Tony Awards 2024 – nominations announced!

With the theatre industry still feeling the aches of Covid three years on, it has been an exciting and hopeful year for new musicals. The Outsiders, Water for Elephants and Suffs all received at least six nominations and, with Hell's Kitchen picking up a total of 13, it is clear that new theatre is thriving!

Maria Friedman's all-star production of Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along received seven nominations, including Best Performance by a Leading Actor (Jonathan Groff), Best Performance by a Featured Actor (Daniel Radcliffe) and Best Orchestrations (Jonathan Tunick) – all eyes are on whether the show might cross the pond, bringing its story full circle (the show had its genesis in a London revival, first seen at the Menier Chocolate Factory).

The much-anticipated transfer from the West End of the immersive Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club was nominated for nine awards, including Best Performance by a Leading Actor (Eddie Redmayne, who originated the role of the Emcee in London), Best Performance by a Featured Actress (Gayle Rankin) and Best Scenic Design (Tom Scutt). What is surprising is the absence of director Rebecca Frecknall in the Best Director category – perhaps a result of the mixed critical reaction to the Broadway transfer.

As to who will take away the trophies on 16 June, it's by no means a dead cert this year, as Matt Wolf explains in his forthcoming Broadway Bulletin for Musicals (June/July issue, on sale from 30 May – subscribe here): 'Usually, it’s reasonably clear by this point which musicals look most likely to curry favour, but the current season has thrown no shortage of curveballs.'

The award ceremony, on 16 June at the David H Koch Theatre in the Lincoln Center, is hosted for the third time running by West Side Story star Ariana DeBose. 

List of Nominations

Best Musical
Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Illinoise at the St James Theatre
The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre
Suffs at the Music Box Theatre
Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre

Best Revival of a Musical
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre
Gutenberg! The Musical! at the James Earl Jones Theatre
Merrily We Roll Along at the Hudson Theatre
The Who’s Tommy at the Nederlander Theatre

Best Direction of a Musical
Maria Friedman — Merrily We Roll Along at the Hudson Theatre
Michael Greif — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Leigh Silverman — Suffs at the Music Box Theatre
Jessica Stone — Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre
Danya Taymor — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Brody Grant — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre
Jonathan Groff — Merrily We Roll Along at the Hudson Theatre
Dorian Harewood — The Notebook at the Schoenfeld Theatre
Brian d’Arcy James — Days of Wine and Roses at Studio 54
Eddie Redmayne — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Eden Espinosa — Lempicka at the Longacre Theatre
Maleah Joi Moon — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Kelli O’Hara — Days of Wine and Roses at Studio 54
Maryann Plunkett — The Notebook at the Schoenfeld Theatre
Gayle Rankin — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Roger Bart — Back to the Future at the Winter Garden Theatre
Joshua Boone — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre
Brandon Victor Dixon — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Sky Lakota-Lynch — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre
Daniel Radcliffe — Merrily We Roll Along at the Hudson Theatre
Steven Skybell — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Shoshana Bean — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Amber Iman — Lempicka at the Longacre Theatre
Nikki M James — Suffs at the Music Box Theatre
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer — Monty Python’s Spamalot at the St James Theatre
Kecia Lewis — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Lindsay Mendez — Merrily We Roll Along at the Hudson Theatre
Bebe Neuwirth — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre

Best Book of a Musical
Kristoffer Diaz — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Bekah Brunstetter — The Notebook at the Schoenfeld Theatre
Adam Rapp and Justin Levine — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre
Shaina Taub — Suffs at the Music Box Theatre
Rick Elice — Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre

Best Original Score
Adam Guettel — Days of Wine and Roses at Studio 54
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim — Here Lies Love at the Broadway Theatre
Will Butler — Stereophonic at the Golden Theatre
Shaina Taub — Suffs at the Music Box Theatre
Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine — The Outsiders

Best Orchestrations
Timo Andres — Illinoise at the St James Theatre
Will Butler and Justin Craig — Stereophonic at the Golden Theatre
Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre
Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Jonathan Tunick — Merrily We Roll Along at the Hudson Theatre

Best Choreography
Camille A Brown — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Annie-B Parson — Here Lies Love at the Broadway Theatre
Rick and Jeff Kuperman — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre
Justin Peck — Illinoise at the St James Theatre
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll — Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre

Best Scenic Design in a Musical
Amp featuring Tatianna Kahvegian — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Takeshi Kata — Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre
David Korins — Here Lies Love at the Broadway Theatre
Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini — Lempicka at the Longacre Theatre
Tim Hatley and Finn Ross — Back to the Future at the Winter Garden Theatre
Tom Scutt — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre

Best Costume Design in a Musical
Dede Ayite — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Linda Cho — The Great Gatsby at the Broadway Theatre
David Israel Reynoso — Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre
Tom Scutt — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre
Paul Tazewell — Suffs at the Music Box Theatre

Best Lighting Design in a Musical
Brandon Stirling Baker — Illinoise at the St James Theatre
Isabella Byrd — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre
Natasha Katz — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Bradley King and David Bengali — Water for Elephants at the Imperial Theatre
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre

Best Sound Design of a Musical
M L Dogg and Cody Spencer — Here Lies Love at the Broadway Theatre 
Kai Harada — Merrily We Roll Along at the Hudson Theatre
Nick Lidster for Autograph — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre
Gareth Owen — Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre
Cody Spencer — The Outsiders at the Jacobs Theatre