Tony Award Nominations 2020: ‘Jagged Little Pill’ and ‘Slave Play’ Lead the Pack
Honoring Broadway’s strangest season ever
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Broadway isn’t reopening until September 2021, meaning there will be no 2020-2021 season. That’s all the more reason to celebrate the shows that opened last season, even though it was cut short. Today, many months after the Tonys usually air, Aladdin star James Monroe Iglehart announced the nominees.
Because Broadway went dark on March 12, 16 productions scheduled for spring 2020 didn’t get to open. Two—a buzzy Off-Broadway transfer of Hangmen and a revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf starring Laurie Metcalf—never will as they’ve been canceled. But many others, including Lincoln Center Theater’s Flying Over Sunset and The Music Man with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, have been rescheduled to fall 2021, fingers crossed.
As weird as this season was, the nominations were, in many categories, fairly predictable. Only 18 productions were eligible and most were plays. So the play categories are more competitive and thus more exciting. In fact, Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play made history as the most nominated play ever with 12 nods.
There were some head-scratchers. Aaron Tveit is the only nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance in Moulin Rouge! The Musical , but he’s not a winner yet. According to Tony rules, he needs to get 60% percent of the vote! Otherwise no one wins. We assume 41% of voters won’t abstain.
There were no eligible productions for the Best Musical Revival category, so it was scrapped. And the sole eligible musical with an original score, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, didn’t get a nomination for Best Original Score… or anything else! Despite its loyal young fan base, the show was completely shut out. All the nominees for Best Original Score are for music composed for plays. Ouch. Meanwhile, if you’re wondering why Ivo van Hove’s revival of West Side Story and the Bob Dylan musical Girl From the North Country didn’t receive any nods, they were deemed ineligible because too few Tony voters were able to see them. They can complete next year… or rather, in 2022.
Of course, there’s been lots of Twitter chatter about the nominations, notably complaints that the industry shouldn’t be spending money on a celebration when most of its workers are unemployed and facing dire financial straits. But since no one knows when Broadway will be back, hopefully this event will help shine a spotlight on theatre and remind everyone how important it is not just to culture, but to the economy. Some folks in Washington don’t seem to understand that.
The complete list of 2019-2020 Tony Award nominations is below, along with links to articles we’ve written about the nominees on TDF Stages. Tony voting will commence on March 1, and the ceremony is set for Sunday, September 26 in tandem with Broadway’s reopening. Most of the awards are streaming on Paramount+ at 7 p.m. ET, with a celebratory concert and the big categories saved for CBS at 9 p.m. ET.
Best Musical
Jagged Little Pill
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Play
Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl
The Inheritance by Matthew López – read our interview with López
Sea Wall/A Life by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne
Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris – read our interview with Harris
The Sound Insideby Adam Rapp
Best Revival of a Play
Betrayal
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
A Soldier’s Play
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Karen Olivo for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Elizabeth Stanley for Jagged Little Pill
Adrienne Warren for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Aaron Tveit for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Note: “From The Tony Awards Rules: If the Tony Awards Nominating Committee determines that there is only one nominee in a category listed, such category shall be submitted to the Tony Voters which may, by the affirmative vote of sixty (60%) percent of the total ballots cast, grant an Award in that category.”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Joaquina Kalukango for Slave Play
Laura Linney for My Name is Lucy Barton
Audra McDonald for Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Mary-Louise Parker for The Sound Inside
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Ian Barford for Linda Vista – read our interview with Barford
Andrew Burnap for The Inheritance
Jake Gyllenhaal for Sea Wall/A Life
Tom Hiddleston for Betrayal
Tom Sturridge for Sea Wall/A Life
Blair Underwood for A Soldier’s Play
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Derek Klena for Jagged Little Pill
Sean Allan Krill for Jagged Little Pill
Sahr Ngaujah for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Daniel J. Watts for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Kathryn Gallagher for Jagged Little Pill
Celia Rose Gooding for Jagged Little Pill
Robyn Hurder for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Lauren Patten for Jagged Little Pill
Myra Lucretia Taylor for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Ato Blankson-Wood for Slave Play
James Cusati-Moyer for Slave Play
David Alan Grier for A Soldier’s Play
John Benjamin Hickey for The Inheritance
Paul Hilton for The Inheritance – Read our interview with Hilton
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Jane Alexander for Grand Horizons
Chalia La Tour for Slave Play
Annie McNamara for Slave Play
Lois Smith for The Inheritance
Cora Vander Broek for Linda Vista
Best Book of a Musical
Diablo Cody for Jagged Little Pill
John Logan for Moulin Rouge!
Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical – read our interview with Hall
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Christopher Nightingale for A Christmas Carol
Paul Englishby for The Inheritance
Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb for The Rose Tattoo
Lindsay Jones for Slave Play
Daniel Kluger for The Sound Inside
Best Orchestrations
Tom Kitt for Jagged Little Pill
Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Ethan Popp for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Riccardo Hernández and Lucy Mackinnon for Jagged Little Pill
Derek McLane for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bob Crowley for The Inheritance
Soutra Gilmour for Betrayal
Rob Howell for A Christmas Carol – read our interview with Howell
Derek McLane for A Soldier’s Play
Clint Ramos for Slave Play
Best Costume Design of a Play
Dede Ayite for Slave Play
Dede Ayite for A Soldier’s Play
Bob Crowley for The Inheritance
Rob Howell for A Christmas Carol
Clint Ramos for The Rose Tattoo
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Emily Rebholz for Jagged Little Pill
Mark Thompson for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Catherine Zuber for Moulin Rouge! The Musical – read our interview with Zuber
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jiyoun Chang for Slave Play
Jon Clark for The Inheritance
Heather Gilbert for The Sound Inside
Allen Lee Hughes for A Soldier’s Play
Hugh Vanstone for A Christmas Carol
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Bruno Poet for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Justin Townsend for Jagged Little Pill
Justin Townsend for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid for The Inheritance
Simon Baker for A Christmas Carol
Lindsay Jones for Slave Play
Daniel Kluger for Sea Wall/A Life
Daniel Kluger for The Sound Inside
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans for Jagged Little Pill
Peter Hylenski for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Nevin Steinberg for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Best Direction of a Play
David Cromer for The Sound Inside
Stephen Daldry for The Inheritance
Kenny Leon for A Soldier’s Play – read our interview with Leon
Jamie Lloyd for Betrayal
Robert O’Hara for Slave Play
Best Direction of a Musical
Phyllida Lloyd for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical – read our interview with Lloyd
Diane Paulus for Jagged Little Pill – read our interview with Paulus
Alex Timbers for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Choreography
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui for Jagged Little Pill
Sonya Tayeh for Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Anthony Van Laast for Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Special Tony Awards will go to:
Freestyle Love Supreme
David Byrne’s American Utopia
The Broadway Advocacy Coalition
Totals
Jagged Little Pill – 15
Moulin Rouge! The Musical– 14
Slave Play – 12
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical– 12
The Inheritance– 11
A Soldier’s Play– 7
The Sound Inside– 6
A Christmas Carol– 5
Betrayal– 4
Sea Wall/A Life– 4
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune– 2
Grand Horizons– 2
Linda Vista– 2
The Rose Tattoo– 2
My Name is Lucy Barton– 1