Fierce—and Somewhat Surprising—Competition for the Tony Awards

April 29, 2014

Kate Baldwin and Norbert Leo Butz in Susan Stroman’s late but great Big Fish. Photo by Paul Kolnik

The 2014 Tony Award nominations came out Tuesday morning, and for us dancers—and the categories we love and care about—it’s been an exciting (and somewhat surprising) whirlwind. Here’s our rundown of the nominees:

The female ensemble of Bullets Over Broadway. Photo by Paul Kolnik


Big
Fish
—my personal favorite dance-tastic show this season—did not make the Tony grade, earning no nominations, despite genius direction and choreography by Susan Stroman. (Did the aging American Theater Wing and Broadway League reps forget it was eligible since it closed late last year? Hellloooo…it was awesome!) We can’t be too upset for the great and zany Stro, though. Her newest smash hit, Bullets Over Broadway, starring Zach Braff (aka J.D. from “Scrubs”), earned six nominations, including nods for choreography, scenic design, and costume design—all quite deserving.

Karine Plantadit in After Midnight, choreographed by Warren Carlyle. Photo by Matthew Murphy

Other dancemakers up for the prize of best choreography: Steven Hoggett and Kelly Devine for Rocky, Casey Nicholaw for Aladdin, and Warren Carlyle for After Midnight.

Dulé Hill (center) and the cast of After Midnight. Photo by Matthew Murphy

If you’re a tap fan, a jazz fan, a Desmond Richardson fan, or a plain “I LOVE DANCE SO MUCH” fan, After Midnight is the show for you. It’s 90 minutes of movement, and almost everyone on stage is a dancer, including Richardson, Karine Plantadit (who you know from the Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away and Movin’ Out), Bahiyah Hibah (a former Ailey dancer who was also in Chicago), and the reigning queen of tap, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards. Oh, and it’s also got Emmy-nominated actor Dulé Hill (formerly Charlie Young on Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing,” and currently Gus on USA Network’s “Psych”), who sings and dances like he’s done all this before. Which, he has…in The Tap Dance Kid and in Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk.

Adam Jacobs in Aladdin. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

After Midnight
and Aladdin are also up for the night’s overarching trophy, joining A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical in the race for Best New Musical.

Jessie Mueller in Beautiful—The Carole King Musical. Mueller is up for Best Actress in a Musical—I really, really, really hope she wins. Photo by Joan Marcus

Be sure to tune in (or set your DVRs) on June 8 to the Tony Awards, which will be broadcast live on CBS and hosted by Broadway veteran (and Hollywood celeb) Hugh Jackman. And look in Dance Spirit‘s May/June issue (“Headlines,” p. 19) to get the inside scoop on the evening—like what happens during commercials and how the performers prepare for the opening numbers and show excerpts.