A new Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about a young artist’s inner demons tops this year’s Tony nominations announced Monday, with 11 chances for the highest honors in American theater.
“A Strange Loop” will compete for the coveted award for best musical with “Girl From The North Country,” a Depression-era extravaganza that uses the songs of Bob Dylan; “MJ,” a jukebox musical about Michael Jackson; “Mr. Saturday Night,” which remakes the beloved Billy Crystal movie; “Six”, an account of the lives of the wives of Henry VIII; and “Paradise Square,” about race relations in 19th-century-era New York.
This year’s Tonys will celebrate the first season of Broadway that followed a lengthy pandemic shutdown of live theater that left the industry reeling.
“MJ” and “Paradise Square” were head-to-head behind “A Strange Loop” with 10 nominations each, while the hit “Company” — from the late Broadway icon Stephen Sondheim — received nine nominations, including best revival of a musical.
“The Lehman Trilogy,” chronicling the investment firm’s rapid rise and disastrous fall in the 2008 financial crisis, is up for eight awards, including best play.
Among the more well-known artists vying for the Tonys this year are Ruth Negga, Hugh Jackman, Billy Crystal, Sam Rockwell, Mary-Louise Parker and Patti LuPone.
The star-studded 75th Annual Tony Awards, Broadway’s biggest night and the theater’s equivalent of the Academy Awards, will take place on June 12.
The show presented by the American Theater Wing includes 26 competitive categories, with nominees selected by an independent 29-member committee of theater professionals.
Now, 650 Tony voters from across the industry will choose the winners before the ceremony in June. (AFP)