Hell's Kitchen, Stereophonic Are Lucky 13 with Tony Noms

Hell's Kitchen dominates the 2024
Tony noms.
Credit: Joan Marcus

Hell's Kitchen, Alicia Keys' semi-autobiographical musical, and Stereophonic, David Adjmi's play about a Fleetwood Mac-like band recording a crucial album, are tied for the most 2023-24 Tony Award nominations with 13 apiece. Both are transfers from Off-Broadway productions earlier this season. The nomination announcement was made by Tony winners Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Renee Elsie Goldsberry on April 30, first on CBS Mornings with six major categories and then the remainder on the Tony Awards' YouTube channel. The awards will be presented on June 16 on CBS in a ceremony at the David Koch Theater in Lincoln Center hosted by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose. A pre-show will air on Pluto TV.

Hell's Kitchen and Stereophonic are followed by The Outsiders with 12, Cabaret with 9 and Appropriate with 8. Among currently running shows, The Wiz and The Heart of Rock and Roll were shut out completely. 

Sarah Pidgeon, Juliana Canfield, and Tom Peckina
are all Tony-nominated for
Stereophonic which received 13 noms.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

There were some oddities in the list. Mary Jane, Amy Herzog's play about a single mother dealing with medically changed child, was considered a new play while Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Appropriate, concerning a white family finding disturbing racist artifacts in their late father's home, was deemed a revival, even though both have had previous productions Off-Broadway. 

Several designers were double or triple nominees for their work on multiple productions. David Zinn received three nods for the sets of Jaja's African Hair Braiding and Stereophonic and the costumes for An Enemy of the People. Another triple nominee, Dede Ayite was recognized for her costumes for Hell's Kitchen, Appropriate and Jaja's African Hair Braiding.

Here's a complete list of the nominees:

Best Musical
Hell’s Kitchen
Illinoise
The Outsiders
Suffs
Water for Elephants

Best Play
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Mary Jane
Mother Play
Prayer for the French Republic
Stereophonic

Best Revival of a Play
Appropriate
An Enemy of the People
Purlie Victorious

Best Revival of a Musical
Cabaret
Gutenberg! The Musical!
Merrily We Roll Along
The Who’s Tommy

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Brody Grant, The Outsiders
Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses
Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Eden Espinosa, Lempicka
Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
William Jackson Harper, Uncle Vanya
Leslie Odom Jr., Purlie Victorious
Liev Schreiber, Doubt
Jeremy Strong, An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
Jessica Lange, Mother Play
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson, Appropriate
Amy Ryan, Doubt

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Roger Bart, Back To The Future: The Musical
Joshua Boone, The Outsiders
Brandon Victor Dixon, Hell’s Kitchen
Sky Lakota-Lynch, The Outsiders
Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along
Steven Skybell, Cabaret

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, Hell’s Kitchen
Amber Iman, Lempicka
Nikki M. James, Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s Spamalot
Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen
Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along
Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Will Brill, Stereophonic
Eli Gelb, Stereophonic
Jim Parsons, Mother Play
Tom Pecinka, Stereophonic
Corey Stoll, Appropriate

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Doubt: A Parable
Juliana Canfield, Stereophonic
Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon, Stereophonic
Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Best Scenic Design in a Musical
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen
Takeshi Kata, Water for Elephants
David Korins, Here Lies Love
Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini, Lempicka
Tim Hatley and Finn Ross, Back To The Future: The Musical
Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Costume Design in a Musical
Dede Ayite, Hell’s Kitchen
Linda Cho, The Great Gatsby
David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Paul Tazewell, Suffs

Best Lighting Design in a Musical
Brandon Stirling Baker, Illinoise
Isabella Byrd, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Natasha Katz, Hell’s Kitchen
Bradley King and David Bengali, Water for Elephants
Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders

Best Sound Design of a Musical
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer, Here Lies Love
Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along
Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gareth Owen, Hell’s Kitchen
Cody Spencer, The Outsiders

Best Scenic Design in a Play
dots, Appropriate
dots, An Enemy of the People
Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
David Zinn, Stereophonic

Best Costume Design in a Play
Dede Ayite, Appropriate
Dede Ayite, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic
Emilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn, An Enemy of the People

Best Lighting Design in a Play
Isabella Byrd, An Enemy of the People
Amith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French Republic
Jiyoun Chang, Stereophonic
Jane Cox, Appropriate
Natasha Katz, Grey House

Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Leah Gelpe, Mary Jane
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate
Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic

Best Direction of a Musical
Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif, Hell’s Kitchen
Leigh Silverman, Suffs
Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor, The Outsiders

Best Direction of a Play
Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic
Anne Kauffman, Mary Jane
Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate
Whitney White, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Best Book of a Musical
Hell’s Kitchen, Kristoffer Diaz
The Notebook, Bekah Brunstetter
The Outsiders, Adam Rapp and Justin Levine
Suffs, Shaina Taub
Water for Elephants, Rick Elice

Best Original Score
Days of Wine and Roses – Music & Lyrics: Adam Guettel
Here Lies Love – Music: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim; Lyrics: David Byrne
The Outsiders – Music & Lyrics: Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine
Stereophonic – Music & Lyrics: Will Butler
Suffs – Music & Lyrics: Shaina Taub

Best Orchestrations
Timo Andres, Illinoise
Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance), The Outsiders
Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, Hell’s Kitchen
Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along

Best Choreography
Annie-B Parson, Here Lies Love
Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
Justin Peck, Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants