Tony Award Nominations 2024: ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and ‘Stereophonic’ Lead with 13 Nods Each
On Tuesday, April 29, Tony winners Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Take Me Out) and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) announced the 2024 Tony Award nominations. From May 2023 to April 2024, 39 new productions opened: 21 were musicals, 16 were plays and two were classified as specials. While those numbers didn’t break any records, there were more contenders than usual in the new musical category.
Biggest Winners & History Makers
Alicia Keys’ semi-autobiographical musical Hell’s Kitchen and David Adjmi’s portrait of a rock band Stereophonic both received the most nominations, 13 each. That makes Stereophonic the most nominated play ever! Since Hell’s Kitchen mostly features preexisting hits by Keys, it was not eligible for Best Original Score. However, the cluster of rock songs written by Will Butler (of Arcade Fire fame) for Best Play nominee Stereophonic earned him a Best Original Score nomination. So it is possible (though unlikely) that Stereophonic will win Best Play and Best Original Score.
Best Featured Actress in a Musical and Best Scenic Design of a Musical both have seven nominees due to a three-way tie for the fifth nomination slot. Best Featured Actor in a Musical has six nominees due to a tie for the fifth nomination slot.
Kara Young is the first performer to earn nominations three seasons in a row for Best Featured Actress in a Play. And Amy Herzog is the first playwright to be nominated for Best Play and Best Revival of a Play in the same season.
Sky Lakota-Lynch is the first known Native American performer to be nominated for a Tony Award.
Women directors made history this year. Four of the five Best Director of a Musical nominees are women, and three of the five Best Director of a Play nominees are women. That easily beats the previous record of four women directors being nominated for Tony Awards in one season.
While we’re on the subject of gender, while other awards have done away with gendered categories, the Tonys still separate performers by gender. Last year, that was a hot-button topic since multiple nominees (and, ultimately, two winners, Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee) were nonbinary. That does not seem to be the case this year, however, it’s an ongoing issue the Tonys still need to address.
Artists with Multiple Nominations
Shaina Taub was nominated for both her book and score for Suffs, though she was not honored for her lead performance in that musical. Tom Scutt was nominated for his costume and scenic design for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Cody Spencer was recognized for his sound design for Here Lies Love and The Outsiders. In lighting design, Natasha Katz was nominated for Hell’s Kitchen and Grey House, and Isabella Byrd was honored for An Enemy of the People and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. The set design collective dots was nominated for Appropriate and An Enemy of the People. Costume designer Dede Ayite was thrice recognized for her work on Appropriate, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and Hell’s Kitchen. David Zinn also received three nods for his scenic design for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and Stereophonic, and his costumes for An Enemy of the People.
Shutout Shows
Other Notable Snubs
Tony Awards 411
The complete list of 2024 Tony Award nominations is below along with links to articles we’ve written about the nominees.
Best Musical
Hell’s Kitchen
Illinoise
The Outsiders
Suffs
Water for Elephants
Best Play
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh
Mary Jane by Amy Herzog
Mother Play by Paula Vogel
Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon
Stereophonic by David Adjmi
Best Revival of a Musical
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gutenberg! The Musical
Merrily We Roll Along
The Who’s Tommy
Best Revival of a Play
Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
An Enemy of the People adapted by Amy Herzog
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by Ossie Davis
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Eden Espinosa in Lempicka
Maleah Joi Moon in Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara in Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett in The Notebook – read our interview with Plunkett on TDF Stages
Gayle Rankin in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Brody Grant in The Outsiders
Jonathan Groff in Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood in The Notebook – read our interview with Harewood on TDF Stages
Brian d’Arcy James in Days of Wine and Roses
Eddie Redmayne in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Betsy Aidem in Prayer for the French Republic
Jessica Lange in Mother Play
Rachel McAdams in Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson in Appropriate
Amy Ryan in Doubt: A Parable
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
William Jackson Harper in Uncle Vanya
Leslie Odom, Jr. in Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Liev Schreiber in Doubt: A Parable
Jeremy Strong in An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg in Patriots
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Roger Bart for Back to the Future: The Musical
Joshua Boone for The Outsiders
Brandon Victor Dixon for Hell’s Kitchen
Sky Lakota-Lynch for The Outsiders
Daniel Radcliffe for Merrily We Roll Along
Steven Skybell for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Shoshana Bean for Hell’s Kitchen
Amber Iman for Lempicka – read an interview with Iman on TDF Stages
Nikki M. James for Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer for Spamalot – read an interview with Kritzer on TDF Stages
Kecia Lewis for Hell’s Kitchen
Lindsay Mendez for Merrily We Roll Along
Bebe Neuwirth for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Will Brill for Stereophonic – read an interview with Brill on TDF Stages
Eli Gelb for Stereophonic
Jim Parsons for Mother Play
Tom Pecinka for Stereophonic
Corey Stoll for Appropriate
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine for Doubt: A Parable
Juliana Canfield for Stereophonic
Celia Keenan-Bolger for Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon for Stereophonic
Kara Young for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Best Book of a Musical
Hell’s Kitchen by Kristoffer Diaz
The Notebook by Bekah Brunstetter
The Outsiders by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine
Suffs by Shaina Taub
Water for Elephants by Rick Elice
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Days of Wine and Roses by Adam Guettel
Here Lies Love by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
The Outsiders by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine
Stereophonic by Will Butler
Suffs by Shaina Taub
Best Orchestrations
Timo Andres for Illinoise
Will Butler and Justin Craig for Stereophonic
Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) for The Outsiders
Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone for Hell’s Kitchen
Jonathan Tunick for Merrily We Roll Along
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian for The Outsiders
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini for Hell’s Kitchen
Takeshi Kata for Water for Elephants
David Korins for Here Lies Love
Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini for Lempicka
Tim Hatley and Finn Ross for Back to the Future: The Musical
Tom Scutt for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best Scenic Design of a Play
dots for Appropriate
dots for An Enemy of the People
Derek McLane for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
David Zinn for Stereophonic
Best Costume Design of a Play
Dede Ayite for Appropriate
Dede Ayite for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Enver Chakartash for Stereophonic
Emilio Sosa for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn for An Enemy of the People
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Dede Ayite for Hell’s Kitchen
Linda Cho for The Great Gatsby
David Israel Reynoso for Water for Elephants
Tom Scutt for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Paul Tazewell for Suffs
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Isabella Byrd for An Enemy of the People
Amith Chandrashaker for Prayer for the French Republic
Jiyoun Chang for Stereophonic
Jane Cox for Appropriate
Natasha Katz for Grey House
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Brandon Stirling Baker for Illinoise
Isabella Byrd for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Natasha Katz for Hell’s Kitchen
Bradley King and David Bengali for Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim for The Outsiders
Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Leah Gelpe for Mary Jane
Tom Gibbons for Grey House
Bray Poor and Will Pickets for Appropriate
Ryan Rumery for Stereophonic
Best Sound Design of a Musical
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer for Here Lies Love
Kai Harada for Merrily We Roll Along
Nick Lidster for Autograph for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gareth Owen for Hell’s Kitchen
Cody Spencer for The Outsiders
Best Direction of a Play
Daniel Aukin for Stereophonic
Anne Kauffman for Mary Jane
Kenny Leon for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Lila Neugebauer for Appropriate – read an interview with Lila Neugebauer on TDF Stages
Whitney White for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Best Direction of a Musical
Maria Friedman for Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif for Hell’s Kitchen
Leigh Silverman for Suffs
Jessica Stone for Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor for The Outsiders
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown for Hell’s Kitchen
Annie-B Parson for Here Lies Love
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman for The Outsiders
Justin Peck for Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll for Water for Elephants
Number of Tony Nominations by Show
Hell’s Kitchen – 13
Stereophonic – 13
The Outsiders – 12
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club – 9
Appropriate – 8
Merrily We Roll Along – 7
Water for Elephants – 7
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch– 6
Suffs – 6
An Enemy of the People – 5
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding – 5
Here Lies Love – 4
Illinoise – 4
Mary Jane – 4
Mother Play – 4
Days of Wine and Roses – 3
Doubt: A Parable– 3
Lempicka – 3
The Notebook– 3
Prayer for the French Republic – 3
Back To The Future: The Musical – 2
Grey House – 2
The Great Gatsby – 1
Gutenberg! The Musical! – 1
Monty Python’s Spamalot – 1
Patriots – 1
Uncle Vanya – 1
The Who’s Tommy – 1
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Wendall K. Harrington, projection designer
Colleen Jennings-Roggernsack, arts leader
Judith O. Rubin, arts organization board member
Dramatists Guild Foundation
Samuel J. Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts
Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Jack O’Brien, director, writer and producer
George C. Wolfe, director, writer and producer
Special Tony Awards
Alex Edelman, writer-performer of Just for Us
Abe Jacob, sound designer
Nikiya Mathis, hair and wig designer for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding as well as an actor
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Billy Porter