Just nabbed these off Oh No They Didn’t. I haven’t been following the Broadway scene this year and thus, don’t know if it’s a good list or a bad list:
Best Musical
Cry-Baby
Producer: Adam Epstein, Allan S. Gordon, Élan V. McAllister, Brian Grazer, James P. MacGilvray, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Anne Caruso, Adam S. Gordon, Latitude Link, The Pelican Group, Philip Morgaman, Andrew Farber/Richard Mishaan
In The Heights
Producers: Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Jill Furman, Sander Jacobs, Goodman/Grossman, Peter Fine, Everett/Skipper
Passing Strange
Producers: The Shubert Organization, Elizabeth Ireland McCann LLC, Bill Kenwright, Chase Mishkin, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, Broadway Across America, Emily Fisher Landau, Peter May, Boyett Ostar, Larry Hirschhorn, Janet Pailet/Steve Klein, Elie Hirschfeld/Jed Bernstein, Spring Sirkin/Ruth Hendel, Vasi Laurence/Pat Flicker Addiss, Wendy Federman/Jackie Barlia Florin, Joey Parnes, The Public Theater, The Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Xanadu
Producers: Robert Ahrens, Dan Vickery, Tara Smith/B. Swibel, Sarah Murchison/Dale Smith
Best Book of a Musical
Cry-Baby
Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan
In The Heights
Quiara Alegría Hudes
Passing Strange
Stew
Xanadu
Douglas Carter Beane
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Cry-Baby
Music & Lyrics: David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger
In The Heights
Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
The Little Mermaid
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater
Passing Strange
Music: Stew and Heidi Rodewald
Lyrics: Stew
Best Revival of a Play
Boeing-Boeing
Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Boyett, Act Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert G. Bartner, The Weinstein Company, Susan Gallin/Mary Lu Roffe, Broadway Across America, Tulchin/Jenkins/DSM, The Araca Group
The Homecoming
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jam Theatricals, Ergo Entertainment, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, Michael Gardner, Herbert Goldsmith Productions, Terry E. Schnuck, Harold Thau, Michael Filerman/Lynne Peyser, Ronald Frankel/David Jaroslawicz, Love Bunny Entertainment
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy
Macbeth
Producers: Duncan C. Weldon & Paul Elliott, Jeffrey Archer, Bill Ballard, Terri & Timothy Childs, Rodger Hess, David Mirvish, Adriana Mnuchin, Emanuel Azenberg, BAM, The Chichester Festival Theatre
Best Revival of a Musical
Grease
Producers: Paul Nicholas and David Ian, Nederlander Presentations Inc., Terry Allen Kramer, Robert Stigwood
Gypsy
Producers: Roger Berlind, The Routh-Frankel-Baruch-Viertel Group, Roy Furman, Debra Black, Ted Hartley, Roger Horchow, David Ian, Scott Rudin, Jack Viertel
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten, Bob Boyett
Sunday in the Park with George
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy, Bob Boyett, Debra Black, Jam Theatricals, Stephanie P. McClelland, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Barbara Manocherian/Jennifer Manocherian, Ostar Productions, The Menier Chocolate Factory/David Babani
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Ben Daniels, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
Rufus Sewell, Rock ‘n’ Roll
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Eve Best, The Homecoming
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County
Kate Fleetwood, Macbeth
S. Epatha Merkerson, Come Back, Little Sheba
Amy Morton, August: Osage County
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George
Lin-Manuel Miranda, In The Heights
Stew, Passing Strange
Paulo Szot, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kerry Butler, Xanadu
Patti LuPone, Gypsy
Kelli O’Hara, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Faith Prince, A Catered Affair
Jenna Russell, Sunday in the Park with George
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Bobby Cannavale, Mauritius
Ra√∫l Esparza, The Homecoming
Conleth Hill, The Seafarer
Jim Norton, The Seafarer
David Pittu, Is He Dead?
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Sinead Cusack, Rock ‘n’ Roll
Mary McCormack, Boeing-Boeing
Laurie Metcalf, November
Martha Plimpton, Top Girls
Rondi Reed, August: Osage County
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange
Danny Burstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Robin De Jes√∫s, In The Heights
Christopher Fitzgerald, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
de’Adre Aziza, Passing Strange
Laura Benanti, Gypsy
Andrea Martin, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Olga Merediz, In The Heights
Loretta Ables Sayre, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Peter McKintosh, The 39 Steps
Scott Pask, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Todd Rosenthal, August: Osage County
Anthony Ward, Macbeth
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
David Farley and Timothy Bird & The Knifedge Creative Network, Sunday in the Park with George
Anna Louizos, In The Heights
Robin Wagner, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Michael Yeargan, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Best Costume Design of a Play
Gregory Gale, Cyrano de Bergerac
Rob Howell, Boeing-Boeing
Katrina Lindsay, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Peter McKintosh, The 39 Steps
Best Costume Design of a Musical
David Farley, Sunday in the Park with George
Martin Pakledinaz, Gypsy
Paul Tazewell, In The Heights
Catherine Zuber, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Kevin Adams, The 39 Steps
Howard Harrison, Macbeth
Donald Holder, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Ann G. Wrightson, August: Osage County
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Ken Billington, Sunday in the Park with George
Howell Binkley, In The Heights
Donald Holder, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Natasha Katz, The Little Mermaid
Best Sound Design of a Play
Simon Baker, Boeing-Boeing
Adam Cork, Macbeth
Ian Dickinson, Rock ‘n’ Roll
Mic Pool, The 39 Steps
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Acme Sound Partners, In The Heights
Sebastian Frost, Sunday in the Park with George
Scott Lehrer, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Dan Moses Schreier, Gypsy
Best Direction of a Play
Maria Aitken, The 39 Steps
Conor McPherson, The Seafarer
Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County
Matthew Warchus, Boeing-Boeing
Best Direction of a Musical
Sam Buntrock, Sunday in the Park with George
Thomas Kail, In The Heights
Arthur Laurents, Gypsy
Bartlett Sher, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Cry-Baby
Andy Blankenbuehler, In The Heights
Christopher Gattelli, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Dan Knechtges, Xanadu
Best Orchestrations
Jason Carr, Sunday in the Park with George
Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman, In The Heights
Stew & Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange
Jonathan Tunick, A Catered Affair
Right about Jim Norton and Conleth Hill. Both were wonderful. Compared to other the years, this musical field looks extremely week to me. I think Disney could come up with the greatest show ever, and the NY critics would turn thumbs down. I think both Young Frankenstein and Little Mermaid were more enjoyable and better theater packages than any of the 4 musical nominees. It’s all political. Daniel Breaker should be in the Best Actor category, not Featured. Kevin Kline absolutely deserved a nomination for Cyrano. I wish all Tony and Oscar voters would follow their hearts and not the critics’ leads, who, as we all know, have their own agenda to push. I would be willing to bet that in 25 years The Little Mermaid will still be making the rounds of theaters. Passing Strange and In The Heights will just be footnotes in musical history.
I was in New York in March and saw “The Seafarer” — Fantastic! Jim Norton and Conleth Hill are outstanding and the direction is overwhelmingly great. I did not see August: Osage County, which appears headed for the big awards in the play categories. But I would love to see “The Seafarer” sneak in with one or two. Norton has a great chance, unless Norton and Hill cancel each other out.
Surprises (for Me)
HUGE SURPRISE: The ‘Into the Wild’-esque snub of A CATERED AFFAIR. Replaced by, of all shows, CRY-BABY (which was called [during previews] by some posters the worst musical of the season [until GLORY DAYS opened]). They even snubbed John Bucchino’s score for… THE LITTLE MERMAID.
AFFAIR did, however, get a few key nods: Best Leading Actor for Tom Wopat, Best Leading Actress for Faith Prince, and Best Orchestrations (Jonathan Tunick).
THE NATHAN LANE SNUB: Was not a snub. I wrote a small thesis a few months before the noms came out about how, this year, the Best Leading Actor spots will go to actors we are surprised by, instead of to Kevin Kline and Nathan Lane and Norbert Leo Butz, who could do these roles in their sleep. And I got each spot right! Yay me!
A ‘STEW’ OF NOMINATIONS: Stew (the creator of PASSING STRANGE) got four nominations for himself! Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score (with Heidi Rodewald), Best Leading Actor (which he didn’t deserve, admittedly), Best Orchestrations (with Heidi Rodewald).
FINAL THOUGHTS: The race looks interesting from this vantage point. The two shows up against each other are PASSING STRANGE and IN THE HEIGHTS. Don’t count out XANADU, which took a notoriously awful movie and turned it into a musical that people were amazed at how good a time they had; unfortunately, the only award it has a chance of winning (and a very good chance) is for Best Book by Douglas Carter Beane. And a musical with only one award winning Best Musical isn’t likely to win.
If I had to pick a winner right now, I’d have to choose IN THE HEIGHTS, which is easier for the voters to digest than PASSING STRANGE, which doesn’t fit into any easy categories.
I’m pretty surprised Cry-Baby got the nominations it got…..
I thought August: Osage County would get a few more acting noms, particularly Jeff Perry and Sally Murphy. But yes, that play has the greatest potential for being make into a great film. If you’re in NY, see this play!
Also congrats to Mary McCormack on her Tony nom for Boeing-Boeing. She was hilarious in the show!
Wow, no James Earl Jones, Anika Noni Rose, Terrance Howard, or Phylicia Rashad…sure the direction stunk, but their performances were the greatest Broadway’s seen in years.
saw FRANKENSTEIN here in Seattle where it premiered. it wasn’t terrific by any stretch, but Andrea Martin was wonderful. the sets were fantastic and Stroman’s choreography was very impressive. i thought the Tony’s would give more notice to LITTLE MERMAID. the general press reaction was snooty…as expected, but a NYT review was very complimentary. similar situation with AIDA–lukewarm reviews and no best musical nod, but it went on to win 4 major awards. incidentally, anyone know what’s happening with the movie of AIDA? last i heard Beyonce was being touted for the lead. bad move. Heather Headley would rule. and Hugh Jackman could finally make a musical.
Only one person can decide the fate of a Tony nominee …
Cubby Bernstein
I’m hoping XANADU beats the overrated and dull IN THE HEIGHTS.
Nathan Lane in a well reviewed performance was a snub. Big one.
Well, I can’t take the Tony’s seriously especially when there’s no award for performances for long running shows. (Ummm…I just want to see Clay Aiken in the Tonys). Despite the Lukewarm reviews, Xanadu did well.
There is no real shock in the lack of love for Young Frankenstein, it was a complete critical mess.
Also, Laura Linney hadn’t been getting great reviews; I checked in to see how she would go and, while she wasn’t hated, it wasn’t great.
But anyway, to bring it back to the movies. If we’re looking for future potential, I guess that August:Osage County might be up for filming; from what I gather it’s a pretty straight up family drama that’s already got the Pulitzer and is the definite favourite for the Tony. Something to look out for.
I’d also just like to mention Eve Best. This is apparently her second nomination in two years, for her only two performances on Broadway, prior to that she got the Olivier for Hedda Gabler, as well as massive praise. Although she has only done a few bits of British TV, and doesn’t seem to have anything lined up, she certainly seems to be a real acting talent, and again something to look out for in the future.
Aside from all that, meh.
To be perfectly honest, the nominations don’t really matter because we all know whether we like it or not, In The Heights is going to sweep the Tony’s.
No Laura Linney for Les Liaisons Dangereuses? Boo!!!
She’s been getting great reviews, too.
I expected Kevin Kline to get in for Cyrano and Sutton Foster to sneak in for Young Frankenstein.
In case you don’t follow-here are the BIG snubs!: No Nathan Lane for November. Co-star Laurie Metcalf got nominated, but he got over-looked.
NO Big Award Noms for YOUNG FRANKENSTIEN. Mel Brooks last two Musicals swept noms, but this one got overlooked for crappies like Xanadu! I would cry in my pillow if I was in that cast. It must be terrible. Suprise: No Christine Baranski for Beoing, Beoing. Love her.