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SpeakEasy, Huntington lead Norton Award nominations honoring excellence in theater

The Huntington Theatre Company's "The Bluest Eye" received seven Elliot Norton Award nominations, including a best actress nod for Hadar Busia-Singleton (center).T Charles Erickson

SpeakEasy Stage Company and the Huntington Theatre Company led the nominees for the Elliot Norton Awards announced Monday by the Boston Theater Critics Association.

SpeakEasy dominated midsize theaters with 19 nominations, while the Huntington led large theaters with 14 nods. Among small or fringe theaters, Gloucester Stage Company netted eight nominations and Moonbox Productions six. (Some award categories, including best musical, blend all the theater tiers.) Among the most nominated productions were the Huntington’s “The Bluest Eye,” with seven, Moonbox’s “Passing Strange,” SpeakEasy’s “Once on This Island,” and Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s “The Tempest.”

The association also announced that actor John Douglas Thompson will receive the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence. Thompson, who has deep roots in New England theater, starred as Prospero in last summer’s production of “The Tempest” on Boston Common, a role for which he is also nominated for best actor/large theater.

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John Douglas Thompson will receive the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence at the awards ceremony May 23.SARAHBETH MANEY/NYT

The winners will be announced May 23 at a virtual ceremony. Details on how to view the event will be available soon at www.elliotnortonawards.com.

The following are this year’s nominees:

Outstanding Musical Production

“Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

“All Is Calm,” Greater Boston Stage Company

“Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions

Outstanding Production by a Large Theater

“The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company

“The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company

“Macbeth in Stride,” American Repertory Theater

Outstanding Production by a Midsize Theater

“The Sound Inside,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

“BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

“People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Outstanding Production by a Small or Fringe Theater

“Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company

“Seared,” Gloucester Stage Company

“The Importance of Being Earnest,” Apollinaire Theatre Company

Outstanding Ensemble, Large Theater

“The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company

“The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company

“Teenage Dick,” Huntington Theatre Company

Outstanding Ensemble, Midsize Theater

“Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

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“People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

“BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Outstanding Ensemble, Small or Fringe Theater

“Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company

“The Importance of Being Earnest,” Apollinaire Theatre Company

“Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions

Outstanding Solo Performance

Maurice Emmanuel Parent, “Mr. Parent,” Lyric Stage Company of Boston

Jasmine M. Rush, “Queens Girl in the World,” The Nora, The Front Porch Arts Collective and The Hangar Theater at Central Square Theater

Karen MacDonald, “At Wit’s End,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre

Outstanding Direction for a Large Theater

Steven Maler, “The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company

Awoye Timpo, “The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company

Moritz von Stuelpnagel, “Teenage Dick,” Huntington Theatre Company

Outstanding Direction for a Midsize Theater

David R. Gammons, “People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Pascale Florestal, “Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Tonasia Jones, “BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Outstanding Direction for a Small or Fringe Theater

Lyndsay Allyn Cox, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company

Kiki Samko, “A Grinchley Christmas Carol,” Gold Dust Orphans

Danielle Fauteux Jacques, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Apollinaire Theatre Company

Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actor

Jared Troilo, “The Last Five Years,” Lyric Stage Company of Boston

Anthony Pires Jr., “Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions

Ivan C. Walks, “Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions

Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actress

Peli Naomi Woods, “Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Whitney White, “Macbeth in Stride,” American Repertory Theater

Maria Hendricks, “Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions

Outstanding Performance by an Actor for a Large Theater

John Douglas Thompson, “The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company

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Michael Underhill, “Witch,” Huntington Theatre Company

Brian D. Coats, “The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company

Outstanding Performance by an Actress for a Large Theater

Shannon DeVido, “Teenage Dick,” Huntington Theatre Company

Hadar Busia-Singleton, “The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company

McKenzie Frye, “The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company

Outstanding Performance by an Actress for a Midsize Theater

Jennifer Rohn, “The Sound Inside,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Marianna Bassham, “People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Maureen Keiller, “Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” Greater Boston Stage Company

Outstanding Performance by an Actor for a Midsize Theater

Nathan Malin, “The Sound Inside,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Nael Nacer, “The Merchant of Venice,” Actors’ Shakespeare Project

Sharmarke Yusuf, “BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Outstanding Performance by an Actress for a Small or Fringe Theater

Celeste Oliva, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company

Abigail Erdelatz, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Apollinaire Theatre Company

Emma Laird, “Romeo and Juliet,” Apollinaire Theatre Company

Outstanding Performance by an Actor for a Small or Fringe Theater

Nael Nacer, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” Gloucester Stage Company

Malcolm Ingram, “Reparations,” Gloucester Stage Company

Jordan Pearson, “Seared,” Gloucester Stage Company

Outstanding New Script

“Mr. Parent,” by Melinda Lopez with Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Lyric Stage Company of Boston

“Macbeth in Stride,” by Whitney White, American Repertory Theater

“Black Bean Project,” by Melinda Lopez and Joél Pérez, Huntington Theatre Company

Outstanding Design for a Large Theater

“The Bluest Eye,” Huntington Theatre Company

“Teenage Dick,” Huntington Theatre Company

“Witch,” Huntington Theatre Company

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Outstanding Design for a Midsize Theater

“People, Places & Things,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

“BLKS,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

“At Wit’s End,” Merrimack Repertory Theatre

Outstanding Musical Direction

David Freeman Coleman, “Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Matthew Stern, “All Is Calm,” Greater Boston Stage Company

Julius LaFlamme, “Passing Strange,” Moonbox Productions

Outstanding Choreography

Jazelynn Goudy, “Once on This Island,” SpeakEasy Stage Company

Peter DiMuro, “Everyday Life and Other Odds and Ends,” Sleeping Weazel, presented by ArtsEmerson

Levi Philip Marsman, “The Tempest,” Commonwealth Shakespeare Company