(Reuters) – The stage adaptation of Alanis Morissette’s album “Jagged Little Pill,” led nominations for the annual Tony Awards on Thursday although Broadway theatres remain dark in a prolonged pandemic shutdown until summer of 2021.
“Jagged Little Pill,” inspired by the Canadian-born singer’s best-selling 1995 album, got 15 nominations including best musical and nods for six of its actors including star Elizabeth Stanley.
The rock musical, whose themes include sexual assault, drug addiction and female empowerment, opened on Broadway in December 2019, but like all live shows in New York City was forced to close in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic hit the city. The Broadway closure was extended last week to June 2021.
The pandemic also postponed the annual Tony Awards, which usually take place in June. The shortened Broadway season meant a reduced number of Tony nominations on Thursday and a new date for the awards ceremony, which is expected to be mostly virtual, has yet to be announced.
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” based on the 2001 movie by Baz Luhrmann, got 14 Tony nominations on Thursday, including best musical.
“At such a difficult time for so many people, including the thousands who make up the industry behind the scenes, we welcome this opportunity to take a moment to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our finest artists,” Carmen Pavlovic, producer of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” said in a statement.
“Slave Play,” about sex, race and inter-racial relationships, got 12 nods, setting a record for the most nominations for a stage play in Broadway history.
“The Inheritance,” a two-part play about gay culture in New York a generation after the AIDS epidemic, got 11 nods.
Broadway has attracted some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in recent years. Nominations on Thursday went to Jake Gyllenhaal (“Sea Wall/A Life”), Tom Hiddleston (“Betrayal”), and Laura Linney (“My Name is Lucy Barton”).
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Diane Craft)
