Black gay playwright Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play scores record 12 Tony nominations

(Picture: Jenny Anderson)

Black gay playwright Jeremy O. Harris’s Slave Play has become the most-nominated non-musical in Tony Awards history.

The production has landed 12 nominations.

Elsewhere, Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance, about gay men and the repercussions of the start of the AIDS epidemic, scored 11 nominations.

Other highly nominated productions included Alanis Morissette musical Jagged Little Pill with 15 nods, Moulin Rouge! with 14, and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical with 12.

Joaquina Kalukango and Paul Alexander Nolan in Slave Play (Picture: Matthew Murphy)

As well as Best Play, Slave Play won nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play (Ato Blankson-Wood and James Cusati-Moyer) and Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play (Chalia La Tour and Annie McNamara).

What a haul!

Playwright Jeremy O. Harris is the hottest name in theatre (Picture: Jenny Anderson)

“In shock”

Responding to the news of his nominations, Harris changed his Twitter bio to: “MOST TONY NOMINATED ONEHIT WONDER Jeremy O. Harris.”

He added in a tweet: “Obviously my first response is to say ‘insane’, make a ‘Thanks Amy Cooper’ joke, or just remind everyone all the people these awards generally ignore but i can’t do that.

“Im lit crying.

“In Shock.

“A play about black inferiority, psychic death, & chattel slavery. Most ever?”

Congrats, Jeremy!

Obviously my first response is to say “insane”, make a “Thanks Amy Cooper” joke, or just remind everyone all the people these awards generally ignore but i can’t do that.

Im lit crying.
⁰In Shock.

A play about black inferiority, psychic death, & chattel slavery. Most ever? pic.twitter.com/2RB2GLN7rg

— MOST TONY NOMINATED ONEHIT WONDER Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) October 15, 2020

“There are a lot of issues with the white maleness”

Speaking to the New York Times about the recognition, Harris said: “It’s crazy that I wasn’t born yet the last time a Black playwright took home the Tony for Best Play [August Wilson for Fences]. There are a lot of issues with the white maleness of the Tonys, but the 12 nominations feels like a statement from the community saying that right now, we do want to focus on Black lives. The last time a play was nominated this much was “Angels in America,” which was the most influential play for me as a teenager.

See the full list of nominees below:

Best Musical

Jagged Little Pill
Moulin Rouge: The Musical
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Best Play

Grand Horizons
The Inheritance
Sea Wall: A Life
Slave Play

Best Revival of a Play

Betrayal
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
A Soldier’s Play

Best Book of a Musical

Jagged Little Pill
Diablo Cody

Moulin Rouge! The Musical
John Logan

Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

A Christmas Carol
Music: Christopher Nightingale

The Inheritance
Music: Paul Englishby

The Rose Tattoo
Music: Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb

Slave Play
Music: Lindsay Jones

The Sound Inside
Music: Daniel Kluger

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
Blair Underwood, A Soldier’s Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Joaquina Kalukango, Slave Play
Laura Linney, My Name is Lucy Barton
Audra McDonald, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
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
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
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
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
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
Myra Lucretia Taylor, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Scenic Design of a Play

Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Soutra Gilmour, Betrayal
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Derek McLane, A Soldier’s Play
Clint Ramos, Slave Play

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Riccardo Hernández and Lucy Mackinnon, Jagged Little Pill
Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play

Dede Ayite, Slave Play
Dede Ayite, A Soldier’s Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Clint Ramos, The Rose Tattloo

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Emily Rebholz, Jagged Little Pill
Mark Thompson, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
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
Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Bruno Poet, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Justin Townsend, Jagged Little Pill
Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play

Paul Arditti & Christopher Reid, The Inheritance
Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
Lindsay Jones, Slave Play
Daniel Kluger, Sea Wall/A Life
Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Jonathan Deans, Jagged Little Pill
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
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
Robert O’Hara, Slave Play

Best Direction of a Musical

Phyllida Lloyd, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical
Diane Paulus, Jagged Little Pill
Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Choreography

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jagged Little Pill
Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Anthony Van Laast, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

Best Orchestrations

Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill
Katie Kresek, Charlie Rosen, Matt Stine and Justin Levine, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Ethan Popp, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

h/t: Advocate

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