Tony Snubs And Surprises: Aaron Sorkin, Nathan Lane, Laura Linney, Oscar Isaac & Rachel Brosnahan Among Big Names With Empty Hands
02.05.2023 - 15:21
/ deadline.com
Some of the biggest names of Broadway (and Hollywood) won’t be receiving those phone calls of congratulations today, as this morning’s Tony Awards nominations included more than a few surprising (or, in some cases, not surprising) omissions.
Aaron Sorkin, whose rewritten book for the classic musical Camelot was not beloved by critics, didn’t get any Tony approval today. Sorkin’s revisions were extensive enough to make him eligible in the Best Book of a Musical category, but he is not among the nominees.
As for lead actors and actresses, both Oscar Isaac nor Rachel Brosnahan, the bold-name stars of The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, were overlooked, as was The Piano Lesson‘s John David Washington and Pictures From Home‘s Nathan Lane. Marcel Spears, the star of the acclaimed Fat Ham, was not nominated, nor was Olivier Award winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi). Jefferson Mays, so good in the seasonal A Christmas Carol, is not on the list.
In addition to Brosnahan, Laura Linney, a Broadway favorite, was overlooked in the Leading Actress/Play category, while her Summer, 1976 co-star Jessica Hecht got a nod.
Among the Featured (i.e., supporting) performers, some of the biggest surprises were the absences of the well-reviewed Danielle Brooks (The Piano Lesson), Sharon D Clarke (Death of a Saleman), Michael Potts (The Piano Lesson) and Leopoldstadt’s David Krumholtz. Scott Foley, a big TV name, went unrecognized for his performance in The Thanksgiving Play, not a huge surprise given the so-so critical reception for the production.
Among musical directors, the absence of three of Broadway’s most successful and popular names – Susan Stroman (New York, New York), Bartlett Sher (Camelot) and, perhaps most of all, Hamilton