{"id":2403713,"date":"2026-05-05T20:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2403713"},"modified":"2026-05-05T20:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:35:15","slug":"brutal-tony-award-2026-nominations-kick-adrien-brody-and-lea-michele-to-the-curb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/brutal-tony-award-2026-nominations-kick-adrien-brody-and-lea-michele-to-the-curb\/","title":{"rendered":"Brutal Tony Award 2026 nominations kick Adrien Brody and Lea Michele to the curb"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F05%2Fnewspress-collage-q8lxnceti-1778008690353.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261777994343\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It was a big morning for blood-sucking monsters.<\/p>\n<p>No, not the teen vampires from \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/26\/entertainment\/the-lost-boys-review-vampire-show-is-best-new-musical-on-broadway\/\">The Lost Boys<\/a>\u201d \u2014 The Tony Awards nominating committee.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, what a pack of ruthless killers they are.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday\u2019s nominations for the best of the Broadway season made it plainly clear what the group of 55 voting theater professionals absolutely loathed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Lea Michele didn\u2019t manage a best actress nomination for \u201cChess.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Bruce Glikas\/WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The flop $22.5 million musical \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/09\/entertainment\/queen-of-versailles-review-kristin-chenoweth-returns-to-broadway-in-a-dire-musical-that-needs-a-wrecking-ball\/\">The Queen of Versailles<\/a>,\u201d \u201cWicked\u201d composer Stephen Schwartz\u2019s burning pile of rubble, scored nada. Not even for designer Dane Laffrey\u2019s gorgeous, mammoth set, or beloved diva Kristin Chenoweth. Meet the latest New York Times Critic\u2019s Pick to goose egg.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>And \u2014 did you ever know that you got ze-ro?! \u2014 \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/22\/entertainment\/beaches-a-new-musical-review-schlocky-friendship-show-arrives-during-broadways-low-tide\/\">Beaches<\/a>\u201d was beached. Expect a swift closing notice for the bellyflopping \u201cWind Beneath My Wings\u201d show at the Majestic.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the committee hated those two so much, they shoved a couple of plays in the best score category instead: Those old toe-tappers \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/09\/entertainment\/death-of-a-salesman-review-nathan-lane-and-laurie-metcalf-star-in-a-triumphant-broadway-revival\/\">Death of a Salesman<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/25\/entertainment\/joe-turners-come-and-gone-review-cedric-the-entertainer-and-taraji-p-henson-star-in-uneven-revival\/\">Joe Turner\u2019s Come and Gone<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/16\/entertainment\/proof-review-ayo-edebiri-and-don-cheadle-star-in-underpowered-broadway-revival\/\">Proof<\/a>\u201d \u2014 the math play revival co-produced by the Obamas and starring acclaimed actors Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle \u2014 also succumbed to that lowliest of integers: 0.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Adrien Brody wasn\u2019t recognized for his performance in \u201cThe Fear of 13\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Oliver Rodriguez\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Were the nominators won over by the $tar power of\u00a0 Lea Michele in \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/16\/entertainment\/chess-review-lea-michele-leaves-you-cold-in-cold-war-musical-revival-on-broadway\/\">Chess<\/a>\u201d? Nope. Instead they recognized her less-famous co-stars Nicholas Christopher (great), Hannah Cruz (good) and Bryce Pinkham (baffling).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrutalist\u201d Oscar winner Adrien Brody also had a brutal day \u2014 he failed to snag a best actor nod for the badly-written criminal-justice play \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/15\/entertainment\/the-fear-of-13-review-adrien-brody-goes-to-prison-in-a-predictable-criminal-justice-schlep-on-broadway\/\">The Fear of 13<\/a>.\u201d Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet must be grinning from ear to ear.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And prestige TV stars Jon Berthal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (both of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/31\/entertainment\/dog-day-afternoon-review-jon-bernthals-broadway-play-turns-classic-ny-movie-into-a-silly-sitcom\/\">Dog Day Afternoon<\/a>\u201d) and Jean Smart (\u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/06\/12\/entertainment\/call-me-izzy-review-jean-smarts-good-but-broadway-play-is-a-hack-job\/\">Call Me Izzy<\/a>\u201d) didn\u2019t make the cut either.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cThe Lost Boys\u201d scored 12 nods \u2014 tying with \u201cSchmigadoon.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Plenty of shows performed very well \u2014 on the play side because of a wealth of extraordinary revivals, and on the musical end because a small number of worthy-ish shows gobbled up all the slots by default.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Two productions led the pack for best musical: \u201cThe Lost Boys\u201d and \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/20\/entertainment\/schmigadoon-review-tired-parody-of-broadways-golden-age-is-been-there-doon-that\/\">Schmigadoon<\/a>,\u201d with 12 nods apiece. Rounding out the category was the cute, little \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/20\/entertainment\/two-strangers-carry-a-cake-across-new-york-review-a-hilarious-new-star-bursts-onto-broadway\/\">Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)<\/a>\u201d with nine and the hilarious off-Broadway success story \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/12\/entertainment\/titanique-review-silly-titanic-celine-dion-spoof-finally-sets-sail-on-broadway\/\">Titanique<\/a>\u201d with four.<\/p>\n<p>The playing field is much more level than \u201cMaybe Happy Ending\u201d\u2019s season-long streamroll was last year, and there is no clear frontrunner.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That said, conversations around town suggest the battle is between \u201cLost Boys\u201d and \u201cSchmig.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The revival of \u201cRagtime\u201d scored 11 nominations, including best musical revival. <span class=\"credit\">Evan Zimmerman<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A few slights today lead me to believe \u201cLost Boys\u201d is a little ahead. \u201cSchmigadoon\u201d actors Max Clayton and McKenzie Kurtz were both left off the featured actor categories, implying nominators didn\u2019t feel the urge to put the show that\u2019s based on the canceled Apple TV show everywhere they possibly could.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Plenty in the industry like \u201cLost Boys\u201d well enough \u2014 few outright love anything \u2014 and the other three new musicals appear to many to be lost causes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One Broadway source, sounding like a Democratic Party operative at primary time, conceded, \u201cEverybody should close ranks around \u2018Lost Boys.\u2019\u201d Other voters have privately echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n<p>But one had doubts. \u201cWasn\u2019t the story predictable?,\u201d they said. \u201cAnd all the power ballads!\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A revival of the musical \u201cRagtime,\u201d starring Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy and Brandon Uranowitz, on Broadway. <span class=\"credit\">Matthew Murphy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Speaking of power ballads, onto \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/10\/16\/entertainment\/ragtime-review-broadway-revival-still-misses-but-has-sensational-singing\/\">Ragtime<\/a>,\u201d which is nominated for musical revival. There are three contenders: \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/07\/entertainment\/cats-the-jellicle-ball-review-a-euphoric-nyc-reinvention-of-a-broadway-classic\/\">Cats: The Jellicle Ball<\/a>\u201d (nine nods) \u201cRagtime\u201d (11) and \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/23\/entertainment\/the-rocky-horror-show-review-broadway-shows-got-killer-performances-but-dammit-janet-make-it-more-fun\/\">The Rocky Horror Show<\/a>\u201d (nine). But voters won\u2019t do the Time Warp again \u2014 it\u2019s down to the first two.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRagtime\u201d is beautifully sung and moving (though many voters whine about the concert-esque staging). And its stars Caissie Levy and Joshua Henry probably win best actress and actor. But euphoric \u201cJellicle Ball\u201d totally reinvents \u201cCats\u201d \u2014 a feat thought to be impossible \u2014 and the fab felines should hoist the big prize.<\/p>\n<p>A deeper bench is the superb play revivals. Even with a strong slate, that race boils down to \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/09\/entertainment\/death-of-a-salesman-review-nathan-lane-and-laurie-metcalf-star-in-a-triumphant-broadway-revival\/\">Death of a Salesman<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/13\/entertainment\/oedipus-review-mark-strong-lesley-manville-are-ferocious-in-pulse-pounding-broadway-tragedy\/\">Oedipus<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Both are excellent, but high-grossing \u201cSalesman\u201d is on everybody\u2019s lips right now (it just won the New York Drama Critics Circle\u2019s best ensemble prize) and British \u201cOedipus\u201d\u2019 February closing date is miles in the rearview. I expect attention will be paid to \u201cSalesman.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball\u201d is the favorite to take home best revival. <span class=\"credit\">Matthew Murphy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tighter still is the tussle between Willy Loman and Roald Dahl \u2014 a k a Nathan Lane and John Lithgow.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cSalesman\u201d and \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/23\/entertainment\/giant-review-john-lithgow-is-superb-as-roald-dahl-in-broadway-show-about-his-revolting-anti-semitism\/\">Giant<\/a>\u201d stars up for best actor in a play have a lot going for them: veteran status, past Tony wins and a widespread sense that they\u2019re doing some of the finest work of their long careers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSalesman\u201d has more heat behind it, which should help Lane. But Lithgow is carrying \u201cGiant\u201d entirely on his shoulders. He\u2019s the reason people are seeing it. Flip a coin.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cDeath of a Salesman,\u201d starring Nathan Lane, earned nine Tony nominations. <span class=\"credit\">Emilio Madrid<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His \u201cGiant\u201d is duking it out with Women\u2019s Lib dramedy \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/10\/30\/entertainment\/liberation-review-stellar-acting-in-a-womens-lib-play-on-broadway\/\">Liberation<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/22\/entertainment\/the-balusters-review-a-hilarious-clash-of-wackos-on-broadway\/\">The Balusters<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/10\/30\/entertainment\/little-bear-ridge-road-review-laurie-metcalf-bares-her-soul-in-moving-broadway-play\/\">Little Bear Ridge Road<\/a>\u201d for best play. Long-closed, Pulitzer-winning \u201cLiberation\u201d will take it.<\/p>\n<p>Some quick stabs: Laurie Metcalf gets best supporting actress for \u201cSalesman\u201d and Lesley Manville takes best actress for \u201cOedipus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I am especially thrilled for Alden Ehrenreich, who was nominated for best featured actor for his brilliantly acidic turn in best revival nominee \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/06\/entertainment\/becky-shaw-review-alden-ehrenreich-is-incredible-in-viciously-funny-first-date-broadway-comedy\/\">Becky Shaw<\/a>.\u201d He\u2019s the season\u2019s greatest find.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ehrenreich is part of a stellar category (Christopher Abbott, Danny Burstein, Brandon J. Dirden, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Richard Thomas). However, the \u201cSolo: A Star Wars Story\u201d star is a cut above the rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Alden Ehrenreich is the favorite to win best featured actor in a play. <span class=\"credit\">Marc J. Franklin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Tony Awards air June 7 on CBS. And rather in the spirit of this strange, confusing, letdown of a season, they\u2019ll be hosted by Pink.<\/p>\n<p>So what?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was a big morning for blood-sucking monsters. No, not the teen vampires from \u201cThe Lost Boys\u201d \u2014 The Tony Awards nominating committee. Oh, what a pack of ruthless killers they are. Tuesday\u2019s nominations for the best of the Broadway season made it plainly clear what the group of 55 voting theater professionals absolutely loathed. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2403714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[366575,344468,21741,348514,24047,352075],"class_list":["post-2403713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-adrien-brody","tag-broadway","tag-entertainment","tag-lea-michele","tag-theater","tag-tony-awards"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Brutal-Tony-Award-2026-nominations-kick-Adrien-Brody-and-Lea.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2403713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2403715,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2403713\/revisions\/2403715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2403714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2403713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2403713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2403713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}