'Hamilton' Nets Record 16 Tony Award Nominations

By Bill Chappell

Published May 3, 2016 at 8:58 AM CDT

Actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (center) performs on stage during a rehearsal of <em>Hamilton</em> ahead of the Grammy Awards in February in New York City. — Actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (center) performs on stage during a rehearsal of *Hamilton* ahead of the Grammy Awards in February in New York City.

Hamilton, the Broadway musical about "the scrappy young immigrant who forever changed America" has made history, after being nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards. The nominees were announced today.

Hamiltoneclipsed the 15 nominations that were garnered by both The Producers (2001) and Billy Elliot (2009). For more about the musical, see this post/podcast from NPR's Linda Holmes.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and force behind Hamilton, is nominated for three individual awards, including for best book, best original score and best performance by a lead actor in a musical.

<em>Hamilton </em>got more Tony nominations than<em> </em>either<em> The Producers </em>or<em> Billy Elliot </em>did in their respective years. Here<em>, </em>Broadway cast members including the show's creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda (in blue), performed at the White House last month. — *Hamilton* got more Tony nominations than either The Producers or Billy Elliot did in their respective years. Here, Broadway cast members including the show's creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda (in blue), performed at the White House last month.

This year's field of nominees for Best Musical also include:

Bright Star;
School of Rock — The Musical;
Waitress;
Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed

As Jeff Lunden reports for our Newscast unit, Shuffle Alongscored 10 nominations despite being the last musical to open this season.

The nominees for Best Play include:

E clipsed;
The Father;
The Humans;
King Charles III

Looking at other categories, Jeff adds, "Revivals of Long Day's Journey into Night, A View from the Bridge and She Loves Me dominated their categories."

The Tony Awards show will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 12.