Alicia Keys, David Byrne & More Musical Pros Who Scored in the 2024 Tony Award Nominations

Alicia Keys’ AK Worldwide Media, Inc. is listed as one of the producers of Hell’s Kitchen, though Keys isn’t nominated in other categories. This has been a good year for Keys, who won her 16th Grammy on Feb. 4: best immersive audio album for The Diary of Alicia Keys.

Blackstone and Kitt are nominated for best orchestrations for their work on the show. It’s Kitt’s eighth Tony nod; Blackstone’s first. Kitt won two Tonys (best orchestrations and best original score) for Next to Normal and a Grammy (best musical theater album) for Jagged Little Pill. Blackstone won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding music direction two years ago for The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent.

Byrne and Fatboy Slim are nominated for best original score for Here Lies Love. David Byrne’s American Utopia won a special Tony in 2020, but this is Byrne’s first competitive Tony nod. Byrne also received a Primetime Emmy nod in 2021 for the HBO broadcast of David Byrne’s American Utopia, which was nominated for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded). Byrne won both an Oscar and a Grammy as one of the composers of the score for The Last Emperor. Fatboy Slim won a Grammy for best short-form music video for “Weapon of Choice” (featuring Bootsy Collins).

Here Lies Love received four nods, more than any other production this year that wasn’t nominated for best musical or best play. Those, of course, are the highest-profile categories and the nods that are most coveted.

Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire, received two Tony nods: best original score and best orchestrations, both for Stereophonic. Butler’s co-nominee in the latter category is Justin Craig. With Arcade Fire, Butler won a Grammy for album of the year in 2011 for The Suburbs.

Illinoise, the acclaimed stage adaptation of Stevens’ 2005 concept album Illinois, is nominated for best musical. Stevens’ album debuted and peaked at No. 121 on the Billboard 200 in July 2005. Stevens was credited as being part of the Broadway production’s creative team, though his specific involvement has not been made public.

While Illinois wasn’t a big chart hit, Stevens subsequently made the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with Age of Adz (2010) and Carrie & Lowell (2015). He received both Oscar and Grammy nods for writing the song “Mystery of Love” for Call Me by Your Name.

O’Hara received her seventh nomination for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical for Days of Wine and Roses. She is one of only three actresses to be nominated in that category seven or more times. Chita Rivera leads with eight nods. Sutton Foster has also had seven. O’Hara’s first Tony nod was in the featured actress category for The Light in the Piazza (2005). Her only Tony win to date was for her lead role in The King and I (2015).

James received his fourth nod for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical for Days of Wine and Roses. This puts him in a tie with John Cullum and Raul Julia for the most nods in this category. James was previously nominated in this category for Shrek the Musical, Something Rotten! and Into the Woods, the latter just last year.

Redmayne received his second Tony nod – best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Redmayne won in the same category at the Olivier Awards in 2022, when the production had its West End revival. Redmayne is also nominated as a producer of Cabaret, which is nominated for best revival of a musical. Redmayne’s first Tony nod was for best featured actor in a play for Red (2010). Redmayne won an Oscar for best actor for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2015).

Odom, who won a Tony in 2016 for best actor in a musical for Hamilton, is nominated for best actor in a play for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. If he wins here, he’ll become the first actor to win for lead roles in both a musical and a play since Harvey Fierstein, who won for his lead roles in the play Torch Song Trilogy (1983) and the musical Hairspray (2003). Odom is also nominated as a producer of Purlie Victorious, which is vying for best revival of a play.

The veteran performer received his third Tony nod for his lead role in Merrily We Roll Along. He was nominated for his lead role in Spring Awakening (2007) and his featured role in Hamilton (2016). For Hamilton, Groff also won a Grammy for best musical theater album and received a Primetime Emmy nod for outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for the production which aired on Disney+.

The star received her third Tony nod for her featured role in the revival of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. John Kander and Fred Ebb, who wrote the songs for Cabaret, also created Chicago, for which Neuwirth won a Tony in 1997.

Tunick received his 12th Tony nod for best orchestrations for the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. Tunick’s only Tony win was for Titanic (1997), which made him the seventh EGOT winner. Two of the awards that made up Tunick’s EGOT were for Sondheim-related work. His only Oscar was for adapting the score for the 1978 film version of A Little Night Music. His only Grammy was for his arrangement of Cleo Laine’s recording of “No One Is Alone,” from Into the Woods.

Revivals of The Who’s Tommy, Monty Python’s Spamalot and Gutenberg! The Musical each received just one nomination. Shut out completely were the revival of the 1975 smash The Wiz; the Britney Spears-fueled fairy tale musical Once Upon a One More Time; Harmony, the long-in-development Barry Manilow/Bruce Sussman musical; and The Heart of Rock and Roll, the Huey Lewis jukebox musical.