2019 Tony Awards Season: Nominations Announced!

photo taken as a screen shot from The Tony Awards Facebook page

This morning I awoke with the same energy as Princess Anna on Coronation Day. Today was the equivalent of Christmas Day for Broadway fans across the globe. At 8:30am, the 2019 Tony Award nominations were announced! I had the livestream ready to go as soon as the announcement began, and waited with bated breath as I waited for my favorite shows and stars of the season to receive their nominations.

This year's nominations had a lot of surprises, snubs, and excitement. As the Broadway awards season is set, it's time to dish on who was nominated and who was not.

NO SURPRISES HERE!
Many decisions made by the Tony committee were not surprises to me. On the musical side of the nominations, the Tony buzz around both Stephanie J. Block and Santino Fontana (for their performances in The Cher Show and Tootsie, respectively) has been deafening for many weeks. I was happy to see their nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical confirmed, and I am expecting them to both take home the big prize come Tony night.

Even though I keep hearing Santino has the Tony on lock, I was still excited to see one of my favorite Broadway actors, Alex Brightman, nominated in the same category for his portrayal of the title role in Beetlejuice the Musical. I'll be upfront - I do not like the movie and I have read some pretty brutal reviews of the musical, but Alex Brightman's performance has left the critics raving across the board. For that reason, his nomination came as no shock to me.

On the play side of the nominations, I was thrilled to hear Celia Keenan-Bolger is nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for her stunning performance as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. I could hardly contain myself as I raved about her in my review of To Kill a Mockingbird. Another spectacular performance in a play was that of Elaine May in the revival of The Waverly Gallery. As I analyzed in my Top 10 Favorite Performances in a Play article, the 87-year-old gave a sensational performance as an elderly woman struggling with Alzheimer's. Her nomination is well-deserved and I feel she is a huge contender for the award.

The latest Broadway smash hit Hadestown walked away from the announcement this morning with 14 Tony nominations - the most of any musical or play this season! Hadestown opened on Broadway following a smashing success on London's West End, and it's one of the hottest tickets in New York right now. I fully expect it to take home the Best Musical Tony in June, and I hope I can score a ticket to see it prior to the awards.

One of my favorite plays of the season, The Ferryman, received nine nominations and I am ecstatic it got so much love! I raved about it in my February review, and I'm pretty sure not a day has gone by when I haven't thought about The Ferryman.

The unique show Network, though snubbed in the Best Play category, deservedly received a nod for Best Direction of a Play. As I stated in my review, Network is worth seeing for the outstanding direction as well as Bryan Cranston's stirring performance (Mr. Cranston was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, and I fully believe he will win).

On a slightly negative note, Be More Chill, a cult-favorite musical, only received one Tony nomination (Outstanding Score). If you read my review of Be More Chill, you'll know that I strongly disliked the show. Though their lack of nominations may be considered a snub according to many Broadway fans, for me it was no surprise at all.

WHO GOT SNUBBED AND SHUT OUT?
Shows that were completely shut out of the Tony nominations included two musicals that opened early in the 2018-2019 season: Pretty Woman (based on the classic movie of the same name) and Head Over Heels (a jukebox musical featuring music by The Go-Gos). Pretty Woman is still running on Broadway, but Head Over Heels struggled from the start and eventually closed in January after playing 37 previews and 188 regular performances (that equates to only a 7 month run, approximately). However, Head Over Heels garnered quite the fanbase during its run, and many fans were disappointed that the show was completely forgotten come time for Tony season.

Some fantastic plays were also forgotten at this morning's nomination announcement. The Lifespan of a Fact, a laugh-out-loud comedy starring Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones, and Bobby Cannavale unfortunately didn't quite hold a candle to the rest of the incredible plays that opened on Broadway this season according to the Tony committee. The superb gut-wrenching drama American Son, starring Kerry Washington, Steven Pasquale, Jeremy Jordan, and Eugene Lee, was also forgotten. That snub was probably the most shocking to me, since I haven't been able to stop talking about American Son ever since I saw it in January. Kerry Washington specifically deserved a Tony nomination in my opinion, and I'm heartbroken that she was not recognized.  

Joan Allen did not receive a nomination for her heartbreaking performance in The Waverly Gallery and I am shocked and disappointed. The Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play category is absolutely stacked, but I had no doubt in my mind that Joan Allen would be among the esteemed women nominated. It feels wrong that she is not.

The biggest shock of all was that To Kill a Mockingbird, the new play shattering records right and left and selling out every performance, did not receive a nomination for Best Play. I, along with much of the theatre community, was stunned. Everyone had Mockingbird pegged to win it all - now it doesn't even have a chance?! It wasn't until a friend of mine reminded me of some controversy surrounding one of the producers of To Kill a Mockingbird did I understand the decision. The producer (whose name I won't mention here), used bullying tactics to gain the rights to the story and to prevent amateur theatre companies from putting on an older version of the play. My friend suspects (and he has convinced me as well), that the Tony committee snubbed the show in the Best Play category for this reason, since the producers are the ones who take home the trophy in that category.

HAPPY SURPRISES!
I was THRILLED and did a happy dance in my seat when Gideon Glick was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for his portrayal of Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird. I've spent the last few months hoping he would receive a nod, but given the large depth of talent featured in this season's plays, I wasn't sure if he'd get the recognition he deserved. I am so glad he did!

I was wow-ed that Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations received twelve nominations this morning! Personally, I'm not a big fan of jukebox musicals (stories built around existing music written by a certain artist), but this show has been getting rave reviews. Additionally, actor Jeremy Pope received not one, but TWO acting nominations for both Ain't Too Proud and the already-closed play Choir Boy, a rare and extremely exciting achievement.

My final surprise of the morning was hearing Kelli O'Hara, former Tony winner and seven-time nominee, was given a nod for her leading performance in the fantastic revival Kiss Me Kate. Kelli O'Hara is one of my all-time favorite Broadway actresses, so to see her nominated yet again is a thrill, though I think it's time for Stephanie J. Block to take home her first Tony award.



You can view the full list of nominees here. Who will prevail on awards night? Be sure to keep an eye out on the Tony Awards website for a printable ballot to pick your favorites. Then, tune in to the 73rd Annual Tony Awards on Sunday June 9th at 8pm ET, hosted by Tony Award winner James Corden.