The Tony nominations of 2016

The Tony nominations, 2016's biggest honor in the theater industry, reflect the Tony Awards nominating committee's opinions of the best Broadway shows of the 2015-16 season, from challenging new plays to inspiring Broadway musicals. For actors, directors, writers and designers, the Tonys are among the most prestigious honors in theater, and the nominations always provide fodder for heated discussion among theater fans, such as our 2015 Tony Awards predictions. The 70th annual Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS on June 12 from the Beacon Theatre. A complete list of 2016 Tony nominations will be announced live at 8:30am on Tuesday, May 3. We will update this page at that time.

RECOMMENDED: See complete Tony Awards coverage

Here are the 24 competitive categories for the 2016 Tony Awards:

Best Play
Eclipsed (Danai Gurira)
The Father (Florian Zeller)
The Humans (Stephen Karam)
King Charles III (Mike Bartlett)

Best Musical
Bright Star
Hamilton
School of Rock
Shuffle Along
Waitress

Best Revival of a Play
Blackbird
The Crucible
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
A View from the Bridge
Noises Off

Best Revival of a Musical
The Color Purple
Fiddler on the Roof
She Loves Me
Spring Awakening

Best Book of a Musical
Steve Martin,Bright Star 
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Jessie Nelson, Waitress
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Sara Bareilles, Waitress
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater, School of Rock
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Bright Star
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabriel Byrne, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Jeff Daniels, Blackbird
Frank Langella, The Father
Tim Pigott-Smith, King Charles III
Mark Strong, A View from the Bridge

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Jessica Lange, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Laurie Metcalf, Misery
Lupita Nyong’o, Eclipsed
Sophie Okonedo, The Crucible
Michelle Williams, Blackbird

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Alex Brightman, School of Rock
Danny Burstein, Fiddler on the Roof
Zachary Levi, She Loves Me
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Laura Benanti, She Loves Me
Carmen Cusack, Bright Star
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
Jessie Mueller, Waitress
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, The Humans
Bill Camp, The Crucible
David Furr, Noises Off
Robert Goulding, King Charles III
Michael Shannon, Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Pascale Armand, Eclipsed
Megan Hilty, Noises Off
Jayne Houdyshell, The Humans
Andrea Martin, Noises Off
Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Brandon Victor Dixon, Shuffle Along
Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton
Christopher Jackson, Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Borritt, Thérèse Raquin
Christopher Oram, Hughie
Jan Versweyveld, A View from the Bridge
David Zinn, The Humans

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Es Devlin and Finn Ross, American Psycho
David Korins, Hamilton
Santo Loquasto, Shuffle Along
David Rockwell, She Loves Me

Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Michael Krass, Noises Off
Clint Ramos, Eclipsed
Tom Scutt, King Charles III


Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Tuck Everlasting
Jeff Mahshie, She Loves Me
Ann Roth, Shuffle Along
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton


Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Katz, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Justin Townsend, The Humans
Jan Versweyveld, The Crucible
Jan Versweyveld, A View from the Bridge

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Howell Binkley, Hamilton
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Shuffle Along
Ben Stanton, Spring Awakening
Justin Townsend, American Psycho

Best Direction of a Play
Rupert Goold, King Charles III
Jonathan Kent, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Joe Mantello, The Humans
Liesl Tommy, Eclipsed
Ivo van Hove, A View from the Bridge


Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Spring Awakening
John Doyle, The Color Purple
Scott Ellis, She Loves Me
Thomas Kail, Hamilton
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along


Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
Savion Glover, Shuffle Along
Hofesh Shechter, Fiddler on the Roof
Randy Skinner, Dames at Sea
Sergio Trujillo, On Your Feet!

Best Orchestrations
August Eriksmoen, Bright Star
Larry Hochman, She Loves Me
Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton
Daryl Waters, Shuffle Along

Several noncompetitive Tony Awards will also be given out. They are:

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Sheldon Harnick, lyricist
Marshall W. Mason, Circle Repertory Company founder

Special Tony Award
The National Endowment for the Arts
Miles Wilkin, theater-tour innovator

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey)

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Brian Stokes Mitchell, actor

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Joan Lader, voice coach
Seth Gelblum, attorney
Sally Ann Parsons, owner of costume shop Parson-Meares