2020 Tony Award nominations announced with significantly fewer options due to the coronavirus

close

Video

Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for October 15

Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment.

The 2020 Tony Award nominees were announced on Thursday, giving Broadway fans their first real dose of normalcy since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the theater industry until at least mid 2021. 

The sobering musical “Jagged Little Pill,” which plumbs Alanis Morissette’s 1995 breakthrough album to tell a story of an American family spiraling out of control, earned a leading 15 Tony Award nominations, including best musical alongside “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Tina - The Tina Turner Musical.”

“Moulin Rouge!” a jukebox adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie about a turn-of-the-century Parisian nightclub, is nipping at “Jagged Little Pill’s” nomination heels with a total of 14 nods. 

“The Inheritance” by Matthew Lopez, meanwhile, nabbed 11 nominations. It's a two-part, seven-hour epic that uses “Howards End” as a starting point for a play that looks at gay life in the early 21st century.

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY POSTPONED AMID CORONAVIRUS

Two very different offerings are tied with 12: “Slave Play," Jeremy O. Harris’ ground-breaking, bracing work that mixes race, sex, taboo desires and class, exploring the legacy of slavery in interracial sexual dynamics, and “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical,” which tells the rock icon’s life with songs that include “Let’s Stay Together” and “Proud Mary.”

This image released by Vivacity Media Group shows Elizabeth Stanley, left, and Celia Rose Gooding during a performance of "Jagged Little Pill." The musical leads the Tony Awards nominations with 15 nods in a pandemic-shortened season. (Matthew Murphy/Vivacity Media Group via A)

The nominations were pulled from just 18 eligible plays and musicals, a fraction of the 34 shows the season before. During most years, there are 26 competitive categories; this year there are 25 with several depleted ones.

In another sign of a strange season, the best score category — an honor for the music and lyrics that is usually dominated by musicals — is filled this year with five plays.

Broadway theaters abruptly closed on March 12, knocking out all shows — including 16 that were still scheduled to open in the spring. The cutoff for eligibility for all shows was set at Feb. 19.

The nominations came from 10 new plays, four new musicals and four play revivals. Two high profile shows — “Freestyle Love Supreme” and “David Byrne’s American Utopia” — did not accommodate Tony voters and weren’t eligible.

The 2020 Tony Awards ceremony will be broadcast digitally and take place later this year, at a date still to be announced. It’s one of few bright spots for theater fans — Broadway will be shut down until at least May 30.

To help theater fans support their favorite show on the big night, below are the nominees for the 2020 Tony Awards:

Best Play

Grand Horizons
The Inheritance
Sea Wall/A Life
Slave Play
The Sound Inside

Best Musical

Jagged Little Pill
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

Best Revival of a Play

Betrayal
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
A Soldier's Play

Best Book of a Musical

Jagged Little Pill: Diablo Cody
Moulin Rouge! The Musical: John Logan
Tina - The Tina Turner Musical: Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins

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

A Christmas Carol, Music: Christopher Nightingale
The Inheritance, Music: Paul Englishby
The Rose Tattoo, Music: Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb
Slave Play, Music: Lindsay Jones
The Sound Inside, Music: Daniel Kluger 

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

Ian Barford, Linda Vista
Andrew Burnap, The Inheritance
Jake Gyllenhaal, Sea Wall/A Life
Tom Hiddleston, Betrayal
Tom Sturridge, Sea Wall/A Life
Blair Underwood, A Soldier's Play

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

Joaquina Kalukango, Slave Play
Laura Linney, My Name is Lucy Barton
Audra McDonald, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Mary-Louise Parker, The Sound Inside

BROADWAY USHER TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS

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

Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

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

Karen Olivo, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill
Adrienne Warren, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

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

Ato Blankson-Wood, Slave Play
James Cusati-Moyer, Slave Play
David Alan Grier, A Soldier's Play
John Benjamin Hickey, The Inheritance
Paul Hilton, The Inheritance

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

Jane Alexander, Grand Horizons
Chalia La Tour, Slave Play
Annie McNamara, Slave Play
Lois Smith, The Inheritance
Cora Vander Broek, Linda Vista

This image released by Polk & Co. shows Adrienne Warren, center, during a performance of "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical." Nominations for Tony Awards will be announced Thursday with just 18 eligible plays and musicals making the cut, a fraction of the 34 shows the season before. (Manuel Harlan/Polk & Co. via AP)

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

Danny Burstein, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Derek Klena, Jagged Little Pill
Sean Allan Krill, Jagged Little Pill
Sahr Ngaujah, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Daniel J. Watts, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Kathryn Gallagher, Jagged Little Pill
Celia Rose Gooding, Jagged Little Pill
Robyn Hurder, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill
Myra Lucretia Taylor, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Soutra Gilmour, Betrayal
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Derek McLane, A Soldier's Play
Clint Ramos, Slave Play

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Riccardo Hernández and Lucy Mackinnon, Jagged Little Pill
Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play

Dede Ayite, Slave Play
Dede Ayite, A Soldier's Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Clint Ramos, The Rose Tattoo

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Emily Rebholz, Jagged Little Pill
Mark Thompson, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
Jon Clark, The Inheritance
Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside
Allen Lee Hughes, A Soldier's Play
Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Aaron Tveit, center right, and Karen Olivo, center left, during a performance of the musical "Moulin Rouge!" Nominations for Tony Awards will be announced Thursday with just 18 eligible plays and musicals making the cut, a fraction of the 34 shows the season before. (Matthew Murphy/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via AP)

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Bruno Poet, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Justin Townsend, Jagged Little Pill
Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play

Paul Arditti & Christopher Reid, The Inheritance
Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
Lindsay Jones, Slave Play
Daniel Kluger, Sea Wall/A Life
Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Jonathan Deans, Jagged Little Pill
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Nevin Steinberg, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

Best Direction of a Play

David Cromer, The Sound Inside
Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
Kenny Leon, A Soldier's Play
Jamie Lloyd, Betrayal
Robert O'Hara, Slave Play

Best Direction of a Musical

Phyllida Lloyd, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Diane Paulus, Jagged Little Pill
Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Choreography

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jagged Little Pill
Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Anthony Van Laast, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

Best Orchestrations

Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill
Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Ethan Popp, Tina - The Tina Turner Musical

The Associated Press contributed to this report.