Topdog/Underdog on Broadway | Show Clips

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play also received the nomination for Best Revival of a Play, alongside The Piano Lesson, starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington and Danielle Brooks.

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“I am thrilled and deeply honored to have my work embraced and recognized! And I’m also so happy for Corey and Yahya! Our Topdog revival was a joyous team effort, with Kenny Leon leading the way! I’m doing my happy dance!”

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5 / 19

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson

Image for article titled Tony Awards 2023: Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and More Black Celebs Who Secured Nominations
Photo: Juliana Cervantes

Samuel L. Jackson is up for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play, for August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, directed by his wife LaTanya Richardson.

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“It’s a thrill to be nominated – this honor is particularly special having been under the direction of LaTanya and getting to continue August Wilson’s legacy on Broadway after first performing The Piano Lesson on stage at the Yale Repertory Theater 35 years ago. Thank you to the members of the American Theater Wing & Broadway League. Congratulations to all of the nominees.”

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6 / 19

August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson

August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson

THE PIANO LESSON is now playing Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre | First Preview

August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson also received a nomination for Best Revival of a Play, which means it’ll go up against Topdog.

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Celebrating the news, director LaTanya Richardson Jackson said in a statement to Deadline, “This glorious recognition of August Wilson’s beautiful work, The Piano Lesson, amplifies his legacy and supports it as a living representation of our culture. It honors August and I am overjoyed.”

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7 / 19

Wendell Pierce

Wendell Pierce

Image for article titled Tony Awards 2023: Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and More Black Celebs Who Secured Nominations
Photo: Joan Marcus (Getty Images)

Though Wendell Pierce already received a Tony for production for the 2012 play Clybourne Park, his acting chops have now earned him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play.

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In a tweet celebrating the news, Pierce said: “After years of creating a body of work in the theater, I received a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Play for DEATH OF A SALESMAN. I am profoundly grateful &moved to tears that my colleagues would bestow on me this honor. I share this with my cast. We create as one.”

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8 / 19

Stephen McKinley Henderson

Stephen McKinley Henderson

Stephen Henderson arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Stephen Henderson arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Photo: Leonardo Munoz / AFP (Getty Images)

Legendary actor Stephen McKinley Henderson received a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his role in Between Riverside and Crazy.

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“I am grateful to be part of a wonderful journey with Stephen Adley Guirgis and Austin Pendelton,” Henderson told Deadline. “It takes an ensemble for an actor to get a nomination. I’ve been surrounded by a family of actors and a village of stage managers and crews. from beginning to end. To be nominated in this exceptional Broadway season is a tremendous joy.”

With this nomination, it makes the first time four Black actors—Henderson, Pierce, Abdul-Mateen II, and Hawkins—have ever been nominated for Actor in a Leading Role.

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9 / 19

Audra McDonald

Audra McDonald

Image for article titled Tony Awards 2023: Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and More Black Celebs Who Secured Nominations
Photo: Emilio Madrid

For her role in Ohio State Murders, Audra McDonald received a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.

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“I am honored to have been nominated for Ohio State Murders,” she told Deadline. “Having the opportunity to work with Kenny Leon, and to be a part of Adrienne Kennedy’s long-overdue Broadway debut of her extraordinary, relevant, and powerful work, was one of the most important artistic experiences of my life.”

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10 / 19

Amber Ruffin

Amber Ruffin

Amber Ruffin arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Amber Ruffin arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Photo: LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP (Getty Images)

For Some Like It Hot, Amber Ruffin and co-writer Matthew Lopez received a nomination for Best Book of a Musical.

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“We are thrilled to be nominated alongside so many from our Some Like It Hot family. Our show has always been to us about the power of the community to uplift individuals,” Ruffin told Deadline. “That it has been received by audiences and by the Tony nominators with that same spirit makes this all feel full circle. We hope these nominations help bring the show and its message of self-acceptance and self-fulfillment to an even wider audience than before.”

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11 / 19

J. Harrison Ghee

J. Harrison Ghee

J. Harrison Ghee attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City.
J. Harrison Ghee attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City.
Photo: Cindy Ord/MG23 for The Met Museum/Vogue (Getty Images)

For their role in Some Like It Hot, J. Harrison Ghee received a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.

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“I’m thrilled! It has been a fantastic journey to portray Jerry/Daphne, and I’ve been overwhelmed—in a good way—to see how audiences have received these characters,” Ghee told Deadline. “I’m thankful to every member of this production for creating such an affirming space where I get to show the complexity of this human and go on a beautiful ride every time the curtains go up. I’m grateful to the committee for recognizing this work. It’s a moment I will cherish forever.”

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12 / 19

Nikki Crawford

Nikki Crawford

Nikki Crawford arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Nikki Crawford arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Photo: LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP (Getty Images)

For her role in Fat Ham, Nikki Crawford received a nomination Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play.

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13 / 19

Fat Ham

Fat Ham

Image for article titled Tony Awards 2023: Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and More Black Celebs Who Secured Nominations
Photo: Joan Marcus

Fat Ham received several nominations for Best Play, Best Direction of a Play (Saheem Ali), and Best Costume Design of a Play.

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14 / 19

Jordan E. Cooper

Jordan E. Cooper

Image for article titled Tony Awards 2023: Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and More Black Celebs Who Secured Nominations
Photo: Joan Marcus

For his role in Ain’t No More, creator Jordan E. Cooper received a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play.

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“What a morning! I got to watch the nominations in Texas with my parents in the same living room that I used to do plays in as a kid. Ain’t No Mo’ may not have had a long life on Broadway but it sure did have an impactful one,” Cooper told Deadline. “The work matters. I’m so incredibly grateful to the American Theater Wing, Lee Daniels, my incredible director, cast and crew along with everyone who championed this bold play all over the country.”

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15 / 19

Crystal Lucas-Perry

Crystal Lucas-Perry

Crystal Lucas-Perry arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Crystal Lucas-Perry arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Photo: Leonardo Munoz / AFP (Getty Images)

For her role in Ain’t No Mo, Crystal Lucas-Perry received nomination Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play.

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16 / 19

Ain’t No Mo

Ain’t No Mo

Image for article titled Tony Awards 2023: Samuel L. Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and More Black Celebs Who Secured Nominations
Photo: Joan Morgan

Jordan E. Cooper’s play Ain’t No More received the nomination for Best Play, Best Direction of a Play (Stevie Walker-Webb), and Best Costume Design of a Play (Emilio Sosa.)

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17 / 19

Kara Young

Kara Young

Kara Young arrives for the 76th Annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press event in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Kara Young arrives for the 76th Annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press event in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Photo: LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP (Getty Images)

For her role in Cost of Living, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play.

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18 / 19

Alex Newell

Alex Newell

Alex Newell arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Alex Newell arrives at the 76th annual Tony Awards meet the nominees press day in New York City on May 4, 2023.
Photo: Leonardo Munoz / AFP (Getty Images)

For her role in Shucked, Alex Newell received a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical.

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