Broadway theatres may still be closed and the New York theatre community may currently be adjusting to a life online at the moment, but there is one thing that even the dreaded Covid cannot stop and that is the legendary Tony Awards.

Whilst it is unsure when the winners will be announced and how, it is likely that we are going to have to wait until December to find who will be getting their hands on one of those famous statues. But, at least, we now know who is in line for each award, with a number of British-born shows in the running.

Five shows are up for Best Play including The Inheritance, which picked up four Olivier’s in last year’s London ceremony. It faces stiff competition with Grand Horizons, Sea Wall/A Life, Slave Play and The Sound Inside also nominated. The Inheritance was also nominated for Best Original Score (Paul Englishby) Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play (Andrew Burnup), Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play (John Benjamin Hickey and Paul Hilton), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Bob Crowley), Best Costume Design of a Play (Bob Crowley), Best Lighting Design of a Play (Jon Clark), Best Sound Design of a Play (Paul Arditti & Christopher Reid) and Best Direction of a Play (Stephen Daldry).

The Best Revival of a Play category also features a British-born entry with Betrayal competing against Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and A Soldier’s Play. Betrayal is also nominated for Best Direction of a Play (Jamie Lloyd), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Soutra Gilmour) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play (Tom Hiddleston).

Other UK plays have also done well in today’s nominations with A Christmas Carol picking up 5 nominations including Best Sound Design (Simon Baker), Best Lighting Design (Hugh Vanstone), Best Costume Design (Rob Howell), Best Scenic Design (Rob Howell) and Best Original Score (Christopher Nightingale). Sea Wall, which was performed at the Old Vic a while back, picked up four nominations and My Name is Lucy Barton also picked up one.

British-born Tina – The Tina Turner Musical has swept the boards really, picking up an amazing eleven nominations including Best Musical competing against Jagged Little Pill and Moulin Rouge, Best Book of a Musical (Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins), Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical (Adrienne Warren), Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical (Daniel J. Watts) Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical (Myra Lucretia Taylor), Best Scenic Design of a Musical ( Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Mark Thompson), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Bruno Poet), Best Design of a Musical (Nevin Steinberg), Best Direction of a Musical (Phyllida Lloyd), Best Choreography (Anthony Van Laast) and Best Orchestrations (Ethan Popp). Phew!

For the American-made productions, it is Jagged Little Pill and Moulin Rouge leading the way with 15 and 14 nominations each respectively. On the subject of Moulin Rouge, it would appear that the musical’s leading man, Aaron Tveit, is the only person nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category. It’s a bit complicated as this would seem to suggest that he automatically wins but apparently not. The rules state that the category will still be submitted to the Tony voters and the award will only be given to Tveit if there is an affirmative vote of 60 percent or more.

Congratulations to all of the shows and individuals that have been nominated, both on and off stage. We cannot wait to find out the winners, hopefully in December.

For the full list of Tony Award nominations, please click here.