The 2019 Tony Awards will have some prominent Chicagoans and productions that originated in Chicago vying for the coveted recognition.
The theater world was up early Tuesday morning as Bebe Neuwirth and Brandon Victor Dixon announced the nominations in New York City.
Among the top eight categories, Chicago artists, as well as productions that had their pre-Broadway world premieres in Chicago, include:
• “Tootsie,” a best musical nominee
• Santino Fontana, up for best actor in a leading role, musical, for his role as Michael Dorsey in “Tootsie”
• Scott Ellis, nominated for best director, musical, for “Tootsie”
• Stephanie J. Block, in the running for best actress in leading role, musical, for her role as Star in “The Cher Show”
• Bob Mackie, nominated for best costumes, musical, for “The Cher Show”
• Elaine May (“The Waverly Gallery”) and Laurie Metcalf (“Hillary and Clinton”), both in contention for best actress in a leading role, play.
• DePaul grad and Oscar winner (“Moonlight”) Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose “Choir Boy” earned three nominations
In all, “Tootsie” (inspired by the 1982 Dustin Hoffman film), which opened in Chicago for a two-week pre-Broadway world premiere last September at the Cadillac Palace, received 11 nods, including best book of a musical, original score, Andy Grotelueschen (featured role in a musical), Lilli Cooper and Sarah Stiles (both for featured role in a musical), William Ivey Long (costumes) and Denis Jones (choreography).
“The Cher Show” opened in Chicago for a monthlong, pre-Broadway world premiere run in June at the former Oriental Theatre. The musical’s three nominations also included one for lighting design.
“Hillary and Clinton,” the Lucas Hnath-penned play starring Metcalf (also a Steppenwolf ensemble member), premiered in 2016 at the Victory Gardens Theater. (It’s directed on Broadway by Rockford native Joe Mantello). The play is set in an alternate universe and tells a story centering on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. If she wins the Tony this year, Metcalf will make history as the first person to win acting Tonys three years consecutively. (She won in 2018’s “Three Tall Women” and “A Doll’s House, Part 2” in 2017).
Also nominated in the category is the legendary Elaine May, for her role in “The Waverly Gallery.” May returned to Broadway after a five-decades absence to star in the Kenneth Lonergan “memory play” about a grandson watching his grandmother succumb to Alzheimer’s. May was one of the founders of the Chicago improvisational troupe known as the Compass Players at the University of Chicago opposite Mike Nichols in the mid-1950s. May’s co-stars in the play include Chicagoan David Cromer (whose work has been featured at Writers Theatre and the Goodman Theatre) and Steppenwolf ensemble member Joan Allen.
Rockford native Marin Mazzie will receive a posthumous Tony for her leadership and advocacy as she battled ovarian cancer. Mazzie, a familiar sight on Chicago’s stages, died last year at age 57 from the illness, which she battled for nearly three years. She previously received Tony nominations for her work in “Passion,” “Ragtime” and “Kiss Me, Kate.”
Over all, “Hadestown,” singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s Broadway debut, leads the Tony Award nominations with 14 nods, followed by “Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations” and the aforementioned “Tootsie,” with 11.
The adult “Hadestown,” which intertwines the myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone, elbowed aside more familiar names, including a stage adaptation of “Beetlejuice,” which got a best musical nod.
Here’s the full list of nominations:
Best Book of a Musical
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Dominique Morisseau
Beetlejuice
Scott Brown & Anthony King
Hadestown
Anaïs Mitchell
The Prom
Bob Martin & Chad Beguelin
Tootsie
Robert Horn
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater
Be More Chill
Music & Lyrics: Joe Iconis
Beetlejuice
Music & Lyrics: Eddie Perfect
Hadestown
Music & Lyrics: Anaïs Mitchell
The Prom
Music: Matthew Sklar
Lyrics: Chad Beguelin
To Kill a Mockingbird
Music: Adam Guettel
Tootsie
Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Paddy Considine, The Ferryman
Bryan Cranston, Network
Jeff Daniels, To Kill a Mockingbird
Adam Driver, Burn This
Jeremy Pope, Choir Boy
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Annette Bening, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons
Laura Donnelly, The Ferryman
Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery
Janet McTeer, Bernhardt/Hamlet
Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton
Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, The Prom
Derrick Baskin, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Alex Brightman, Beetlejuice
Damon Daunno, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Santino Fontana, Tootsie
Teal Wicks (from left), Stephanie J. Block and Micaela Diamond star as the title character in “The Cher Show.” | Joan Marcus
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show
Caitlin Kinnunen, The Prom
Beth Leavel, The Prom
Eva Noblezada, Hadestown
Kelli O’Hara, Kiss Me, Kate
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Bertie Carvel, Ink
Robin De Jesús, The Boys in the Band
Gideon Glick, To Kill a Mockingbird
Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This
Benjamin Walker, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Fionnula Flanagan, The Ferryman
Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a Mockingbird
Kristine Nielsen, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Julie White, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Ruth Wilson, King Lear
This image released by Polk & Co. shows Rob McClure (from left), Kerry Butler, Sophia Anne Caruso and Alex Brightman during a performance of “Beetlejuice,” adapted from the Tim Burton film.. | Matthew Murphy/Polk & Co. via AP
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
André De Shields, Hadestown
Andy Grotelueschen, Tootsie
Patrick Page, Hadestown
Jeremy Pope, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Ephraim Sykes, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Lilli Cooper, Tootsie
Amber Gray, Hadestown
Sarah Stiles, Tootsie
Ali Stroker, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Mary Testa, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Miriam Buether, To Kill a Mockingbird
Bunny Christie, Ink
Rob Howell, The Ferryman
Santo Loquasto, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Jan Versweyveld, Network
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Peter England, King Kong
Rachel Hauck, Hadestown
Laura Jellinek, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
David Korins, Beetlejuice
Santino Fontana (center) during a performance of “Tootsie.” | Matthew Murphy/Polk & Co. via AP
Best Costume Design of a Play
Rob Howell, The Ferryman
Toni-Leslie James, Bernhardt/Hamlet
Clint Ramos, Torch Song
Ann Roth, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Ann Roth, To Kill a Mockingbird
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Michael Krass, Hadestown
William Ivey Long, Beetlejuice
William Ivey Long, Tootsie
Bob Mackie, The Cher Show
Paul Tazewell, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Ink
Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Peter Mumford, The Ferryman
Jennifer Tipton, To Kill a Mockingbird
Jan Versweyveld and Tal Yarden, Network
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, The Cher Show
Howell Binkley, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Bradley King, Hadestown
Peter Mumford, King Kong
Kenneth Posner and Peter Nigrini, Beetlejuice
Best Sound Design of a Play
Adam Cork, Ink
Scott Lehrer, To Kill a Mockingbird
Fitz Patton, Choir Boy
Nick Powell, The Ferryman
Eric Sleichim, Network
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski, Beetlejuice
Peter Hylenski, King Kong
Steve Canyon Kennedy, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Drew Levy, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, Hadestown
Best Direction of a Play
Rupert Goold, Ink
Sam Mendes, The Ferryman
Bartlett Sher, To Kill a Mockingbird
Ivo van Hove, Network
George C. Wolfe, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Best Direction of a Musical
Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown
Scott Ellis, Tootsie
Daniel Fish, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Des McAnuff, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Casey Nicholaw, The Prom
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown, Choir Boy
Warren Carlyle, Kiss Me, Kate
Denis Jones, Tootsie
David Neumann, Hadestown
Sergio Trujillo, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Best Orchestrations
Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose, Hadestown
Simon Hale, Tootsie
Larry Hochman, Kiss Me, Kate
Daniel Kluger, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
Harold Wheeler, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations
Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories
—Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater
Rosemary Harris
Terrence McNally
Harold Wheeler
—Special Tony Awards
Marin Mazzie
Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company
Jason Michael Webb
The 73rd Annual Tony Awards will air at 7 p.m. June 9 on CBS. James Corden hosts.
Contributing: Associated Press
