Photo Courtesy of Tony Awards

After nearly five months since the initial postponement of the 74th Annual Tony Awards, nominations were finally announced on Thursday, Oct. 15. There was much debate as to what shows would be considered and accepted because Broadway’s 2020 season was so short. After COVID-19 forced Broadway to shut down completely, audiences were left devastated and many performers lost their jobs. Consequently, Broadway fans were thrilled when the Tony Award nominations were released.

Here are the nominations for this year’s Tony Awards:

Best Play: “Grand Horizons,” “The Inheritance,” “Sea Wall/A Life,” “Slave Play” and “The Sound Inside.”

Best Musical: “Jagged Little Pill,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical.”

Best Book of a Musical: “Jagged Little Pill,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical.”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre): “A Christmas Carol,” “The Inheritance,” “The Rose Tattoo,” “Slave Play” and “The Sound Inside.”

Best Revival of a Play: “Betrayal,” “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” and “A Soldier’s Play.”

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”) and Blair Underwood (“A Soldier’s Play”).

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Joaquina Kaluango (“Slave Play”), Laura Linney (“My Name is Lucy Barton”), Audra McDonald (“Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune”) and Mary-Louise Parker (“The Sound Inside”).

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”) and 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”) and 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”) and Cora Vander Broek (“Linda Vista”).

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”) and 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”) and Myra Lucretia Taylor (“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”).

Best Scenic Design of a Play: Bob Crowley (“The Inheritance”), Soutra Gilmour (“Betrayal”), Bob Howell (“A Christmas Carol”), Derek McLane (“A Soldier’s Play”) and Clint Ramos (“Slave Play”).

Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Riccardo Hernandez and Lucy Mackinnon (“Jagged Little Pill”), Derek McLane (“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”) and Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg (“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”).

Best Costume Design of a Play: Dede Ayite (“Slave Play” and “A Soldier’s Play”), Bob Crowley (“The Inheritance”), Rob Howell (“A Christmas Carol”) and Clint Ramos (“The Rose Tattoo”).

Best Costume Design of a Musical: Emily Rebholz (“Jagged Little Pill”), Mark Thompson (“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”) and 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”) and Hugh Vanstone (“A Christmas Carol”).

Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Bruno Poet (“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”) and Justin Townsend (“Jagged Little Pill” and “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”).

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

Best Sound Design of a Musical: Jonathan Deans (“Jagged Little Pill”), Peter Hylenski (“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”) and 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”) and Robert O’Hara (“Slave Play”).

Best Direction of a Musical: Phyllida Lloyd (“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”), Diane Paulus (“Jagged Little Pill”) and Alex Timbers (“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”).

Best Choreography: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (“Jagged Little Pill”), Sonya Tayeh (“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”) and Anthony Van Laast (“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”).

Best Orchestrations: Tom Kitt (“Jagged Little Pill”), Justine Levine, Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen and Matt Stine (“Moulin Rouge! The Musical”) and Ethan Popp (“Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”).

Since no one is sure when Broadway will be able to open again (mid-2021 at the earliest), this year’s Tony Awards will be virtual, and a date has yet to be announced. Although shorter than past years, 2020’s nominations shine a bright light during this dark time for Broadway.