s Visit; Mean Girls; SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Carousel; Once on This Island.
Best Book of a Musical: Itamar Moses, The Band’s Visit; Jennifer Lee, Frozen; Tina Fey, Mean Girls; Kyle Jarrow, SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical.
Best Music/Lyrics Written for the Theater: David Yazbek, The Band’s Visit; Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen; Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, Mean Girls; various contributors, SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Adrian Sutton, Angels in America.
Best Scenic Design of a Musical: The Band’s Visit; Mean Girls; My Fair Lady; Once on This Island.
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: The Band’s Visit; SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Carousel; My Fair Lady; Once on This Island.
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Mean Girls; SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Carousel; My Fair Lady; Once on This Island.
Best Sound Design of a Musical: The Band’s Visit; Mean Girls; SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical; Carousel; Once on This Island.
Best Scenic Design of a Play: Farinelli and the King; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Angels in America; Three Tall Women; The Iceman Cometh.
Best Lighting Design of a Play: Farinelli and the King; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Junk; Angels in America; The Iceman Cometh.
Best Costume Design of a Play: Farinelli and the King; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Angels in America; Three Tall Women; The Iceman Cometh.
Best Sound Design of a Play: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Angels in America; 1984; The Iceman Cometh; Travesties.
— Arnold Wayne Jones
