How Do the 2024 Tony-Nominated Revivals Stack Up Against Previous Stagings? | Playbill

Tony Awards How Do the 2024 Tony-Nominated Revivals Stack Up Against Previous Stagings?

This year's nominated revivals include one of the most Tony-nominated musicals of all time, a reworked cult classic, and multiple Broadway debuts ruled as revivals.

Cabaret, Merrily We Roll Along, The Who's Tommy, and Purlie Victorious

There are seven productions vying for this year's Tony Award for Best Revival statuettes between the Play and Musical categories, and they're sure to make a tight race to the finish line. Playbill is taking a look at how this year's nominated revivals of plays and musicals compare to their previous productions. See the full list of Tony nominations here.

Read on to see which of these shows have taken home a trophy or two in years past, and if they did better on Broadway the subsequent time around.

Best Revival of a Musical

Eddie Redmayne and company of Cabaret Marc Brenner

Cabaret is one of the most Tony-nominated musicals of all time, having racked up nominations every single time it has come to Broadway.

The original 1967 production picked up Best Musical, Best Composer and Lyricist, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography, Best Direction, and acting wins for Joel Grey and Peg Murray. Still, that eight strong take wasn't the total of their nominations, with Edward Winter conceding to Grey in the same category, and Lotte Lenya and Jack Gilford losing to Robert Preston and Barbara Harris—that's 11 nominations total.

The 1987 revival picked up four nominations, including Best Revival, Best Featured Actor, and two nominations in Best Featured Actress, but it was the 1998 revival that truly cemented Cabaret as a Tony Award powerhouse, bringing in Best Revival, and three acting wins for Alan Cumming, Natasha Richardson, and Ron Rifkin. They were buoyed by an additional 6 nominations, including Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Choreography, Best Direction, Best Orchestrations, and an additional acting nod for Mary Louise Wilson. The revival of the 1998 production in 2014 even snagged two acting nominations, for Danny Burstein and Linda Emond!

Now, the newest revival, an immersive production that brings audiences directly into the Kit Kat Club, has picked up nine nominations (one less than the 1998 staging), including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for Gayle Rankin, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Eddie Redmayne, Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Costume Design of a Musical for Tom Scutt, Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Isabella Byrd, Best Sound Design of a Musical for Nick Lidster for Autograph, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for Steven Skybell, and Best Performance By a Featured Actress in a Musical for Bebe Neuwirth. Only time will tell what they bring home in the end!

Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in Gutenberg! The Musical! Matthew Murphy

Gutenberg! The Musical! may be classed as a revival this season, but this is the first time it has been eligible for Tony Awards! 

Its nomination for Best Revival of a Musical is the culmination of its 20-year journey from the New York Musical Theatre Festival, through London and Off-Broadway, all the way to the James Earl Jones theatre. Whilst not technically Tony Awards the 2007 Off-Broadway run did get a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Musical, Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Director and Book of a Musical, and an Outer Critics Circle Award nod for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. With today's Tony nomination, the musical adds another accolade to its list. Congrats Bud and Doug! 

Alison Luff, Adam Jacobs, Annabel Finch and Ali Louis Bourzgui in The Who's Tommy Liz Lauren

The Who's Tommy was a sensation when it first came to Broadway. The musical, based on the legendary concept album by The Who, brought in nods in Best Original Score, Best Scenic Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Choreography, and Best Direction, with additional nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Book, Best Musical, and acting nominations for Michael Cerveris, Marcia Mitzman, and Paul Kandel.

This time around, they're working with a single nomination, for Best Revival of a Musical. Will love for both productions coalesce together to bring home the win? Stay tuned.

Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez in Merrily We Roll Along Matthew Murphy

The big success story of the season is undoubtedly Merrily We Roll Along. While the musical was branded a commercial failure on its short-lived original outing, Stephen Sondheim's score managed to receive a nod at the 1982 Tonys, and the show itself became a cult classic.

Now, 42 years later, the show is finally receiving its due, bringing in seven nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Jonathan Groff, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for Daniel Radcliffe, Best Performance By a Featured Actress in a Musical for Lindsay Mendez, Best Sound Design of a Musical for Kai Harada, Best Orchestrations for Jonathan Tunick, and Best Direction of a Musical for Maria Friedman

Will this finally be their time? Tune in June 16 to see.

Meet The 2024 Nominees: Best Revival of a Musical

Best Revival of a Play

Michael Esper, Corey Stoll, and Sarah Paulson Joan Marcus

While Appropriate has been classed as a revival, this is its first time on Broadway, making this the first chance it has been Tony eligible. The 2014 Off-Broadway premiere won three Obie Awards, for Best New American Play, Direction, and Performance; and got Lortel and Hewes nominations for its scenic design and an Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.

On the Main Stem, the show got some more love this time around, bringing in 6 Tony Award nominations for Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for Sarah Paulson, Best Performance by an Actor in a Features Role in a Play for Corey Stoll, Best Scenic Design of a Play for dots, Best Costume Design of a Play for Dede Ayite, and Best Lighting Design of a Play for Jane Cox. We are sure playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is celebrating!

Leslie Odom, Jr. and Kara Young in Purlie Victorious Marc J. Franklin

Purlie Victorious brought in one featured acting nod for Godfrey M. Cambridge in its original outing, but the play's musical adaptation Purlie! had a stronger showing in 1970, winning Best Actor for Cleavon Little and Best Featured Actress for Melba Moore, on top of nominations for Best Direction, Best Choreography, and Best Musical.

This revival has now surpassed the musical version in nominations, bringing in a total of 6 nominations, including Best Revival of a Play, Best Direction, Best Performance By a Leading Actor in a Play for Leslie Odom, Jr., Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Kara Young, Best Scenic Design of a Play for Derek McLane, and Best Costume Design of a Play for Emilio Sosa. Will the church doors be flung open in celebration come June?

Jeremy Strong in An Enemy of the People Emilio Madrid

An Enemy of the People has never brought in a Tony nomination, in spite of its many star-heavy revivals since the first Tony ceremony in 1947. 

That streak has now ended, with a total of six nominations. Bringing in a nomination for Best Revival of a Play, they were also honored with a nomination for Best Performance By a Leading Actor in a Play for Jeremy Strong, Best Scenic Design of a Play for dots, Best Costume Design of a Play for David Zinn, and Best Lighting Design of a Play for Isabella Byrd. Will they break another ceiling with a win? Only time will tell!

Meet The 2024 Nominees: Best Revival of a Play

Winners will be named at the 77th Annual Tony Awards, set for June 16 at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. The evening will kick off with The Tony Awards: Act One, streaming for free on Pluto TV. Details are to be announced. The 77th Annual Tony Awards will follow beginning at 8 PM ET, broadcasting live on CBS (check local listings) and streaming live (for premium-level subscribers) via Paramount+. All Paramount+ subscribers will have on demand access to the broadcast beginning June 17. Stage and screen star Ariana DeBose will be back for the third consecutive year to host.

 
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!