The Tony nominations were announced on Tuesday morning, with The Lost Boys and Schmigadoon! each earning a leading 12 nominations. June Squibb, at 96, became the oldest Tony-nominated actor in history, while Danny Burstein now holds the record for most nominations by a male actor.
There were notable snubs as well. Lea Michele was not recognized for her role as Florence Vassy in the latest Broadway revival of Chess. Bobby Cannavale, Neil Patrick Harris, and James Corden were overlooked for the revival of Art. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters, reuniting for a revival of Waiting for Godot, also missed out. Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson were both snubbed for The Fear of 13, a true-life prison drama, and Laurie Metcalf was overlooked for Little Bear Ridge Road.
The Tony Awards will be handed out on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, hosted by Pink. The ceremony will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
Leading Shows and Nominations
The Lost Boys, an adaptation of the 1987 teen vampire thriller, and Schmigadoon!, based on the Apple TV series parodying Broadway musicals, were followed by a revival of Ragtime with 11 nominations. Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller's masterpiece starring Nathan Lane, earned nine nods. Twenty-four shows received at least one nomination across the 26 Tony categories, including revivals of Chess and Cats: The Jellicle Ball, which reimagines the classic feline musical as a celebration of queer ballroom culture.
Bill Rauch, who secured his first Tony nomination for co-directing the reimagined Cats, said, "I'm over the Jellicle moon about this! I've spent my whole career trying to connect the dots between classics and the place and time we're living in, and so to have 'Cats' have this life on Broadway right now just really feels like an affirmation of everything I've been trying to do for decades."
Best New Musical and Play Categories
The best new musical nominees are The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, Titanique (a camp musical comedy reimagining the 1997 film Titanic), and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), an opposites-attract rom-com. Ali Louis Bourzgui, nominated for best featured role in a musical for his role in The Lost Boys, commented on his show's success: "I think that people, including myself, love a villain that they can care for. Some of my favorite performances are technically villains on paper, but the person who's playing them actively makes them a full 3D person that you can root for."
The best new play nominees are John Lithgow-led Giant, which explores accusations of antisemitism against Roald Dahl; Liberation, about a 1970s women's group that won the Pulitzer Prize for drama; The Balusters, a comedy about a neighborhood association; and Little Bear Ridge Road, about a writer returning to his hometown. Playwright Mark Rosenblatt conceived Giant in 2018, and noted its relevance: "The ideas in the play, the concerns, the pain, is perennial. But I could never have imagined that it would be playing against the backdrop of what's happening now."
Snubs and Records
The Fear of 13, despite starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson in their Broadway debuts, received no acting nods. Former Glee star Lea Michele still seeks her first Tony nomination. June Squibb's nomination surpasses Lois Smith's record set in 2020. Danny Burstein's ninth nomination breaks Jason Robards' record. Kelli O'Hara got her ninth career nomination for Fallen Angels, tying for third on the all-time acting nominations list.
Actors from The Bear—Ayo Edebiri, Jon Bernthal, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach—were not nominated for their Broadway debuts. Daniel Radcliffe secured a nomination for Every Brilliant Thing, a one-person show about depression.
Revival and Acting Categories
The best play revival category includes Every Brilliant Thing, Death of a Salesman, Oedipus (a modern retelling set on election night), Becky Shaw, and Fallen Angels. Rose Byrne, nominated for best actress in a play for Fallen Angels, becomes the 22nd actor to be Oscar- and Tony-nominated in the same year. Her co-star Kelli O'Hara also secured a nod, along with Lesley Manville, Susannah Flood, and Carrie Coon.
John Lithgow, with two Tonys already, competes for best leading actor in a play against Nathan Lane, Daniel Radcliffe, Mark Strong, and Will Harrison. Best actor in a musical nominees include Joshua Henry, Brandon Uranowitz, Sam Tutty, Nicholas Christopher, and Luke Evans. Best actress in a musical nominees are Caissie Levy, Marla Mindelle, Christiani Pitts, Sara Chase, and Stephanie Hsu.
Other snubs include Bobby Cannavale, Neil Patrick Harris, and James Corden for Art, and Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters for Waiting for Godot, though Brandon J. Dirden was nominated for a featured role.
The Tony Awards will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on June 7. Last year's show, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, drew 4.85 million viewers, its largest audience in six years.
