Canadians earn nods for Tony Awards, as Hadestown leads contenders

American-Canadian director Des McAnuff and Toronto-raised choreographer Sergio Trujillo have been nominated for Tony Awards for Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations.

McAnuff is up for best direction of a musical, and Trujillo received a nod in the best choreography category.

Ain't Too Proud, a jukebox musical built around songs by the Temptations, had a brief run at Mirvish's Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto last fall.

Toronto-born theatre projection designer Peter Nigrini was also recognized for best scenic design of a musical for Ain't Too Proud, and shares a nomination for best lighting design of a musical for Beetlejuice alongside American Kenneth Posner.

Meanwhile, Toronto writer and actor Bob Martin, a past Tony-winner for The Drowsy Chaperone, is nominated once again for co-creating the musical The Prom.

Hadestown, singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell's Broadway debut, leads the Tony Award nominations overall with 14 nods, followed by Ain't Too Proud with 12.

The adult Hadestown, which intertwines the myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone, elbowed aside more familiar names, including stage adaptations of Tootsie and Beetlejuice, which both also got best musical nods.

The best play nominees are The Ferryman, Ink, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus and What the Constitution Means to Me.

Theatre watchers were surprised to see several high-profile productions, including Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, a play about Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign (Hillary and Clinton) and the stage adaptation of the media satire film Network not getting best play nods, though they did earn recognition in other categories.

James Corden will host the 73rd Annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 9, with the ceremony to be broadcast live from New York's Radio City Music Hall on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Select nominations for the 2019 Tony Awards

• Best Musical: Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations, Beetlejuice, Hadestown, The Prom, Tootsie.
• Best Play: Choir Boy, The Ferryman, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, Ink, What the Constitution Means to Me.
• Best Book of a Musical: Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations, Beetlejuice, Hadestown, The Prom, Tootsie.
• Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: Be More Chill, Beetlejuice, Hadestown, The Prom, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tootsie
• Best Revival of a Play: Arthur Miller's All My Sons, The Boys in the Band, Burn This, Torch Song, The Waverly Gallery.
• Best Revival of a Musical: Kiss Me, Kate, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Paddy Considine, The Ferryman; Bryan Cranston, Network; Jeff Daniels, To Kill a Mockingbird; Adam Driver, Burn This; Jeremy Pope, Choir Boy.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Annette Bening, Arthur Miller's All My Sons; Laura Donnelly, The Ferryman; Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery; Janet McTeer, Bernhardt/Hamlet; Laurie Metcalf, Hillary and Clinton; Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Brooks Ashmanskas, The Prom; Derrick Baskin, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations; Alex Brightman, Beetlejuice; Damon Daunno, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!; Santino Fontana, Tootsie.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Stephanie J. Block, The Cher Show; Caitlin Kinnunen, The Prom; Beth Leavel, The Prom; Eva Noblezada, Hadestown; Kelli O'Hara, Kiss Me, Kate.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Bertie Carvel, Ink; Robin De Jesus, The Boys in the Band; Gideon Glick, To Kill a Mockingbird; Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This; Benjamin Walker, Arthur Miller's All My Sons.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Fionnula Flanagan, The Ferryman; Celia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a Mockingbird; Kristine Nielsen, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus; Julie White, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus; Ruth Wilson, King Lear.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Andre De Shields, Hadestown; Andy Grotelueschen, Tootsie; Patrick Page, Hadestown; Jeremy Pope, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations; Ephraim Sykes, Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Lilli Cooper, Tootsie; Amber Gray, Hadestown; Sarah Stiles, Tootsie; Ali Stroker, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! Mary Testa, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!

A complete list of nominees is on the Tony Awards website.