May 13, 2008

'In the Heights' 'So. Pacific' grab most Tony nominees

The Tony Award nominations are now live on the Tony website (oops?) even before the official announcement has been made.

The best play nominees are "August: Osage County," "Rock 'n' Roll," "The Seafarer," and "The 39 Steps." Nominees for best musical are "Cry-Baby," "In The Heights," "Passing Strange," and "Xanadu."

Nominees for best revival of a play are "Boeing-Boeing," "The Homecoming," "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," and "Macbeth." Best revival of a musical nominees are "Grease," "Gypsy," "Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific," and "Sunday in the Park with George."

Corrected: "In the Heights" led the nominations with 13 nods, "South Pacific" received 11; "Sunday in the Park with George got nine; "August: Osage County" "Passing Strange," and "Gypsy" nabbed seven; "Macbeth" "39 Steps" and "Boeing Boing" followed with six. See the show-by-show breakdown. The winners will be announced June 15 at the Tony Awards, which will be hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. Tickets to the ceremony are now on sale.

Among the surprises, "Top Girls" only received one nomination (for Martha Plimpton,) "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" was shut out, Kevin Kline got zilch for "Cyrano de Bergerac," (though the play did get a best costume nod,) and John Waters' poorly reviewed musical "Cry-Baby" played spoiler to Disney's "Little Mermaid" and "Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein," which were both left out of the best-musical category. The reality-show-powered "Grease" slipped into the best revival of a musical category despite horrid reviews. One long-shot that got through was Kate Fleetwood's nomination as best actress for the sexy, power-hungry Lady Macbeth.

(Throughout this story, NewYorkology is providing links to the shows that are still playing Broadway. Others, such as "The Seafarer" and "Rock 'N' Roll," have closed. Here's the links to the official websites for all shows now on Broadway.)

More nominees:

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 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 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 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 direction of a play:

Maria Aitken - The 39 Steps
Conor McPherson - The Seafarer
Anna D. Shapiro - August: Osage County
Matthew Warchus - Boeing-Boeing

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 performance by a featured actor in a musical:

Daniel Breaker - Passing Strange
Danny Burstein - Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Robin De Jesús - In The Heights
Christopher Fitzgerald - The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Boyd Gaines - Gypsy

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 play:

Bobby Cannavale - Mauritius
Raúl Esparza - The Homecoming
Conleth Hill - The Seafarer
Jim Norton - The Seafarer
David Pittu Is He Dead?

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
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

See the Tony website for the remaining nominees.

Image source: Theatre Row sign by Amy Langfield/NewYorkology

Earlier: 'A Catered Affair,' snags 12 Drama Desk nominations
'August,' 'November' among Drama League nominees

May 13, 2008 8:32 AM in Broadway

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