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'Hamilton' Sets New Record With 16 Tony Award Nominations

Updated May 4, 2016: 3:45 p.m.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The megahit musical "Hamilton'' has grabbed a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations, the biggest haul in Broadway history and another notch in the show's march into theatrical history.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop-flavored biography about the first U.S. treasury secretary on Tuesday broke the 15-nominations record held by "The Producers'' and "Billy Elliot.''

More On The 2016 Tony Awards | Click Here For The Complete List Of Nominees

"Hamilton'' earned seven acting nominations -- Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson and Renee Elise Goldsberry. It also earned nominations for scenic design, costumes, lighting design, direction, choreography, orchestrations, best book and best original score.

Next month, it will compete for Broadway's biggest crown of best new musical with "Bright Star,'' "School of Rock,'' "Shuffle Along'' and "Waitress.''

"Shuffle Along" scored a total of 10 nominations, even though it was the last musical to open this season. "Bright Star" earned five nominations while "Waitress" and "School of Rock" earned four nominations each.

The other top nominations went to the revival of "She Loves Me,'' which earned eight.

The best play category is composed of Danai Gurira's "Eclipsed,'' Floria Zeller's "The Father,'' Stephen Karam's "The Humans'' and Mike Bartlett's "King Charles III.''

There were a few surprises, including only one small nod each for "Tuck Everlasting,'' a well-reviewed musical based on the 1975 young adult book by Natalie Babbitt, and "On Your Feet!,'' the musical that follows the lives of Gloria and Emilio Estefan.

There is also talk about who was snubbed from the coveted awards, including Audra McDonald for her role in "Shuffle Along," despite having six Tony's under her belt, and Grammy and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson for her role in "The Color Purple," CBS2's Jill Nicolini reported.

"The 16 nominations for "Hamilton" mean a lot for theater overall," Tom Melcher, founder and CEO of Show-Score told CBSNewYork.com.

""Hamilton" is bringing so many new people to the theater, and on Show-Score we're finding that once they have posted their review of Hamilton, or simply read about the show, they want to learn more about what else they should see.  The Tony nominations have done something similar – "Hamilton" is grabbing the headlines, but it's making more people than ever interested in discovering what else is on Broadway.  This year's Tony nominations are fantastic for theater as a whole – a once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow the fan base," said Melcher.

"Hamilton" has already won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, a Grammy, the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History and a MacArthur Foundation "genius'' grant.

The Tony Awards will be handed out June 12, with James Corden playing host from the Beacon Theatre.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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