Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company woke up Thursday morning to boffo Tony Award news as plaudits landed on its world premiere production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ drama, “Purpose,” a bold play very loosely based on the family of political activist Jesse Jackson Jr. and now playing on Broadway. “Purpose” scored a Tony nomination in the category of best play.
Nominations for ensemble members from “Purpose” include Jon Michael Hill in the best actor in a play category and Steppenwolf artistic director Glenn Davis for best featured actor in a play. Other nominees from the Broadway production, by lead producer David Stone, include LaTanya Richardson Jackson for best actress in a play, Harry Lennix for best actor in a play and Kara Young for best featured actress in a play.
The longtime Chicago director David Cromer was nominated for his work on the musical “Dead Outlaw.” Chicago lighting designer Heather Gilbert, a frequent Cromer collaborator, was nominated (with David Bengali) for her work on Cromer’s production of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and former Steppenwolf artistic director Anna D. Shapiro’s Broadway production of “Eureka Day” was nominated in the category of best revival of a play.
Screen actor George Clooney was nominated for leading actor for “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
“Death Becomes Her,” a musical that tried out in Chicago, scored a formidable 10 nominations, including an all-important nod for best musical, as well as nominations for both of its stars, Jennifer Simard and Megan Hilty.
“Boop! the Musical,” which also began in Chicago, missed out on the best musical category but saw Tony nominations for star Jasmine Amy Rogers, choreographer Jerry Mitchell and costume designer Gregg Barnes. And yet another Chicago tryout, “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical,” earned a Tony nomination for its star, James Monroe Iglehart.
Three Broadway shows stood out in the list of nominations — “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Death Becomes Her” and “Maybe Happy Ending,” each earning 10 nominations Thursday. Some 29 shows were recognized across 26 categories.
The 2025 Tony Awards will be presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League in a ceremony at 7 p.m. June 8 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, hosted by “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo and broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Nominations in the top categories for the 78th annual Tony Awards.
BEST MUSICAL
“Buena Vista Social Club”
“Dead Outlaw”
“Death Becomes Her”
“Maybe Happy Ending”
“Operation Mincemeat”
BEST PLAY
“English”
“The Hills of California”
“John Proctor Is the Villain”
“Oh, Mary!”
“Purpose”
BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Laura Donnelly, “The Hills of California”
Mia Farrow, “The Roommate”
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, “Purpose”
Sadie Sink, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
Sarah Snook, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
George Clooney, “Good Night, and Good Luck”
Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!”
Jon Michael Hill, “Purpose”
Daniel Dae Kim, “Yellow Face”
Harry Lennix, “Purpose”
Louis McCartney, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Jasmine Amy Rogers, “Boop! The Musical”
Megan Hilty, “Death Becomes Her”
Audra McDonald, “Gypsy”
Nicole Scherzinger, “Sunset Boulevard”
Jennifer Simard, “Death Becomes Her”
BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Darren Criss, “Maybe Happy Ending”
Andrew Durand, “Dead Outlaw”
Tom Francis, “Sunset Boulevard”
Jonathan Groff, “Just in Time”
Jeremy Jordan, “Floyd Collins”
James Monroe Iglehart, “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical”
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Saheem Ali, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Michael Arden, “Maybe Happy Ending”
David Cromer, “Dead Outlaw”
Christopher Gattelli, “Death Becomes Her”
Jamie Lloyd, “Sunset Boulevard”
BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Knud Adams, “English”
Sam Mendes, “The Hills of California”
Sam Pinkleton, “Oh, Mary!”
Danya Taymor, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
Kip Williams, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Tala Ashe, “English”
Jessica Hecht, “Eureka Day”
Marjan Neshat, “English”
Fina Strazza, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
Kara Young, “Purpose”
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Glenn Davis, “Purpose”
Gabriel Ebert, “John Proctor Is the Villain”
Francis Jue, “Yellow Face”
Bob Odenkirk, “Glengarry Glen Ross”
Conrad Ricamora, “Oh, Mary!”
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Natalie Venetia Belcon, “Buena Vista Social Club”
Julia Knitel, “Dead Outlaw”
Gracie Lawrence, “Just in Time”
Justina Machado, “Real Women Have Curves”
Joy Woods, “Gypsy”
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Brooks Ashmanskas, “Smash”
Jeb Brown, “Dead Outlaw”
Danny Burstein, “Gypsy”
Jak Malone, “Operation Mincemeat”
Taylor Trensch, “Floyd Collins”
BEST PLAY REVIVAL
“Eureka Day”
“Our Town”
“Romeo + Juliet”
“Yellow Face”
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
“Floyd Collins”
“Gypsy”
“Pirates! The Penzance Musical”
“Sunset Boulevard”
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
“Buena Vista Social Club”
“Dead Outlaw”
“Death Becomes Her”
“Maybe Happy Ending”
“Operation Mincemeat”
Complete list of nominations at www.tonyawards.com
