Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Hamilton Rules The Tony Nominations Roost With 16 Nods

At this point, chances are you've heard of a little Broadway musical entitled Hamilton. Penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show has become nothing short of a pop culture phenomenon, its own album selling units to be given the "Gold" designation by the Recording Industry Association of America. And let's not forget about how hard it is to get tickets to this show, with every performance sold out seemingly until the end of time itself. And did I mention it's also nabbed, in addition to universal critical acclaim, it's also taken home a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album and a Pulitzer Prize For Drama. Plus, it now comprises for 90% of the music I listen to on Spotify.


But if you thought those were all the accolades Hamilton would rake up, well, to quote the show itself, "just you wait!" This morning, the nominees for the 70th Tony Awards were announced and, as one could imagine, Hamilton had a somewhat noteworthy presence. In fact, it made history, scoring 16 nominations, the most ever for any Broadway program. Among those nominations was (of course) Best Musical, Best Of A Musical and the amusing fact that Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr (sir) will be dueling once again now that the actors who portrayed them in Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom, Jr.) are both up for Best Actor In A Musical. And of course, fellow cast members Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Christopher Jackson, Johnathan Groff and Renee Elise Goldsberry are also all up for acting awards.

I truly don't believe it's hyperbole at this point to declare that Hamilton is one of the most impactful pieces of art made in the 21st century and it is astonishingly exciting to see it continue to be recognized in such a high-profile manner. This won't be the last time Hamilton gets such acknowledgement and I can't wait to see what the future (which I'm sure will contain a sweep at the Tony's this year) holds in store for this amazing show. Lin-Manuel Miranda has created an incredible and incredibly important show whose legacy is only going to grow exponentially from here on out.

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