(AP) — The megahit musical Hamilton has grabbed a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations, the biggest haul in Broadway history and another notch in the show’s march into theatrical history.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop-flavored biography about the first U.S. treasury secretary on Tuesday broke the 15-nominations record held by The Producers and Billy Elliot. Hamilton was nominated in virtually every category it could compete in, from acting to scenic design.
Next month, it will compete for Broadway’s biggest crown — best new musical — with Bright Star, School of Rock, Shuffle Along and Waitress.
The best play category is composed of Eclipsed, The Father, The Humans and King Charles III.
The awards will be handed out June 12, with James Corden playing host from the Beacon Theatre.
After Hamilton, the other top nominations went to the new musical Shuffle Along, a show that explores a groundbreaking 95-year-old musical starring, written and directed by African-Americans, which got 10 nominations, and the revival of She Loves Me, which earned eight.
Audra McDonald, who was eligible as a lead actress in a musical, was not nominated and will not be able to win her seventh Tony.
Hamilton earned seven acting nominations — Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson and Renee Elise Goldsberry. It also earned nominations for scenic design, costumes, lighting design, direction, choreography, orchestrations, best book and best original score.
Hamilton has burst through the Broadway bubble like few shows. U.S. presidential candidates have tweeted about it, it has influenced the debate over the nation’s currency and the show has been referenced on Saturday Night Live and Inside Amy Schumer.
Hollywood stars didn’t do so well, with Clive Owen, Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan and George Takei all missing out on nods.
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