NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Latest on the Tony Award nominations (all times local):
8:33 a.m.
“Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” a sung-through musical that dramatizes a 70-page melodrama at the centre of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” has earned a leading 12 Tony Award nominations.
The acting categories saw nominations for Bette Midler, Kevin Kline, Josh Groban, Danny DeVito and Cate Blanchett.
Groban earned a nod for portraying — in a fat suit — an unhappy husband. His musical will now compete for the Tony with “Come From Away,” ”Dear Evan Hansen” and “Groundhog Day.”
The best play nominees are “Sweat,” ”Oslo,” ”Indecent” and “A Doll’s House, Part 2.” The Midler-led revival of “Hello, Dolly!” was the second-most nominated show this season with 10 nods. The quirky coming-of-age musical “Dear Evan Hansen” earned nine.
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8 a.m.
If last year’s Tony Award nomination announcement was pretty straightforward, this year’s process is much, much messier.
The question around this time in 2016 was just how many Tony nods the megahit “Hamilton” would earn. This season, with 13 new musicals all vying for the biggest crown, the picture is murkier.
The long-term fate of many shows will rest on how many nominations — and later wins — they can accumulate. Answers will become clearer after Christopher Jackson and Jane Krakowski announce the candidates Tuesday.
The biggest prize is best new musical and most observers expect the hit “Dear Evan Hansen” to claim a nomination. Others likely to join it include “A Bronx Tale,” ”Come From Away,” ”Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” ”War Paint” and “Groundhog Day.”
