Hollywood: Or, other names/faces you will recognize
Even the truest and purest of Broadway fans have to admit that the broader cultural relevance of the Tonys hinges on the presence and/or participation of movie stars and/or the Hollywood adjacent. It’s not ideal — we all want Jeremy Pope to get the mainstream recognition he deserves — but it is the nature of the entertainment world.
So, what names will the casual fan recognize at the 2019 Tonys?
Well, there are the musicals and plays that are either adaptations of or additional permutations of work seen on screen (Beetlejuice, Tootsie, To Kill a Mockingbird, Network).
There are also a number of nominees you may know from TV and movies: Adam Driver, Jeff Daniels, Bryan Cranston and Paddy Considine are all nominated for actor in a leading role; Annette Benning, Laurie Metclaf and Ruth Wilson are nominated in lead actress categories. (Keri Russell and Tatiana Maslany were also in buzzy productions — Burn This and Network, respectively — but did not receive nominations.) Santino Fontana, a.k.a. Greg 1.0 on TV’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, is nominated for lead actor in a musical too.
(Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer and Andrew Rannells all starred in The Boys in the Band, though none were nominated. They may still make an appearance, however, to support the play’s Best Revival nomination or serve as presenters.)
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Elsewhere, movie director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty) is nominated for directing The Ferryman and Tarell Alvin McCraney, who wrote the play on which Moonlight was based, is nominated for his new play Choir Boy.
Oh, and late-night host James Corden is hosting once again, so you’ll likely recognize him too.