Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON Is Tops At The 2016 Tony Awards, Winning Eleven

Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton had a big night at the 70th annual Tony Awards, picking up 11 awards out of a record 16 nominations. The musical (with a book, lyrics, and music by Miranda) was inspired by the biography Alexander Hamilton (written by Ron Chernow) and is currently playing at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway. The list of nominations for Hamilton are listed below.

Best Musical
(produced by Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman, The Public Theater)

Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Leslie Odom, Jr.)

Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Daveed Diggs)

Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Renée Elise Goldsberry)

Best Book of a Musical (Lin-Manuel Miranda)

Best Original Score (Lin-Manuel Miranda)

Best Direction of a Musical (Thomas Kail)

Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler)

Best Orchestrations (Alex Lacamoire)

Best Costume Design of a Musical (Paul Tazewell)

Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Howell Binkley)

Left to right: Tony winners Andy
Blankenbuehler, Lin-Manuel Miranda,
Thomas Kail, Alex Lacamoire, all of
the musical Hamilton.

In a year where diversity was quite in effect at this year's awards, it was also noteworthy that the four actors in a musical awards (Best Lead Actor in a Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical, Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical) all went to people of color, specifically African Americans– Leslie Odom, Jr.; Cynthia Erivo; Daveed Diggs; and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Erivo's award was for the revival of The Color Purple, while the others were for Hamilton.) In addition, Clint Ramos won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Play for Eclipsed, while The Color Purple won the Best Revival of a Musical Tony Award.

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known informally as the Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre. For more information on this year's winners, click here.