Libertyville native among record-setting Tony nods for 'Hamilton'
NEW YORK - The megahit musical "Hamilton" has grabbed a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations - including one for Libertyville native Phillipa Soo - and made another notch in the show's march into theatrical history.
Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop-flavored biography about the first U.S. treasury secretary on Tuesday broke the 15-nominations record held by "The Producers" and "Billy Elliot." "Hamilton" was nominated in virtually every category it could compete in.
"I feel really grateful that they kind of spread the wealth," Miranda told The Associated Press. "Theater requires collaboration and I'm lucky to be working with some of the best people in their respective fields alive right now."
Next month, "Hamilton" will fight for Broadway's biggest crown - best new musical - with "Bright Star," "School of Rock," "Shuffle Along" and "Waitress."
Soo, nominated for best leading actress in a musical, was unavailable for comment Tuesday. In an interview with the Daily Herald earlier this year, she talked about her role as Hamilton's wife Eliza and the possibility of a Tony nomination.
"If that were to happen, I'd be so honored and amazed," she said at the time. "But even the fact that this is a potential possibility is amazing in itself. I feel so humbled by the whole experience."
"Hamilton" is the first Broadway show for the 25-year-old Libertyville High School grad. "In my wildest dreams, I would have never imagined being in this place, at this point in my life," she said.
The awards will be handed out June 12, with James Corden playing host from the Beacon Theatre.
After "Hamilton," the other top nominations went to the new musical "Shuffle Along," a show that explores a groundbreaking 95-year-old musical starring, written and directed by African-Americans, which got 10 nominations, and the revival of "She Loves Me," which earned eight.
"Hamilton" earned seven acting nominations - Miranda, Soo, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson and Renee Elise Goldsberry. It also earned nominations for scenic design, costumes, lighting design, direction, choreography, orchestrations, best book and best original score.
Soo will face off against Laura Benanti, a previous Tony winner who stars in "She Loves Me," the 1963 romantic musical by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock about two star-crossed co-workers.
Benanti and Soo also face competition from Carmen Cusack in "Bright Star," Cynthia Erivo in "The Color Purple" and Jessie Mueller in "Waitress." Mueller, an Evanston native, is a veteran of Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace and Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.
"School of Rock," the adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julian Fellowes of the Jack Black movie about a wannabe rocker who enlists fifth-graders to form a rock group, earned four nominations, including best musical, book, original score and best leading man in Alex Brightman.
"It's a funny season this one, isn't it," said Lloyd Webber from London. "As you know, it's the 'Hamil-Tonys.' We've gotten everything we could have hoped for and that's all we'll get. But it's lovely in this season of all seasons to get score and musical and book. We're terribly pleased."
"Hamilton" has burst through the Broadway bubble like few shows. U.S. presidential candidates have tweeted about it, it has influenced the debate over the nation's currency and the show has been referenced on "Saturday Night Live" and "Inside Amy Schumer."
The best play category is composed of "Eclipsed," by Danai Gurira, which played Northlight Theatre in Skokie in 2011; "The Father;" "King Charles III;" and the "The Humans," which had its world premiere at American Theatre Company in Chicago in 2014.
Hollywood stars didn't do so well on Tuesday, with Clive Owen, Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan and George Takei all missing out on nods. But several Chicago theater artists were among the nominees. Previous Tony nominee Laurie Metcalf (three-time Emmy Award winner for "Roseanne") received a lead actress nomination for "Misery." The longtime Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member returns to Chicago May 31 for Steppenwolf's "Voice Lessons" co-starring French Stewart.
Michael Shannon, a member of Chicago's A Red Orchid Theatre and Joseph Jefferson Award winner, received a featured actor in a play nomination for his performance as dissolute son Jamie Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night."
• Daily Herald staff writers Jamie Sotonoff and Barbara Vitello contributed to this report.
<h3 class="briefHead">Select nominations for the 2016 Tony Awards</h3>
Best Musical: "Bright Star"; "Hamilton"; "School of Rock The Musical"; "Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed"; "Waitress"
Best Play: "Eclipsed" by Danai Gurira; "The Father" by Florian Zeller; "The Humans" by Stephan Karan; "King Charles III" by Mike Bartlett
Best Book of a Musical: "Bright Star" by Steve Martin; "Hamilton" by Lin-Manuel Miranda; "School of Rock The Musical" by Julian Fellowes; "Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed" by George C. Wolfe
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater: "Bright Star" with music by Steve Martin and music and lyrics by Edie Brickell; "Hamilton" with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda; "School of Rock The Musical" with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Glenn Slater; "Waitress" with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles
Best Revival of a Play: "Arthur Miller's The Crucible"; "Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge"; "Blackbird"; "Long Day's Journey Into Night"; "Noises Off"
Best Revival of a Musical: "The Color Purple"; "Fiddler on the Roof": "She Loves Me"; "Spring Awakening"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Gabriel Byrne, "Long Day's Journey Into Night"; Jeff Daniels, "Blackbird"; Frank Langella, "The Father"; Tim Pigott-Smith, "King Charles III"; Mark Strong, "Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Jessica Lange, "Long Day's Journey Into Night"; Laurie Metcalf, "Misery"; Lupita Nyong'o, "Eclipsed"; Sophie Okonedo, "Arthur Miller's The Crucible"; Michelle Williams, "Blackbird"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Alex Brightman, "School of Rock The Musical"; Danny Burstein, "Fiddler on the Roof"; Zachary Levi, "She Loves Me"; Lin-Manuel Miranda, "Hamilton"; Leslie Odom Jr., "Hamilton"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Laura Benanti, "She Loves Me"; Carmen Cusack, "Bright Star"; Cynthia Erivo, "The Color Purple"; Jessie Mueller, "Waitress"; Phillipa Soo, "Hamilton"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Reed Birney, "The Humans"; Bill Camp, "Arthur Miller's The Crucible"; David Furr, "Noises Off"; Richard Goulding, "King Charles III"; Michael Shannon, "Long Day's Journey Into Night"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Pascale Armand, "Eclipsed"; Megan Hilty, "Noises Off"; Jayne Houdyshell, "The Humans"; Andrea Martin, "Noises Off"; Saycon Sengbloh, "Eclipsed"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Daveed Diggs, "Hamilton"; Brandon Victor Dixon, "Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed"; Christopher Fitzgerald, "Waitress"; Jonathan Groff, "Hamilton"; Christopher Jackson, "Hamilton"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Danielle Brooks, "The Color Purple"; Renee Elise Goldsberry, "Hamilton"; Jane Krakowski, "She Loves Me"; "Jennifer Simard, "Disaster!"; Adrienne Warren, "Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed"