

He and his family learned of his triumph in the living room where, as a 6-year-old, he put on his first plays. "Ain't No Mo,'" which earned six nominations, begins with the United States government emailing every Black citizen with the offer of a free plane ticket to Africa, and each scene explores how various personalities respond to the offer.Ĭooper learned he's been nominated twice - as best playwright and as lead actor - while visiting his childhood home in Texas. Cooper, Stephen Adly Guirgis' Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Between Riverside and Crazy" and "Cost of Living," parallel stories of two caretakers and their respective patients. The rest of the category is made up of "Ain't No Mo,'" the short-lived but critical applauded work by playwright and actor Jordan E. In the best new play category, nods were distributed to Tom Stoppard's "Leopoldstadt," which explores Jewish identity with an intergenerational story, and "Fat Ham," James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" set at a Black family's barbecue in the modern South. And I think that is a message that we need to get out there. The show doesn't say there aren't going to be strange and horrible people in your life. "It's a special event that celebrates our collective humanity," she said. The critical musical darling "Kimberly Akimbo," with Victoria Clark playing a teen who ages four times faster than the average human, rounds out the best musical category, and earned a total of eight nominations.Ĭlark, who was nominated for best lead actress in a musical, hopes to add a second Tony to her trophy case, having previously won one in 2005 for "The Light in the Piazza." But more than that she hopes more attention will be paid to her show, which she calls a "little under the radar." And so to have a musical that allows us all to celebrate in each individual way that we need to celebrate is really, really special and timely." "We've all been given a second chance after this time we've all been through. "It's a beautiful story about second chances, which honestly is what we're all going through right now," said Wolfe.

I Did It Again," Katy Perry's "Roar" and Bon Jovi's "It's My Life." The musical imagines a happier ending for Juliet after a journey of self-discovery.

In the musical, playwright David West Read took an original story using "Romeo and Juliet" as a launch pad and mixed in hits by Swedish super-producer Max Martin, including Brittney Spears' "Oops!.
