Takeaways from the Tony Award nominations

Victoria Clark, 'Kimberly Akimbo' (Photo: Joan Marcus)

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

Yesterday, the Tony Awards nominations were announced. While there were many certainties of who would hear their name called, there were plenty of surprises and snubs. Here are some of my thoughts on the nominations.

‘Some Like It Hot’ proves Tony-bait works.

I did not doubt that ‘Some Like It Hot’ would get multiple nominations. But to lead the pack with 13 was a complete surprise. While I expected to see nominations for its stronger components(Acting, design), I did not expect nominations for its weaker elements, such as its score - especially with such a loaded field of potential nominees.

But shows like ‘Some Like It Hot’ once again prove that Tony-bait type shows result in multiple nominations. The show is average at best. It hides a weak score and debatable plot with strong individual performances and strong design elements. For the most part, Tony voters aren’t on Twitter and won’t be swayed by whatever “is it transphobic or not?” debate. They are going to vote on the product that’s in front of them. Sometimes that works out for the better, and sometimes it doesn’t. In this case, it resulted in 13 nominations. But I don’t think it will win anything close to that number come awards nights.

‘K POP’ gets some much-deserved love.

I wasn’t expecting ‘K POP’ to receive a single Tony nomination. So you can imagine this Korean’s reaction to it getting three, including Best Score.

‘K POP’ was fantastic. It didn’t deserve a shitty racist review from the New York Times, nor a quick closing. I’m happy that Tony voters saw the show for what it was and rightfully awarded it with nominations. And as crazy as it sounds, I have a feeling it will win Best Score.

Diversity among the nominees has improved.

Once again, this year’s Tony nominations proved that raising awareness about diversity representation in Broadway productions works. Seldom is there a category that doesn’t have a BIPOC nominated, and all acting categories have at least one. Hopefully, this will be the last year of gendered acting categories, so I expect that representation only to improve.

I’m not saying we should take out foot off the pedal to continue the conversation that more work is needed, but it’s clear that improvement is occurring, and that should be appreciated.

Best Revival of a Musical is a loaded field with no clear front-runner.

Probably not since 2013 (Pippin) has Best Revival of a Musical featured so many strong productions that you could make the case that any of them should win.

While ‘1776’ and ‘Dancin’ didn’t have a shot to be nominated, they would never have stood up against the four nominees. I honestly don't know what show is going to win this award, but I don’t have a problem with any of them taking home the trophy.

Plenty of snubs.

Going into the nominations, I had several expectations for nominees. Tony favorites like Aaron Sorkin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and John Kander were among them. None heard their names announced.

Miranda and Kander not getting nominated was probably the biggest surprise. Especially when you see that Cameron Crowe was nominated to ‘Almost Famous,’ which didn’t have a great score, let alone anything else.

Also, where was Kenny Leon(‘Topdog/Underdog’), Thomas Kail(‘Sweeney Todd’), or Danielle Brooks (‘The Piano Lesson’)? ‘Life of Pi’ anyone?

Phillipa Soo(‘Camelot’) should be a multiple Tony nominee this morning, as should Patina Miller(‘Into the Woods’). Alex Joseph Grayson (‘Parade’) should have gotten some Tony love, as well as Gaten Matarazzo (‘Sweeney Todd’).

It will be a ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ night, but we love ‘Shucked.’

Last month, I asked, “Has Shucked become the favorite for the Tonys?”. Given the buzz surrounding the show, I had a feeling that something special was on its way. Nine nominations later, I feel stronger about that than before. While I feel that ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ is the front-runner heading into Tony night, I expect some love for ‘Shucked’.

I was also glad to see ‘& Juliet’ get the love from the nominations. Sadly, I think it will go the route of shows like ‘Beetlejuice’ - lots of nominations with no wins. But to have a piece like that get the recognition it deserves with nine nominations is amazing.

Lea Michele will perform during the ceremony.

You know that’s going to happen, right? It definitely is.

I’m sure there is plenty to talk about more when it comes to the Tony Awards. So we will plan on having plenty of coverage for the big night on June 11!