Miranda, who created and stars in the Broadway hit, finds it 'unbelievable' that the hip-hop musical is up for 16 nominations, including 3 for him individually.
- May 4, 2016
AceShowbiz - "Hamilton" has just set another history after scoring 16 nominations at the 70th annual Tony Awards. It's a record number for a single production, with the Broadway hit up for the coveted Best Musical among other prizes at the upcoming ceremony.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics as well as stars in the hip-hop musical, is nominated in three categories individually, for Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Lead Actor in a Musical. While he has been honored with the Pulitzer for "Hamilton" and the show has won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, Miranda is still stunned by the musical's latest achievement.
"It's unbelievable - it's absolutely humbling and incredible," he says after the nominations were announced on early Tuesday, May 3. "Let's put this in perspective," he tells USA Today. "I've been lucky to have had years when having one nomination was an incredible thing. To have 16? That's almost too much to frigging process." The composer and actor won a Tony back in 2008 for his score for "In the Heights".
"Hamilton", which is a story about the life and death of Alexander Hamilton, is popular for blending contemporary music and traditional musical theater with a multiethnic cast. "When I had the idea, I did say to myself, 'I can't believe no one's done this yet,' because it felt to me like a good idea - Hamilton's life was uniquely suited to the things that are my strengths: hip-hop and musical-theater storytelling," he says to New York Times in a phone interview.
With 16 nominations, "Hamilton" is almost guaranteed to take home at least one if not many trophies at the June 12 event. However, Miranda said he has not prepared an acceptance speech. "I can tell you that my wife is wearing a kick-(butt) dress by a young Dominican designer," he says. "Other than that, I haven't figured anything out."
The complete nominations of this year's Tony Awards can be seen on the official site.
