Kara Young could make Tony Awards history — again — with a nomination for ‘Purpose’

Last year, Broadway shining star Kara Young made Tony Awards history. Her nomination for the play Purlie Victorious was her third in as many years, as she previously received recognition for The Cost of Living and Clyde’s. Her 2024 nomination marked the first time a Black performer earned three consecutive Tony bids, and she went on to win the award.

Never one to leave the boards for long, Young has returned to Broadway this spring in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ family drama Purpose, in which she stars as Aziza, a queer woman who finds herself embroiled in a particularly chaotic evening at the home of the influential Jasper family. If nominated this year, Young could extend her historic record with a fourth consecutive nomination, the most ever for a Black performer. Only Laurie Metcalf has earned this many nominations in a row, for Misery, A Doll’s House Part 2, Three Tall Women, and Hillary and Clinton.

Young’s prior three nominations were all in the Featured Actress category, and a fourth this year would place her among very impressive company. A bid for Purpose would make her one of only three actresses with four or more nominations in the history of the category, alongside Dana Ivey (Heartbreak House, The Last Night in Ballyhoo, The Rivals, Butley) and Celia Keenan-Bolger (Peter and the Starcatcher, The Glass Menagerie, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mother Play) with four each. Young would be the fastest of the trio to accomplish this feat, too, as it took Ivey 23 years and Keenan-Bolger 12 years to amass their four bids. Young would be only one additional nomination away from tying the all-time Featured Actress record of five set by Frances Sternhagen (The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, The Good Doctor, Equus, The Heiress, Morning’s at Seven).

SEE Tony Talk: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ ‘Purpose’ comes storming into the race

If Young ultimately wins again, she would tie the all-time record for the most-ever victories in this category. Six women have won two Featured Actress in a Play awards: Christine Baranski (The Real Thing, Rumors), Judith Ivey (Steaming, Hurlyburly), Swoosie Kurtz (Fifth of July, The House of Blue Leaves), Judith Light (Other Desert Cities, The Assembled Parties), Audra McDonald (Master Class, A Raisin in the Sun), and Sternhagen (The Good Doctor, The Heiress). Young would be just the second to win two consecutively, too, as Light won back-to-back in 2012 and 2013.

How likely is it that Young will be nominated and even win the Tony this year?

Overall, Purpose received stellar reviews, and many critics singled out Young’s performance. As Adam Feldman wrote in Time Out New York, “Young is enormously vibrant and sympathetic in the role; one of the great pleasures of the past few years has been watching her Broadway star ascend.” Naveen Kumar of The Washington Post said, “Young plays Aziza’s starstruck reverence and sobering disillusionment with the oddball appeal that’s become the actor’s signature.” Zachary Stewart of Theatermania described her as “the undisputed champion of nervous charm. Her anxiety is relatable and even lovable as she finds herself suddenly among the Black aristocracy wondering if a little bit of their excellence might rub off on her future child.”

Young not only has the backing of critics, but also Gold Derby’s combined odds. She leads our Featured Actress predictions by a large margin of folks predicting her for both a nomination and a win. Ten of our 11 theater experts are predicting Young to be nominated, and five of them expect her to ultimately win. As Gold Derby discussed in our Tony Talk column, we are predicting Young to be nominated, too.

SEE our interview with Gabby Beans, 'Romeo + Juliet' star

Her nomination has long looked assured, but Young’s win potential increased slightly when the Tony administration committee ruled that one of her costars, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, would compete in Best Actress instead of Featured Actress, avoiding a potential vote split amongst supporters of Purpose. While the excellent Alana Arenas could also earn a nomination in this category for her scene-stealing work as the exasperated daughter-in-law of the Jasper family, she currently ranks 17th in our combined predictions.