‘Moulin Rouge,’ ‘Jagged Little Pill,’ Slave Play’ top 2020 Tony Nominations

After a long delay, the 2020 Tony Nominations have been announced and they don’t look like any Tony nominations you may be used to.

While only three new musicals qualified to be nominated for Best Musical, all three: Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, dominated with 15, 14 and 12 nominations apiece, respectively.

Jeremy O. Harris’s Slave Play ruled the play categories with a field best 12 nods followed by Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance with 11.

One category, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, ended up with just a single nominee. Aaron Tveit, after years of being snubbed for a mere nomination at the Tonys, is now the default winner for Moulin Rouge! The Musical. How, you ask? From The Tony Awards Rules: If the Tony Awards Nominating Committee has determined that if there is only one nominee in a category listed, such category shall be submitted to the Tony Voters which may, by the affirmative vote of sixty (60%) percent of the total ballots cast, grant an Award in that category. So, he still has to get the votes to win but as the single nominee it’s hard to see it not happening.

On the flip side, Best Performance by and Actor in a Leading Role in a Play has six nominees including dual nods for Sea Wall/A Life actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge.

No date has been set for this year’s ceremony, but word is that the first half of December will be the most likely landing spot. It’s unknown what it would look like in the era of virtual awards shows.

James Monroe Iglehart, who won the 2014 Tony for featured actor for his role as Genie in Aladdin, announced the nominees Thursday morning on the Tony Awards YouTube channel.

Here is the full list of nominations for the 2020 Tony Awards.

Best Play
Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl
The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez
Sea Wall/A Life by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne
Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris
The Sound Inside by Adam Rapp

Best Revival of a Play
Betrayal
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally
A Soldier’s Play by Charles Fuller

Best Musical
Jagged Little Pill
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

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

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

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge!

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

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Moulin Rouge!
Derek Klena, Jagged Little Pill
Sean Allan Krill, Jagged Little Pill
Sahr Ngaujah, Moulin Rouge!
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!
Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill
Myra Lucretia Taylor, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Best Book of a Musical
Jagged Little Pill, Diablo Cody
Moulin Rouge!, John Logan
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
A Christmas Carol, Christopher Nightingale
The Inheritance, Paul Englishby
The Rose Tattoo, Fitz Patton
Slave Play, Lindsay Jones
The Sound Inside, Daniel Kluger

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!

Best Choreography
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jagged Little Pill
Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge!
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!
Ethan Popp, 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!
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!

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

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

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

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, Jagged Little Pill
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Nevin Steinberg, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Productions With Multiple Nominations:
Jagged Little Pill – 15
Moulin Rouge! – 14
Slave Play – 12
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – 12
The Inheritance – 11
A Soldier’s Play – 7
The Sound Inside – 6
A Christmas Carol – 5
Betrayal – 4
Sea Wall/A Life – 4
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune – 2
Grand Horizons – 2
Linda Vista – 2
The Rose Tattoo – 2