The powerful performances of the women in Broadway's A Raisin in the Sun, as well as in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, were recognized with nominations as part of the 68th annual Tony Awards, announced this morning in New York City.
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Top nominations include A Raisin in the Sun (Best Revival of a Play) and LaTanya Richardson Jackson (A Raisin in the Sun) for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. Audra McDonald (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill) was also nominated in the same category. Sophie Okonedo (A Raisin in the Sun) and Anika Noni Rose (A Raisin in the Sun) received nods for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, while Adriane Lenox (After Midnight) was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, and Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun) was recognized with a nomination for Best Direction of a Play. James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin) was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical.
McDonald has won Tony Awards in the categories of Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Porgy and Bess), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Ragtime, Carousel) and Best Featured Actress in a Play (A Raisin in the Sun, Master Class). If McDonald wins the Tony for Lady Day, it would make her the most honored woman on Broadway.
Noticeably missing from the nominations was Denzel Washington for his role in A Raisin in the Sun.
Congratulatory tweets have been rolling in all morning for the nominees:
CBS will broadcast the Tony Awards live from New York's Radio City Music Hall on June 8.
Yesha Callahan is editor of The Grapevine and a staff writer at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.
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