Jessica Lange is among the Minnesotans nominated for 2024 Tony Awards

Jessica Lange was nominated for a Tony Award Tuesday for her portrayal of a mother who wrestles with big family issues such as AIDS and her children’s sexual identity in Paula Vogel’s “Mother Play,” which opened on Broadway April 25.

A two-time Oscar winner (“Tootsie” and “Blue Sky”) who hails from Cloquet, Minn., Lange won a Tony in 2016 for her performance in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” She is among the Minnesotans whose works were recognized by theater’s biggest award.

“Lempicka,” a musical by Minneapolis-based playwright Carson Kreitzer about the Polish Madonna-like painter from a century ago, got three nominations. And two shows backed by Stone Arch Theatricals, a Minneapolis producing company, were also nominated. “Suffs,” Shaina Taub’s voting rights musical that’s been described as a female “Hamilton,” nabbed six nominations. And “The Who’s Tommy,” which Stone Arch Theatricals also co-produced, was nominated for best revival.

“We’re so thrilled,” said Stone Arch Theatricals principal Frances Wilkinson. “It’s gratifying to have these works be recognized.”

“Lempicka” backer Kittie Fahey, who quit her job two years ago to become a full-time producer and is part of FineWomen Productions, was similarly effusive for the recognition of her passion project. “Tamara de Lempicka was such an amazing artist and our team of Carson [Kreitzer] and Matt [Gould] really brought her brilliance to life,” Fahey said.

The two shows with the biggest number of Tony nominations this year both celebrate sonic creativity. “Hell’s Kitchen,” the Alicia Keys musical, and the play “Stereophonic,” about a ‘70s rock band at the edge of stardom, each earned 13 nominations.

A total of 28 shows earned a Tony nod or more, with the musical “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of the beloved S.E. Hinton novel and the Francis Ford Coppola film, earning 12 nominations, and a starry revival of “Cabaret” starring Eddie Redmayne, nabbing nine. “Appropriate,” a play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins — the same playwright who is adapting Prince’s “Purple Rain” for the stage — grabbed eight nominations.

The nominations also marked a smashing of the Tony record for most women named in a single season. The 2022 Tony Awards had held the record for most female directing nominees, with four total across the two races — musical and play. Only 10 women have gone on to win a directing crown.

This year, three women were nominated for best play direction — Lila Neugebauer (“Appropriate”), Anne Kauffman (“Mary Jane”) and Whitney White (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”) — while four were nominated in the musical category — Maria Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along”), Leigh Silverman (“Suffs”), Jessica Stone (“Water for Elephants”) and Danya Taymor (“The Outsiders”).

Rachel McAdams, making her Broadway debut in “Mary Jane,” earned a best actress in a play nomination, while “Succession” star Jeremy Strong, got his first ever nomination, for a revival of “An Enemy of the People” and Liev Schreiber of “Ray Donovan” fame nabbd one for leading “Doubt.” Jessica Lange in “Mother Play,” Sarah Paulson in “Appropriate” and Amy Ryan, who stepped in at the last minute for a revival of “Doubt,” also earned nominations in the best actress in a play category.

“The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons earned a supporting nod for “Mother Play,” and Daniel Radcliffe on his fifth Broadway show, a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” won his first nomination.

Steve Carell failed to secure a nod in his Broadway debut in a poorly received revival of the classic play “Uncle Vanya,” but starry producers who earned Tony nods include Keys, Angelina Jolie (for “The Outsiders”) and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Pakistani Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai (for “Suffs”).

Now marking its 77th year, the Tonys are set to be broadcast June 16 on CBS.

This story contains material from the Associated Press.