Overlooked: Which Shows and Actors Were Shut Out of the 2024 Tony Award Nominations?

The 2024 Tony Awards announced nominations this morning, and now everyone is digging into who did and didn't get recognition. While Hell's Kitchen and Stereophonic easily rose to the top of the list, many others weren’t so lucky.

Here are the shows and artists that we at Playbill were most surprised were overlooked. You can read more of our takeaways from the nominations here.

Kyle Ramar Freeman, Nichelle Lewis, Phillip Johnson Richardson, and Avery Wilson in *The Wiz* Jeremy Daniel

8 Shows Got 0 Nominations

In the 2023–24 Broadway season, 39 shows opened. Of those 39 shows, eight did not receive any nominations. They were: Once Upon a One More Time, How to Dance in Ohio, Harmony, The Heart of Rock and Roll, The Cottage, The Shark is Broken, I Need That, and The Wiz. Of those shows, two are still running.

We were particularly surprised that The Wiz, the first major new Broadway staging of the musical since its 1975 original production, did not receive any recognition. But considering it is scheduled to tour after its Broadway run and the show is already taking in more than $1 million a week, we think that this revival has already got the biggest prize of all: audience love. The revival was in the top five highest grossers on Broadway for the second consecutive week last week.

Jeremy Jordan, Eva Noblezada, and company of *The Great Gatsby* Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Money Doesn't Equal (Tonys) Love

Speaking of grosses, high grosses doesn't guarantee a Tony nominations. Back to the Future, The Great Gatsby, The Wiz, and The Who's Tommy had been consistently making $1 million a week since they started their runs. But Back to the Future only got two nominations, The Great Gatsby and Tommy got one, and The Wiz got none. There seems to be something of a rift between audiences and awards bodies. But considering these shows have been bringing in audiences consistently, the lack of nominations shouldn't be an issue.

Steve Carell in *Uncle Vanya* Marc J. Franklin

Celebrity Doesn’t Equal Nominations

This season on Broadway was a particularly starry one, with a number of big film and TV names leading shows on Broadway. Among them, Sarah Paulson (Appropriate), Rachel McAdams (Mary Jane), and Jessica Lange (Mother Play) all received nominations for their critically acclaimed work on the stage. But having star power doesn’t guarantee a Tony nomination. Steve Carell (Uncle Vanya), Michael Imperioli (An Enemy of the People), Danny DeVito (I Need That), and Laurie Metcalf (Grey House) did not receive a nod for their work.

Liev Schreiber and Zoe Kazan in *Doubt: A Parable* Joan Marcus

Only 3 Play Revivals Got Nominated

When there’s a limited number of shows or artists eligible in a category, the omission of certain folks becomes even more glaring. This season, there were only five play revivals—and the Tony's nominating committee only gave nods to three of them. The shows that were overlooked: Uncle Vanya, in a new version by Heidi Schreck, and Doubt. Uncle Vanya received one nomination for William Jackson Harper's performance. On the other hand, historically, Uncle Vanya has never been popular with the Tonys. Previous iterations have received a couple of nominations but no wins.

Doubt was also overlooked for Best Revival of a Play even though its actors (Amy Ryan, Liev Schreiber, and Quincy Tyler Bernstine) received nominations. But as we explain below, this year a nomination for performances does not guarantee a production nomination.

Chip Zien in *Harmony* Julieta Cervantes

Overlooked Performances

Every year there’s an embarrassment of performance riches on Broadway—more than can be nominated. But we have to draw attention to some stand-out performances that we were certain would get attention based on historic precedent. Chip Zien is a beloved actor who has never gotten a Tony nomination—we were certain he would receive one for his career-best performance in Harmony. But perhaps there is a Lifetime Achievement Tony in there for one of Broadway’s most legendary still-living actors.

Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad both got Tony nominations the last time they were onstage opposite each other in Book or Mormon—so it was a surprise that their reunion in Gutenberg! The Musical! didn’t receive similar love. The show received only one nomination: Best Revival of a Musical nomination, making it all the more glaring that its actors did not receive any notice.

Similarly, the previous time The Who’s Tommy was on Broadway, it received 11 nominations. This time, it only received one nomination, for Best Revival of a Musical. Ali Louis Bourzgui is giving a star-making performance as Tommy, the same role that got Michael Cerveris his first Tony nomination—but Bourzgui did not receive the same kind of love. Luckily, the talented performer has a bright future ahead of him and we can see Bourzgui becoming a sensation with Tony voters in the future.

Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James Michaelah Reynolds

Who Didn’t Get Best Musical?

It’s always notable when a show receives nominations in the acting, writing, and direction categories, but not Best Musical. A nod in those categories is usually an indication of an awards front-runner. That was not the case for Days of Wine and Roses, which received nominations for its lead actors (Kelli O’Hara and Brian D’Arcy James) and its score (by Adam Guettel)—but surprisingly not Best Musical. Here Lies Love received four nominations, including for its score (by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim). But it didn't get a Best Musical nod. Similarly, The Notebook received nods for its book (by Bekah Brunstetter) and lead actors (Dorian Harewood and Maryann Plunkett), but also did not get Best Musical.

All of these overlooked shows and performances are perhaps a sign of how unpredictable this year’s Tony nominations were, and how evenly spread out the love was. Congratulations to all of this year’s Tony nominees and to everyone who opened a Broadway show this year. You’re all winners in our hearts.