She may be known for the looks she sends down the runway, but Isabel Toledo has just earnedkudos for her inspired work on Broadway.
The 53-year-old Cuban fashion designer has received her first Tony Award nomination in the category of best costume design for a musical.
“It’s fantastic. The nomination is a big deal,” Toledo told Women’s Wear Daily. “Who expected it?”
Toledo earned the nomination for designing the costumes for After Midnight, a musical ode to the Twenties and such Harlem hot spots as the Cotton Club and the Savoy.
Toledo was recognized for her tailored zoot suits and top hats and tails for the men and glamorous dresses with Swarovski crystal for the women.
“My main objective was to make the garment feel like music. Every dress took into account the music and the choreography. It’s a musical about music. I wanted to give it the memory of jazz, but still keep it alive,” said Toledo, who designed more than 100 costumes for “After Midnight,” which got seven nominations, including Best Musical.
Toledo said her husband Ruben received the phone call Tuesday morning while she was in the shower. “I almost drowned, I was so happy,” said the nominee.
Although she has designed costumes for Twyla Tharp, this is the first time she has designed costumes for a Broadway show.
Toledo is up against Linda Cho for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder,” William Ivey Long for Bullets Over Broadway and Arianne Phillips for Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
The Tonys will take place on June 8 at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
Here’s a look at all the Tony Award nominees:
Best Play
“Act One”
“All the Way”
“Casa Valentina”
“Mothers and Sons”
“Outside Mullingar”
Best Musical
“After Midnight”
“Aladdin”
“Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”
“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
Best Revival of a Play
“The Cripple of Inishmaan”
“The Glass Menagerie”
“A Raisin in the Sun”
“Twelfth Night”
Best Revival of a Musical
“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
“Les Miserables”
“Violet”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Samuel Barnett, “Twelfth Night”
Bryan Cranston, “All the Way”
Chris O’Dowd, “Of Mice and Men”
Mark Rylance, “Richard III”
Tony Shalhoub, “Act One”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Tyne Daly, “Mothers and Sons”
LaTanya Richardson Jackson, “A Raisin in the Sun”
Cherry Jones, “The Glass Menagerie”
Audra McDonald, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”
Estelle Parsons, “The Velocity of Autumn”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Neil Patrick Harris, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Ramin Karimloo, “Les Miserables”
Andy Karl, “Rocky”
Jefferson Mays, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
Bryce Pinkham, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Mary Bridget Davies, “A Night with Janis Joplin”
Sutton Foster, “Violet”
Idina Menzel, “If/Then”
Jesse Mueller, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”
Kelly O’Hara, “The Bridges of Madison County”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, “Casa Valentina”
Paul Chahidi, “Twelfth Night”
Stephen Fry, “Twelfth Night”
Mark Rylance, “Twelfth Night”
Brian J. Smith, “The Glass Menagerie”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Sarah Green, “The Cripple of Inishmaan”
Celia Keenan-Bolger, “The Glass Menagerie”
Sophie Okonedo, “A Raisin in the Sun”
Anika Noni Rose, “A Raisin in the Sun”
Mare Winningham, “Casa Valentina”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein, “Cabaret”
Nick Codero, “Bullets Over Broadway”
Joshua Henry, “Violet”
James M. Iglehart, “Aladdin”
Jarrod Specter, “Bullets Over Broadway”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Linda Emond, “Cabaret”
Lena Hall, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Anika Larson, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”
Adriane Lenox, “After Midnight”
Lauren Worsham, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
Best Direction of a Play
Tim Carroll, “Twelfth Night”
Michael Grandage, “The Cripple of Inishmaan”
Kenny Leon, “A Raisin in the Sun”
John Tiffany, “The Glass Menagerie”
Best Direction of a Musical
Warren Carlyle, “After Midnight”
Michael Mayer, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Leigh Silverman, “Violet”
Darko Tresnjak, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
Best Book of a Musical
Chad Beguelin, “Aladdin”
Douglas McGrath, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”
Woody Allen, “Bullets Over Broadway”
Robert L. Friedman, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater
“Aladdin” (Music: Alan Menkin; Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Begeulin)
“The Bridges of Madison County” (Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown)
“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” (Music: Steven Lutvak; Lyrics: Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak)
“If/Then” (Music: Tom Kitt; Lyrics: Brian Yorkey)
Best Choreography
Warren Carlyle, “After Midnight”
Steven Hoggett and Kelly Devine, “Rocky”
Casey Nicholaw, “Aladdin”
Susan Stroman, “Bullets Over Broadway”
Best Orchestrations
Doug Besterman, “Bullets Over Broadway”
Jason Robert Brown, “The Bridges of Madison County”
Steve Sidwell, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”
Jonathan Tunick, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, “Act One”
Bob Crowley, “The Glass Menagerie”
Es Devlin, “Machinal”
Christopher Oram, “The Cripple of Inishmaan”
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Christopher Barreca, “Rocky”
Julian Crouch, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Alexander Dodge, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
Santo Loquasto, “Bullets Over Broadway”
Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, “Act One”
Michael Krass, “Machinal”
Rita Ryack, “Casa Valentina”
Jenny Tiramani, “Twelfth Night”
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”
William Ivey Long, “Bullets Over Broadway”
Arianne Philips, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Isabel Toledo, “After Midnight”
Best Sound Design of a Play
Alex Baranowski, “The Cripple of Inishmaan”
Steve Canyon Kennedy, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”
Dan Moses Schreier, “Act One”
Matt Tierney, “Machinal”
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski, “After Midnight”
Tim O’Heir, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Mick Potter, “Les Miserables”
Brian Ronan, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, “The Cripple of Inishmaan”
Jane Cox, “Machinal”
Natasha Katz, “The Glass Menagerie”
Japhy Wideman, “Of Mice and Men”
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
Christopher Akerlind, “Rocky”
Howell Binkley, “After Midnight”
Donald Holder, “The Bridges of Madison County”
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Jane Greenwood
Regional Theatre Award
Signature Theatre
Isabelle Stevenson Award
Rosie O’Donnell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Joseph P. Benincasa
Joan Marcus
Charlotte Wilcox