Tony Awards: ‘A Strange Loop’ Tops Nominations

Hilary Lewis and Kimberly Nordyke
·12 min read

A Strange Loop topped the 2022 Tony Awards nominations with 11 nods.

The production, which won the Pulitzer Prize for best drama in 2020 after it was seen off-Broadway in 2019, is up for best musical, best direction, best lead actor (Jaquel Spivey), best featured actor (John-Andrew Morrison), best featured actress (L Morgan Lee), best original score, best orchestrations, best book, best scenic design, best lighting design and best sound design.

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The musical — from Michael R. Jackson, who wrote the music, story and lyrics — follows a Black queer man trying to write a musical as he grapples with desires, identity and instincts.

Indeed, it was a big morning for people named Michael Jackson as the musical about the late King of Pop, MJ, scored 10 nods, tied with Paradise Square for the second-most nominations Monday morning.

Other top nominees are Company (nine noms); The Lehman Trilogy and SIX: The Musical (eight nods each); for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf and Girl From the North Country (seven noms each); The Music Man and The Skin of Our Teeth (six noms each); and Clyde’s, Hangmen and Mr. Saturday Night (five noms each).

Among the Hollywood names who earned acting noms are Uzo Aduba (Clyde’s), Ron Cephas Jones (Clyde’s), Billy Crystal (Mr. Saturday Night), Rachel Dratch (POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Take Me Out), 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).

Additionally, three Tony regulars — Sutton Foster, Hugh Jackman and Patti LuPone — will each be vying for their third Tony Award. Foster and Jackman are nominated for the splashy revival of The Music Man, which is the massive hit of the season, grossing more than $3 million a week for a cumulative box office over $57 million. Foster previously won for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes, and Jackman is a past winner for The Boy From Oz and his solo show, Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway. LuPone, a past winner for her roles in Evita and Gypsy, is nominated for her role in the gender-flipped revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company.

Sharon D Clarke also landed a nom for her much-lauded performance in the musical Caroline, or Change after having landed back-to-back best actress Olivier Awards in London for both Caroline and Death of a Salesman. She’ll be back on Broadway next season in the all-Black London revival of Death of a Salesman, starring opposite The Wire’s Wendell Pierce and 2019 Tony winner André De Shields.

Stars who failed to earn nominations this year, despite pundits’ predictions, include Company lead Katrina Lenk, The Plaza Suite’s Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Macbeth’s Daniel Craig and Funny Girl’s Beanie Feldstein and Jane Lynch.

This year’s Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre will be presented to the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC); Broadway for All; music copyist Emily Grishman; Feinstein’s/54 Below and United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, IATSE. The Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award will be presented to Robert E. Wankel, and a special Tony Award will be given to James C. Nicola, the artistic director of New York Theatre Workshop since 1988.

Oscar winner and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose is set to host this year’s 75th annual Tony Awards, which returns to its usual home of Radio City Music Hall in New York City for a ceremony taking place on Sunday, June 12. The show will air live coast-to-coast as a four-hour presentation split between streaming service Paramount+ and CBS. The first hour, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT will feature exclusive content streaming only on Paramount+. The awards show will continue at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT live on CBS and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+.

A complete list of this year’s nominees follows.

Best Play

Clyde’s
Author: Lynn Nottage
Producers: Second Stage Theater, Carole Rothman, Khady Kamara

Hangmen
Author: Martin McDonagh
Producers: Robert Fox, Jean Doumanian, Elizabeth I. McCann, Craig Balsam, Atlantic Theater Company, Jon B. Platt, Len Blavatnik, Richard Fishman, John Gore Organization, Stephanie P. McClelland, David Mirvish, The Shubert Organization, Jamie deRoy/Sandy Robertson, Patrick Myles/Alexander ‘Sandy’ Marshall, M. Kilburg Reedy/Excelsior Entertainment, Playful Productions, The Royal Court Theatre

The Lehman Trilogy
Author: Stefano Massini, Ben Power
Producers: National Theatre, Neal Street Productions, Barry Diller, David Geffen, Kash Bennett, Lisa Burger, Caro Newling, Ambassador Theatre Group, Stephanie P. McClelland, Annapurna Theatre, Delman Whitney, Craig Balsam/Heni Koenigsberg/John Yonover, Fiery Angel/Seth A. Goldstein, Starry Night Entertainment, Gavin Kalin Productions, Paul & Selina Burdell/Bill Damaschke, 42nd.club/Phil & Claire Kenny, CatWenJam Productions, Amanda Dubois, Glass Half Full Productions, Dede Harris/Linda B. Rubin, Kallish Weinstein Creative, Kors Le Pere Theatricals LLC, James L. Nederlander, No Guarantees, Mark Pigott KBE, KStJ, Playing Field, Catherine Schreiber/Adam Zell, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Richard Winkler/Alan Shorr/Dawn Smalberg, The Shubert Organization, Independent Presenters Network, John Gore Organization, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Jillian Robbins

The Minutes
Author: Tracy Letts
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Rebecca Gold, Carl Moellenberg, Spencer Ross, Louise Gund, Elizabeth Armstrong, Blakeman Entertainment, HornosBerger, Across the River Productions, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley/Leah Lane, Jayne Baron Sherman, Kathleen K. Johnson, Emily Dobbs, Robert Flicker, Jacob Soroken Porter, The Shubert Organization, Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Skeleton Crew
Author: Dominique Morisseau
Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Barry Grove

Best Musical

Girl From the North Country
Producers: Tristan Baker & Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment, Steven Lappin, Sony Music Entertainment/Sony ATV, David Mirvish, Len Blavatnik, The Dodgers, Eric & Marsi Gardiner, Dianne Roberts, John Gore Organization, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Tommy Mottola, Independent Presenters Network, Rod Kaats, Diana DiMenna, Mary Beth O’Connor, Barbara H. Freitag, Patrick Catullo, Aaron Lustbader, The Old Vic, Matthew Warchus, Kate Varah, Georgia Gatti, The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, Patrick Willingham, Mandy Hackett

MJ
Producers: Lia Vollack, John Branca, John McClain, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music Entertaiment, Roy Furman, Cue to Cue Productions, James L. Nederlander, Kumiko Yoshii, Naoya Kinoshita, Latitude Link, Candy Spelling, Stephen C. Byrd, John Gore Organization, Sandy Robertson, Ed Walson, Peter W. May, CJ ENM, Martin Bandier, Michael Cassel Group, Albert Nocciolino, Playful Productions, Ken Schur, Willette & Manny Klausner, Doug Morris, Michael David, Estate of Michael Jackson

Mr. Saturday Night
Producers: James L. Nederlander, Face Productions, Inc., Hunter Arnold, Michael Cohl, TEG Dainty, Candy Spelling, Steve Traxler, Marc David Levine, Caiola Productions, Crossroads Live, Jamie deRoy, Roy Furman, Arny Granat, Grove Entertainment, John Gore Organization, Wolf Gutterman, Van Kaplan, Larry Magid, Peter May, Carl Moellenberg, Beth W. Newburger, Albert Nocciolino, Eva Price, Iris Smith, The Shubert Organization, Howard Tenenbaum, Barry and Fran Weissler

Paradise Square
Producers: Garth H. Drabinsky, Peter LeDonne, Jeffrey A. Sine, Matthew C. Blank, Joe Crowley, RSR Finance LLC, Hunter & Mariana Milborne, Len Blavatnik, Joseph Coffey, Sherry Wright & Craig Haffner, Bernard Abrams, James Scrivanich, Rick Chad, Arthur M. Kraus, Broadway & Beyond Theatricals, Brian Luborsky, Gilbert & Elisa Palter, The Shubert Organization, Terry Schnuck, Urban One, Inc., Robert Wolf, Richard Stursberg, Mark W. Everson, Sanjay Govil, Jeremiah J. Harris, Amabel James, Sheila C. Johnson, Dennis Mehiel, Louise H. & John G. Beard, Henry R. Muñoz, III & Kyle Ferari Muñoz, Walter Swett, Zachary Florence, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

SIX: The Musical
Producers: Kenny Wax, Wendy & Andy Barnes, George Stiles, Kevin McCollum, Chicago Shakespeare Theater

A Strange Loop
Producers: Barbara Whitman, Pasek, Paul & Stafford, Hunter Arnold, Marcia Goldberg, Alex Levy & James Achilles, Osh Ashruf, A Choir Full Productions, Don Cheadle & Bridgid Coulter Cheadle, Paul Oakley Stovall, Jimmy Wilson, Annapurna Theatre, Robyn Coles, Creative Partners Productions, Robyn Gottesdiener, Kayla Greenspan, Grove Entertainment, Kuhn, Lewis & Scott, Frank Marshall, Maximum Effort Productions Inc., Joey Monda, Richard Mumby, Phenomenal Media & Meena Harris, Marc Platt & Debra Martin Chase, Laurie Tisch, Yonge Street Theatricals, Dodge Hall Productions/JJ Malley, Cody Renard Richard, John Gore Organization, James L. Nederlander, The Shubert Organization, RuPaul Charles, Alan Cumming, Ilana Glazer, Jennifer Hudson, Mindy Kaling, Billy Porter, Page 73 Productions, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons

Best Revival of a Play

American Buffalo
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Steve Traxler, Stephanie P. McClelland, GFour Productions, Spencer Ross, Gemini Theatrical, Chris and Ashlee Clarke, Suna Said Maslin, Ted & Richard Liebowitz/Cue to Cue Productions, Patty Baker/Good Productions, Brad Blume, Caiola Productions, Joanna Carson, Arthur Kern, Willette Klausner, Jeremiah J. Harris and Darren P. Deverna, Van Kaplan, Patrick Myles/David Luff, Alexander Marshall, Ambassador Theatre Group, Kathleen K. Johnson, Diego Kolankowsky, Steve and Jacob Levy, Morwin Schmookler, Brian Moreland, Jacob Soroken Porter, The Shubert Organization

for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Producers: Nelle Nugent, Ron Simons, Kenneth Teaton, Ellen Ferguson and Vivian Phillips, Willette and Manny Klausner, Hunter Arnold, Dale Franzen, Valencia Yearwood, One Community, Audible, Dennis Grimaldi, Terry Nardozzi and Tracey Knight Narang, Grace Nordhoff/Mickalene Thomas, Angelina Fiordellisi/Caiola Productions, The Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, Patrick Willingham, Mandy Hackett

How I Learned to Drive
Author: Paula Vogel
Producers: Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Barry Grove, Daryl Roth, Cody Lassen, Vineyard Theatre

Take Me Out
Producers: Second Stage Theater, Carole Rothman, Khady Kamara

Trouble in Mind
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Julia C. Levy, Sydney Beers, Steve Dow

Best Revival of a Musical

Caroline, or Change
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Julia C. Levy, Sydney Beers, Steve Dow, Lot’s Wife, Hunter Arnold, Caiola Productions/Willette & Manny Klausner, Chambers -D’Angora/Joseph & Alyson Graci

Company
Producers: Elliott & Harper Productions, The Shubert Organization, Catherine Schreiber, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Crossroads Live, Anapurna Theatre, Hunter Arnold, No Guarantees, Jon B. Platt, Michael Watt, John Gore Organization, Tim Levy, Grove – REG, Hornos – Mollenberg, Levine – Federman – Adler, Beard – Merrie – Robbins, LD Entertainment/Madison Wells Live, Benjamin Lowy/Roben Alive, Daryl Roth/Tom Tuft, Salmira Productions/Caiola Productions, Aged in Wood/Lee – Sachs, Berinstein – Lane/42nd.club, Boyett – Miller/Hodges – Kukieiski, Finn – DeVito/Independent Presenters Network, Armstrong – Ross/Gilad – Rogowsky, Boardman – Koenigsberg/Zell – Seriff, Concord Theatricals – Scott Sanders Productions/Abrams – May, deRoy – Brunish/Jenen – Rubin, Fakston Productions/Sabi – Lerner – Ketner, Maggio – Abrams/Hopkins – Tackel, Levy & Chauviere, Jujamcyn Theaters

The Music Man
Producers: Barry Diller, David Geffen, Kate Horton, Fictionhouse

Best Book of a Musical

Girl From the North Country
Conor McPherson

MJ
Lynn Nottage

Mr. Saturday Night
Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel

Paradise Square
Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan

A Strange Loop
Michael R. Jackson

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Flying Over Sunset
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Michael Korie

Mr. Saturday Night
Music: Jason Robert Brown Lyrics: Amanda Green

Paradise Square
Music: Jason Howland
Lyrics: Nathan Tysen & Masi Asare

SIX: The Musical
Music and Lyrics: Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss

A Strange Loop
Music & Lyrics: Michael R. Jackson

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy

Adam Godley, The Lehman Trilogy

Adrian Lester, The Lehman Trilogy

David Morse, How I Learned to Drive

Sam Rockwell, American Buffalo

Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues

David Threlfall, Hangmen

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Gabby Beans, The Skin of Our Teeth

LaChanze, Trouble in Mind

Ruth Negga, Macbeth

Deirdre O’Connell, Dana H.

Mary-Louise Parker, How I Learned to Drive

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Billy Crystal, Mr. Saturday Night

Myles Frost, MJ

Hugh Jackman, The Music Man

Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire

Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Sharon D Clarke, Caroline, or Change

Carmen Cusack, Flying Over Sunset

Sutton Foster, The Music Man

Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square

Mare Winningham, Girl From the North Country

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Alfie Allen, Hangmen

Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out

Ron Cephas Jones, Clyde’s

Michael Oberholtzer, Take Me Out

Jesse Williams, Take Me Out

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Uzo Aduba, Clyde’s

Rachel Dratch, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive

Kenita R. Miller, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew

Julie White, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive

Kara Young, Clyde’s

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Matt Doyle, Company

Sidney DuPont, Paradise Square

Jared Grimes, Funny Girl

John-Andrew Morrison, A Strange Loop

A.J. Shively, Paradise Square

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Jeannette Bayardelle, Girl From the North Country

Shoshana Bean, Mr. Saturday Night

Jayne Houdyshell, The Music Man

L Morgan Lee, A Strange Loop

Patti LuPone, Company

Jennifer Simard, Company

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Beowulf Boritt, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive

Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong, Skeleton Crew

Es Devlin, The Lehman Trilogy

Anna Fleischle, Hangmen

Scott Pask, American Buffalo Adam Rigg, The Skin of Our Teeth

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions, Flying Over Sunset

Bunny Christie, Company

Arnulfo Maldonado, A Strange Loop

Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini, MJ

Allen Moyer, Paradise Square

Best Costume Design of a Play

Montana Levi Blanco, The Skin of Our Teeth

Sarafina Bush, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

Emilio Sosa, Trouble in Mind

Jane Greenwood, Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite

Jennifer Moeller, Clyde’s

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Fly Davis, Caroline, or Change

Toni-Leslie James, Paradise Square

William Ivey Long, Diana, The Musical

Santo Loquasto, The Music Man

Gabriella Slade, SIX: The Musical

Paul Tazewell, MJ

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Joshua Carr, Hangmen

Jiyoun Chang, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

Jon Clark, The Lehman Trilogy

Jane Cox, Macbeth

Yi Zhao, The Skin of Our Teeth

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Neil Austin, Company

Tim Deiling, SIX: The Musical

Donald Holder, Paradise Square

Natasha Katz, MJ

Bradley King, Flying Over Sunset

Jen Schriever, A Strange Loop

Best Sound Design of a Play

Justin Ellington, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

Mikhail Fiksel, Dana H.

Palmer Hefferan, The Skin of Our Teeth

Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, The Lehman Trilogy

Mikaal Sulaiman, Macbeth

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Simon Baker, Girl From the North Country

Paul Gatehouse, SIX: The Musical

Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Company

Drew Levy, A Strange Loop

Gareth Owen, MJ

Best Direction of a Play

Lileana Blain-Cruz, The Skin of Our Teeth

Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy

Neil Pepe, American Buffalo

Les Waters, Dana H.

Best Direction of a Musical

Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop

Marianne Elliott, Company

Conor McPherson, Girl From the North Country

Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage, SIX: The Musical

Christopher Wheeldon, MJ

Best Choreography

Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

Warren Carlyle, The Music Man

Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, SIX: The Musical

Bill T. Jones, Paradise Square

Christopher Wheeldon, MJ

Best Orchestrations

David Cullen, Company

Tom Curran, SIX: The Musical

Simon Hale, Girl From the North Country

Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg, MJ

Charlie Rosen, A Strange Loop

David Rooney contributed to this report.

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