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Tony Awards - a 'Hamilton' year, with a Philly subplot

They're being called the "Hamil-Tonys," and a Philly face is in the mix. The Tony Awards, Broadway's biggest night, happen at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. CBS hosts and broadcasts. The production that leads in nominations, with a record 16, is - do we have to say it? - the rap-inflected leviathan Hamilt

They're being called the "Hamil-Tonys," and a Philly face is in the mix.

The Tony Awards, Broadway's biggest night, happen at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. CBS hosts and broadcasts. The production that leads in nominations, with a record 16, is - do we have to say it? - the rap-inflected leviathan Hamilton, written by and starring the master of all universes, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Seven of its actors - seven! - are up for some kind of award, and it is also up for best musical, score, book, choreography, and on into the night.

But watch closely, Philly. For best actor in a musical, Miranda is nominated for his role as Alexander Hamilton. But in the same category, same play, his opposite number, Leslie Odom, Jr., is also there, for the role of Aaron Burr, the self-titled "fool" who ends up blowing Hamilton away in that 1804 shoot-out in Weehawken, N.J.

Odom grew up in East Oak Lane, sang in the choir of the Canaan Baptist Church in Germantown, and went to Masterman. In a December interview with The Inquirer, he spoke of growing up in Philadelphia at a time when "we took it for granted we were supposed to be young and gifted and black." He recalled a "culture of excellence" in which "all my friends were more talented than I was." Like Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Burr is, all at once, the villain, the chorus, and the character who is on stage the most. It is a tour de force, a test of vocal pipes, acting skill, and emotional and physical stamina. In the past white-hot Hamilton year, Odom has truly taken that shot.

As for being in the same category as his friend, Odom has told the Associated Press that he "wouldn't have it any other way. I look in Lin's eyes every single night and I see the truth and the vulnerability that he comes to the stage with."

(If you're looking for a party-spoiler in their category, look at Danny Burstein, who plays Tevye in the revival of Fiddler on the Roof.)

Other productions did very well. Shuffle Along, the 2015-16 version of a 1921 Eubie Blake/Noble Sissle all-African American review, has 10 nominations. The most-nominated nonmusical plays were Eclipsed and The Humans, both with six. Eclipsed also got a best actress nom for Lupita Nyong'o. Among musical revivals, She Loves Me earned eight nominations. Among nonmusical revivals, Long Day's Journey into Night earned seven, including a best actress nom for Jessica Lange.

jt@phillynews.com

215-854-4406 @jtimpane