“The Picture of Dorian Gray”, starring Australia’s own Sarah Snook, has picked up a number of Tony Award nominations.
Revealed on Friday morning, the Sydney Theatre Company production scored six nominations, including Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role of a Play for the Adelaide-born star, Best Direction of a Play (Kip Williams), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Marg Horwell and David Bergman), Best Costume Design of a Play (Marg Horwell), Best Lighting Design of a Play (Nick Schlieper) and Best Sound Design of a Play (Clemence Williams).
Based on the 1891 novel by Oscar Wilde, Snook plays 26 characters in the solo play. After launching in Sydney in 2020 – extended twice due to demand and toured nationally – the show moved to the West End in 2024 where Snook won a 2024 Olivier Award for Best Actress, and finally Broadway where it made its debut this past March.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our incredible production and all of the individuals who have created it and bring it to life,” producer of the Broadway production, Michael Cassel, said.
“Sarah Snook’s nomination for her absolutely extraordinary performance is so very well deserved as are the nominations for our entire Australian creative team. The response to this production, be it in Australia, the West End and now Broadway is testament to the creativity, talent and sheer vision of all those involved and is wonderful recognition of Sydney Theatre Company and Kip Williams who took the bold risk of originating such a visionary and daring piece of theatre, right here in Sydney.”
In an interview with Variety, Horgwell discussed the time and effort that goes into Snook’s 26 characters and costume changes, which happen on stage in front of the audience.
“We built a team quite early. A lot of people who do dresses or wigs are not used to being on camera. So we talked about it and we planned it out like a choreography session, and did several sessions with Sarah – maybe five hours, and we ran it on stage,” Horgwell said.
“I love their relationship with her now, because they know each other so well that if something goes wrong. They’ve just got a code where they can tap her on the shoulder and she’ll know that something’s late. Or if she gets ahead of herself, they know how to adjust to her. Sarah’s so good at multitasking in that way that she can keep speaking and still be able to adjust in those moments.”
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is currently scheduled to close on Broadway at the end of June.