Just call Scott Rudin the Iron Man of Broadway.
The veteran producer is nommed for six productions this year — a step up in activity even after Rudin nabbed two big wins at last year’s Tonys, for best play (“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”) and best revival of a play (“Skylight”).
Rudin’s 2016 haul includes five projects in which he was lead producer: “The Humans” (best play); “Shuffle Along” (best musical); and three best play revival contenders: “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible,” “Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge,” and “Blackbird.” He’s also nommed in the team behind another best play pick: “King Charles III.”
Another uber-producer, Ryan Murphy, is in the Tony heat this year as a nominee for “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” starring his “American Horror Story” trouper Jessica Lange. Murphy and the Roundabout Theater Co. produced the latest revival of the Eugene O’Neill classic, which also earned acting noms for Lange and her co-stars Gabriel Byrne and Michael Shannon. Director Jonathan Kent is also a contender.
Among other tidbits from the fine print of this year’s Tony noms:
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- Candy Spelling and Kelsey Grammer join Oprah Winfrey among the nommed producers for “The Color Purple.”
- The acting categories are chock full of busy TV thesps, notably Frank Langella (“The Americans”), Laura Benanti (“Supergirl”), Jane Krakowski (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), Laurie Metcalf (“Horace and Pete,” “The Big Bang Theory”), Sophie Okonedo (“Undercover”), Zachary Levi (“Telenovela”), Danielle Brooks (“Orange Is the New Black”), Megan Hilty (“The Good Wife,” “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce”), Jonathan Groff (“Mindhunter”) and Reed Birney (“House of Cards”).
- The lead play acting categories also feature multiple Oscar nominees (Michelle Williams, Frank Langella, Sophie Okonedo) and two Oscar winners: Lupita Nyong’o and Jessica Lange.
- “Hamilton” director Thomas Kail is on track for a big awards year as he’s likely to be recognized in this year’s Emmy derby for helming Fox’s “Grease Live!”
