Tony Award nominations: "A Strange Loop" earns 11 nods, "MJ" and "Paradise Square" each get 10
CBSN
"A Strange Loop," Michael R. Jackson's critically cheered theater meta-journey earned a leading 11 Tony Award nominations Monday as Broadway joined the national discussion of race by embracing an envelope-pushing Black-written and Black-led musical.
Jackson's 2020 Pulitzer Prize drama winner about a Black gay man writing a show about a Black gay man earned nods for best musical, best leading man in newcomer Jaquel Spivey and best featured actress for L Morgan Lee, who becomes the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for a Tony Award.
Jesse Williams, the "Grey's Anatomy" star making his Broadway debut, got a nomination for "Take Me Out," as did his co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson of "Modern Family" fame. Playwright Lynn Nottage has two reasons to smile Monday morning: Her book for the musical "MJ was nominated for best book and her play "Clyde's" got a nod for best play.
