Actors over 50 score 8 top nominations

Talent over 50 earned eight of the 20 lead actor honors when the Tony Awards nominations were announced April 30: Maryann Plunkett, 71, and Dorian Harewood, 73 (The notebook); Brian d’Arcy James, 55 (Days of wine and roses); Betsy Aidem, 66 (Prayer for the French Republic); Jessica Lange, 75 (Playing mother); Amy Ryan, 55, and Liev Schreiber, 56 (Doubt: a parable); and Michael Stuhlbarg, 55 (Patriots).

The 77th Annual Tony Awards The ceremony will be broadcast live on CBS on June 16.

Two Broadway shows, the musical The kitchen of hellfueled by songs by Alicia Keys, and the play Stereophoneabout a ’70s rock band, led the nominations, with 13 each.

A total of 28 shows earned a Tony nod or more, featuring the musical The outsiders, an adaptation of the beloved SE Hinton novel and Francis Ford Coppola film, which earned twelve nominations; a star revival of Cabaret starring Eddie Redmayne which takes nine (including actress Bebe Neuwirth, 65); And AppropriateBranden Jacobs-Jenkins’ electrifying play about a family reunion in Arkansas, where everyone has competing motivations and grievances, and takes eight.

Rachel McAdams makes her Broadway debut in MaryJaneearned a Best Actress in a Play nomination, while Succession star Jeremy Strong received his first-ever nomination for a revival of An enemy of the people. Nominees for Best Actress in a Play include Lange, Ryan and Sarah Paulson (Appropriate). The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons, 51, earned a supportive nod Playing motherand Daniel Radcliffe in his fifth Broadway show, a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s We roll along happilywon his first nomination.

Redmayne received a nod for Best Lead Actor in a Musical in his second show on Broadway, as did Brody Grant (The outsiders), Jonathan Groff (We roll along happily), Brian d’Arcy James and Dorian Harewood. In the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ romantic tearjerker The notebookMaryann Plunkett earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical (which she won in 1987 for Me and my girl). Harewood earned his first Tony nomination in his first Broadway show in 46 years.

Steve Carell, 61, in his Broadway debut in a poorly received revival of the classic play Uncle Vanyafailed to secure a nod, but star producers who earned Tony nods include Keys, Angelina Jolie (for The outsiders) and Hillary Rodham Clinton, 76 (for Satisfies).

The crown for best new musical will be a battle between The kitchen of hell, Illinoise, The outsiders, Satisfies (based on the American suffragists of the early 20th century) and Water for elephantswhich combines Sara Gruen’s 2006 bestseller with circus elements.

The best new piece Tony will play Stereophone in return for Playing motherPaula Vogel’s play about a mother and her children from 1964 to the 21st century; MaryJaneAmy Herzog’s humanistic portrait of a divorced mother of a young boy with health problems; Prayer for the French Republic, Joshua Harmon’s sprawling family comedy-drama that deals with Zionism, religious passion and anti-Semitism; And Jaja’s African hair braidsJocelyn Bioh’s comedy about the lives of West African women who work in a salon.