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 The comedy about a would-be heir who must "eliminate" several
distant relatives who stand between him and an inheritance
featured no top-name stars, but beat out several high-profile
new musicals, including "Bullets Over Broadway" and "Rocky,"
which were not nominated for the top prize.
Woody Allen received a nomination for best book of a musical for
writing "Bullets Over Broadway," based on his 1994 film. The
show had five other nominations, most in technical categories.
Other best musical nominees were the Harlem review "After
Midnight," "Aladdin," based on the animated Disney film, and
"Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" about songstress King.
"Gentleman's Guide," which received some of the best reviews of
the season, was written by newcomers Robert Freedman and Steven
Lutvak. It also won nominations for best score, book, scenic
design, costumes, orchestrations, featured actress and leads
Bryce Pinkham and Jefferson Mays, who plays eight characters.
Best play nominees included "Act One," which won a best actor
nomination for Tony Shalhoub, "All the Way," "Casa Valentina,"
"Outside Mullingar" and "Mothers and Sons," whose star Tyne Daly
was cited in the best actress category.
But several Hollywood stars who appeared on Broadway this season
were left out when the nominations were announced by actors
Jonathan Groff and Lucy Liu.
Denzel Washington, James Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Patrick
Stewart, Ian McKellen, Michelle Williams and Zachary Quinto were
all left out. Washington in particular won critical raves for
his performance in "A Raisin in the Sun."
Revivals of "Twelfth Night" and "The Glass Menagerie" received
the most nominations of any Broadway play production, each
garnering seven nods. Other best play revival nominees were "A
Raisin in the Sun" and "The Cripple of Inishmaan."
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Nominated for best musical revival were "Violet," "Hedwig and the
Angry Inch" and "Les Miserables."
Bryan Cranston, known for the hit TV series "Breaking Bad," was
nominated for best actor for his acclaimed performance as President
Lyndon Johnson in "All the Way," as was Neil Patrick Harris for the
punk musical, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
Joining Cranston were Chris O'Dowd for "Of Mice and Men," Samuel
Barnett for "Twelfth Night" and double-Shakespearean revival nominee
Mark Rylance, cited for both "Richard III" as lead actor and
"Twelfth Night" for best featured actor.
Actresses nominated for plays included LaTanya Richard Jackson for
"A Raisin in the Sun," Cherry Jones in "The Glass Menagerie," Audra
McDonald for "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill" and veteran Estelle
Parsons for "The Velocity of Autumn."
Two musicals that received some strong reviews, "The Bridges of
Madison County" based on the film of the same name, and "If/Then,"
were snubbed in the best musical category, though each won a
nomination for their respective lead actresses, Kelli O'Hara and
Idina Menzel.
The 68th Tony awards will be presented on June 8 at Radio City Music
Hall and hosted by stage and film star Hugh Jackman, who made a
surprise appearance on Tuesday to make a pitch for fans to watch the
broadcast.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Paul Simao and Tom Brown)
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