A Strange Loop dominates Tony nominations, including the first one for a trans actor
L Morgan Lee’s portrayal of Thought 1 earned her a nomination for Best Featured Actress.
A Strange Loop led the pack in this year’s Tony Award nominations, and the musical made history in the process. With her nod for Best Featured Actress as Thought 1, L Morgan Lee became the first openly trans actress to receive a Tony Award nomination.
The musical, which tells the story of a queer Black man writing a musical, had 11 nominations total, including Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Lead Actor (Jaquel Spivey), Best Featured Actor (John-Andrew Morrison), and more. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2020 after being an off-Broadway production in 2019.
MJ The Musical and Paradise Square followed with 10 nominations each. The Lehman Trilogy was the most nominated play with eight nominations. Other nominated productions include Company, SIX: The Musical, for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf, Girl From the North Country, The Music Man, The Skin of Our Teeth, Clyde’s, Hangmen, and Mr. Saturday Night.
There were plenty of recognizable Hollywood names nominated as well, including Uzo Aduba (Clyde’s), Rachel Dratch (POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Take Me Out), Ron Cephas Jones (Clyde’s), Ruth Negga (Macbeth), Mary-Louise Parker (How I Learned to Drive), Phylicia Rashad (Skeleton Crew), Sam Rockwell (American Buffalo), and Jesse Williams (Take Me Out). Broadway mainstays Sutton Foster, Hugh Jackman, and Patti LuPone were all also nominated for their third Tony Awards.
Departing New York Theater Workshop Artistic Director James C. Nicola will be receiving a special Tony Award to recognize his 34-year career with the company — during which he helped produce major productions like Rent, Homebody/Kabul, Dirty Blonde, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Peter and the Starcatcher, Once, Lazarus, Hadestown, What the Constitution Means to Me, and Slave Play. Robert E. Wankel will receive the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for his dedication to Broadway’s philanthropic efforts.
The Tony Awards will be hosted by Ariana DeBose at Radio City Music Hall, and they will air on June 12 on Paramount+ and CBS.
