NEW YORK — The field of the nominees for the 75th annual Tony Awards was set in stone on Monday morning, as the theater industry shakes off the coronavirus pandemic and prepares to celebrate a season packed with powerful plays.
“A Strange Loop,” a new, meta musical about a Black gay dramatist creating a musical, led the field with 11 nominations, including a nod in the best new musical category.
“Paradise Square,” a new musical spun from a neighborhood of Irish immigrants and African Americans in Civil War-era lower Manhattan, picked up 10 nominations, as did “MJ,” a musical drawn from the songs of Michael Jackson.
Also shining bright were a decidedly modern take on Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” (nine nominations), and the epic “Lehman Trilogy,” (eight) a new play about the Lehman Brothers.
Overall, 34 shows eligible in a field of productions powering through the pandemic’s second act.
In a highly competitive field of plays, nominations for best play went to “The Minutes,” “Clyde’s,” “Hangmen,” “The Lehman Trilogy” and “Skeleton Crew.”
Up for best musical are “Girl from North Country,” “MJ,” “Mr. Saturday Night,” “Paradise Square,” “Six” and “A Strange Loop.” And in a relatively thin field of musical revivals, “Company,” “The Music Man” and “Caroline, or Change” picked up nominations.
Virus outbreaks proved common on sets this winter, often pausing productions, and the nominations announcement was delayed to give voters more time to see shows. It was initially to take place last Tuesday.
The Tony Awards are scheduled to run across four hours — three on TV — on June 12, with Ariana DeBose serving as host at Radio City Musical Hall.
They follow an unusual and long-delayed edition of the Tonys held in September, after Broadway’s 16-month pandemic blackout. The fall edition honored a season that was abbreviated by COVID. Only 18 productions were eligible for trophies.
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” which is still playing on Broadway, notched a field-topping 10 awards at the 74th annual Tony Awards in September.
The show had its COVID oddities; Aaron Tveit was the lone nominee for best leading actor in a musical, an honor he captured. But the event brought attention to Broadway as curtains began to rise across Midtown.
The Theater District is now in the midst of an ambitious spring season, with vaccine checks dropping and almost every theater in use. Though attendance is down compared to the years leading up to the pandemic, it is not far off the clip.
Some productions, like “The Music Man,” “Macbeth” and “Funny Girl, have proved scalding hot tickets.
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