The 2016 Tony Nominations Felt The Hamilton Love & Put The Oscars To Shame

The nominations for the 2016 Tony Awards were announced this morning, and, unsurprisingly, Hamilton dominated. Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking production about the "$10 Founding Father" got 16 nominations, breaking the record for most held by a musical. Hamilton, naturally, was nominated for Best Musical, and seven of its performers, including Miranda, were honored. Given that Hamilton's cast is largely made up of people of color, this means that the Tonys already did far better than this year's Oscars in honoring diverse performers. But the show did not carry that burden alone. 14 actors of color were nominated this year — including some names you might know from film and TV. Lupita Nyong'o was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her work in Eclipsed, a play by The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira about Liberian women. Start the Nyong'o EGOT-watch now. The play has a black female cast, writer, and director. Gurira and director Liesl Tommy were also nominated, along with Nyong'o's featured co-stars, Pascale Armand and Saycon Sengbloh. Meanwhile, Orange Is The New Black's Danielle Brooks scored a nomination for Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for the revival of The Color Purple. Her co-star Cynthia Erivo — whom you need to hear sing — was honored as an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. And that just scratches the surfaces. Twitter users have been applauding this year's choices.

Nominations also went to Sara Bareilles' Waitress, which is the "first Broadway musical in history to have four women in the four top creative team spots," and the revival of Spring Awakening, which features deaf cast members. You can read the full list of nominations here.