Tony Nominees 2011

Matthew Broderick and Anika Noni Rose announce the nominees

Bright and early, that's how all awards nominations are announced. Tony winners Matthew Broderick and Anika Noni Rose, read the names at 8:30 AM. Broderick, who had a very famous run as a movie star in the 80s, actually won his Tony in 1996 for the musical revival of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Sixteen years later, another revival of that same musical opens with another famous young movie actor, the boy wizard himself Daniel Radcliffe. But he wasn't nominated so no history repeating itself this time.

New musicals The Book of Mormon (from the South Park guys), The Scottsboro Boys and the raved revival of Anything Goes with Sutton Foster and Joel Grey (still doing 8 shows a week at 79 years of age) lead the nomination tally with 14, 12 and 9 nominations respectively.

Notable Celebrity Snubs: The Tony nominating committee has gotten a lot of flak over the years for valuing performers with off-stage celebrity over those with impressive Broadway credits. But this year maybe they're slightly working against the FAME trend. Celebrities Robin Williams (Benghal Tiger) and Kathleen Turner (High) were both left off their category's lineups and obviously Harry Potter fans won't be happy to see Radcliffe snubbed. James Earl Jones was also snubbed for his Driving Miss Daisy performance. 

Swenson, Butler and Radcliffe. All snubbed for roles you've seen at the movies!

Stage-Star Snubs: Will Swenson (Priscilla) and Aaron Tveit (Catch Me If You Can) were undone by competing against their co-leads (who were nominated). Future movie star Benjamin Walker, who ruled the nation onstage with huge charisma inBloody Bloody Andrew Jackson should have been recognized. Former Xanadu headliner Kerry Butler, who is always a joy to watch, did not win a nomination for Catch Me If You Can (she was in the Amy Adams role) continuing her rough relationship with Tony. Xanadu aside, she's been snubbed the other three times she's been eligible despite well received work or hit shows. What's that about?

Triple Crown Alerts? None that I see on first run through. Vanessa Redgrave, nominated for Jessica Tandy's Oscar winning Driving Miss Daisy role, already has the Oscar-Emmy-Tony triple. So does Al Pacino who is nominated again for The Merchant of Venice. Frances McDormand, nominated for Good People, only has the Oscar so she'd still need an Emmy if she wins this year's Lead Drama Actress prize.

Sutton Foster Break! I'm sorry but I just l-o-v-e her. Seeing her onstage is always a thrill. Here she is rehearsing with Oscar and Tony winner Joel Grey.

A complete list of nominations is after the jump divvied up into Plays and Musicals.

THE PLAYS

Best Play

• Good People Author: David Lindsay-Abaire 
• Jerusalem Author: Jez Butterworth
• The Motherf**ker with the Hat Author: Stephen Adly Guirgis 
• War Horse Author: Nick Stafford

Best Revival of a Play

• Arcadia
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• The Merchant of Venice
• The Normal Heart

Best Direction of a Play

• Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris War Horse
• Joel Grey & George C. Wolfe The Normal Heart
 
• Anna D. Shapiro, The Motherf**ker with the Hat
• Daniel Sullivan, The Merchant of Venice

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Lot of fine actors here. Pacino last won in 1977. Can he do it again or with the excruciating drama of The Normal Heart carry Mantello to glory. Or maybe Mark Rylance, a sensational actor?

• Brian Bedford, The Importance of Being Earnest
• Bobby Cannavale, The Motherf**ker with the Hat
• Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart
• Al Pacino, The Merchant of Venice
• Mark Rylance, Jerusalem

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Oscar winners McDormand and Redgrave are both up for Best Actress

• Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday
• Frances McDormand, Good People
• Lily Rabe, The Merchant of Venice
• Vanessa Redgrave, Driving Miss Daisy
• Hannah Yelland, Brief Encounter

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

• Mackenzie Crook, Jerusalem
• Billy Crudup, Arcadia
• John Benjamin Hickey, The Normal Heart
• Arian Moayed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
• Yul Vázquez, The Motherf**ker with the Hat

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

• Ellen Barkin, The Normal Heart
• Edie Falco, The House of Blue Leaves
• Judith Light, Lombardi
• Joanna Lumley, La Bête
• Elizabeth Rodriguez, The Motherf**ker with the Hat

Best Scenic Design of a Play

• Todd Rosenthal, The Motherf**ker with the Hat
• Rae Smith, War Horse
• Ultz, Jerusalem
• Mark Wendland, The Merchant of Venice

Best Costume Design of a Play

• Jess Goldstein, The Merchant of Venice
• Desmond Heeley, The Importance of Being Earnest
• Mark Thompson, La Bête
• Catherine Zuber, Born Yesterday

Best Lighting Design of a Play

• Paule Constable, War Horse
• David Lander, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
• Kenneth Posner, The Merchant of Venice
• Mimi Jordan Sherin, Jerusalem

Best Sound Design of a Play

• Acme Sound Partners & Cricket S. Myers, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
• Simon Baker, Brief Encounter
• Ian Dickinson for Autograph, Jerusalem
• Christopher Shutt, War Horse

THE MUSICALS

Best Musical
This was bad news for Priscilla, not placing. But can you believe it's half movies-to-musicals? Should be an easy win for The Book of Mormon given the sales and the hype.

• The Book of Mormon
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Scottsboro Boys
• Sister Act

Best Revival of a Musical
This will be won by Anything Goes I think

• Anything Goes
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Best Direction of a Musical

• Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
• Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon
• Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys

Best Book of a Musical

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Alex Timbers)
• The Book of Mormon (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone)
• The Scottsboro Boys (David Thompson)
• Sister Act (Cheri Steinkellner, Bill Steinkellner and Douglas Carter Beane)

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

• The Book of Mormon (Music & Lyrics: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone )
• The Scottsboro Boys (Music & Lyrics: John Kander and Fred Ebb)
• Sister Act (Music: Alan Menken 
Lyrics: Glenn Slater)
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Love Butz in Catch Me... but might Sheldon win? That Terence Stamp "Bernadette" role in Priscilla is a great one.

• Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
• Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
• Joshua Henry, The Scottsboro Boys
• Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
• Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sutton, Beth and Donna have all won Tony's before. Will Patina Miller in Whoopi Goldberg's singing faux-nun role win? Or maybe Sutton wins her second?

• Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
• Beth Leavel, Baby It's You!
• Patina Miller, Sister Act
• Donna Murphy, The People in the Picture

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

• Colman Domingo, The Scottsboro Boys
• Adam Godley, Anything Goes
• John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Forrest McClendon, The Scottsboro Boys
• Rory O'Malley, The Book of Mormon

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Interesting that two women from a flop made it in. Benanti stole Women on the Verge from everyone but wins don't often come from flops. Tammy Blanchard, recently seen in Rabbit Hole, has an Emmy but lost the Tony last time.

• Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• Tammy Blanchard, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Victoria Clark, Sister Act
• Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon
• Patti LuPone, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

• Beowulf Boritt, The Scottsboro Boys
• Derek McLane, Anything Goes
• Scott Pask, The Book of Mormon
• Donyale Werle, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Three Oscar winners are nominated in this category: Chappel, Gardiner and Anne Roth (who recently did Mildred Pierce)

• Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
• Martin Pakledinaz, Anything Goes
• Ann Roth, The Book of Mormon
• Catherine Zuber, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Best Choreography

• Rob Ashford, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
• Casey Nicholaw, The Book of Mormon
• Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys

Best Orchestrations

• Doug Besterman, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Larry Hochman, The Scottsboro Boys
• Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus, The Book of Mormon
• Marc Shaiman & Larry Blank, Catch Me If You Can

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

• Ken Billington, The Scottsboro Boys
• Howell Binkley, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Peter Kaczorowski, Anything Goes
• Brian MacDevitt, The Book of Mormon

Best Sound Design of a Musical

• Peter Hylenski, The Scottsboro Boys
• Steve Canyon Kennedy, Catch Me If You Can
• Brian Ronan, Anything Goes
• Brian Ronan, The Book of Mormon

SPECIALS

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

• Athol Fugard
• Philip J. Smith

Regional Theatre Tony Award

• Lookingglass Theatre Company (Chicago, Ill.)

Isabelle Stevenson Award

• Eve Ensler

Special Tony Award

• Handspring Puppet Company

Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre

• William Berloni
• The Drama Book Shop
• Sharon Jensen and Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts

Comments

[Peter]

Whoa. As expected, 'Book of Mormon' leads the count... but man, where did all those 'Scottboro Boys' mentions come from!?! I'm more than delighted it got Best Musical nod but all their acting performances were surprises.. Josh Henry over Benjamin Walker AND Daniel Radcliffe!?! If any featured actor from that show was gonna get a nod, I thought for sure it was going to John Cullum- not Colman Domingo AND Forrest MClendon.

The lack of tech nods besides Walker's omission for 'Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson' really bothers me.... the show was practically ALL lighting design..... and on a shallower note, shouldn't Andrew Jackson's skinny jeans got a costume design nod on its own? :P

[Sam C.]

What biting irony that the day Broderick announces the Tony Nominations, and the show HE was his 2nd Tony for, How to Succeed, is up nearly every award it can be, the lead role is snubbed. Poor Daniel Radcliffe...now who's going to win that category?

[Peter]

@ Sam C- I'm banking on Butz winning his second with the 'Mormon' boys splitting their votes.

[Leehee]

I'm actually hoping for a Tony Sheldon win - LOVED him in Priscilla! But really thought Daniel Radcliffe should have at least been nominated...

[Sam C.]

@ Peter - See, I don't think the Mormon men have a chance (co-stars and neither have much of a Broadway pedigree). Henry doesn't have a chance, so suddenly it's Butz vs. Tony Sheldon.

Now I could see one of the Mormon Men winning if they decide to go for a sweeper, or if it's something like when Lloyd Young won. But something is telling me that maybe Sheldon could end up being a favorite.

I'm still shocked neither leads from the revivals managed a spot here.

[Leehee]

Forgot to add - Both Benanti AND LuPone were nominated, and Scott was not, exactly as I had predicted! Benanti is the frontrunner in my eyes - what do you guys think?

[NATHANIEL R]

Leehee -- Benanti was MARVELOUS in that show. But will she win for something that played for like two seconds?

Sam & Peter - I REALLY hope it's Butz. That role could have been such a dud and he just owns the show. He's so so so so great every time. I've been in love with him ever since "The Last Five Years"

[dinasztie]

I met Patina Miller last summer. She was so nice and beautiful.

[Robert G]

Baby, It's You can say it's a Tony Award nominated show now while Wonderland cannot. One of these shows I would have walked out of if the ticket wasn't free; the other I would gladly pay to see the first act of then sneak out at intermission, get a drink, and pop back in for the third and fifth songs of the second act to support a really talented actress in her first leading role.

I'll say the lack of more technical nods for Brief Encounter is shocking. Sound is great, but what about set design and lighting? That show was nothing without the louvered projection screen and mysterious mood lighting. Did those lovely cucumber sandwiches and audience-request post-show sing-a-longs mean nothing to Tony voters?

I'm so happy, however, that Nikki M. James is going to win a Tony Award. What's her competition? Laura Benanti, and her show closed. Victoria Clark and Patti Lupone are nominated on name recognition and good singing alone and Tammy Blanchard got in by having more to work with than the women in Wonderland and The People in the Picture.

[RJ]

I'm becoming such a Nina Arianda fan. I haven't seen her on stage, but she keeps popping up in small roles in film to great effect. Loved her in Win Win.

[Mark]

Kinda sad seeing that they could only muster up four contenders for Leading Actress/Musical. Then again, the field was paper thin, no?

Poor Daniel Radcliffe. This would've been a perfect way for him to start breaking out post-Potter. And I'm sure his people knew that too. And then to have the show be greeted so warmly and have him be the only snub? Yeesh.

Featured Actress/Play looks REALLY interesting.

For some reason, I had it in my head that Brian Bedford would've been placed in Featured not Lead, was this a sudden change? Either way, I doubt he's winning now.

This was a really weak year for musical revivals, usually the one category overflowing with (at least) worthy contenders. And then the two that did make a splash made a REALLY big one. Both nominated in Direction? That's something rare.

Definitely looking forward to this year's show and especially to see what the choices in performances are gonna be. And I wanna predict that Scottsboro Boys upsets the Book of Mormon lovefest but the few scathing negative reviews on the former are a bit hard to ignore.

[NATHANIEL R]

I feel so behind -- i haven't seen so many of these. But it sounds like you have Robert!

although i guess i'm kinda sick of people being so excited about The Book of Mormon when i feel as if it's unlikely i will ever see it. as i'm unwilling to pay full price for shows. i dont have that kind of cash!

[Mark]

I echo your Sutton Foster love. Bitch is free of flaws.

[Troy H]

Does Anika Noni Rose age? I mean, seriously.

At any rate, I would have loved to see "The Scottsboro Boys" considering all the wonderful notices it got, though I have a friend who was less than impressed with it. It does seem like the American Theatre Wing took greater care honor more Broadway performers as opposed to movie stars/celebrities after last year's criticism (I can only imagine what would have been said had Chris Tucker gotten a nod for "The Motherf**cker with the Hat").

[Mark]

No need to ever apologize for that, Nate!

[Peter]

@ Nat, I always try to find discounts to shows and I haven't paid full admission price for a ticket since the early days of 'Wicked'.

Sidenote: Even though Radcliffe didn't get a Tony nod, he did get a MTV Movie nod today... consolation prize? :P

[Gary]

Was Kathy Griffin not eligble for "KATHY GRIFFIN WANTS A TONY" lol

No Kathleen Turner for HIGH?

[Lillie]

Don't forget Lily Rabe is Oscar Nominee Jill Clayburgh's daughter (Jill passed away during the run and she took time off the play.

I was bummed Jessica Walter wasn't nommed for 'Anything Goes' - love her.
Also Estelle Parsons..the women is what 83 and doing 8 shows a week on Broadway and
never won a Tony? Some people I talked to though she would WIN!

[Leehee]

Griffin was not eligible, unfortunately.

Nat - I, too, love Butz (I adore "The Last Five Years"!!) but I really, really, really want Tony Sheldon to win. He won my heart during that show and has owned it ever since!! His Bernadette is such a magnificent creation and worthy of all the praise. It doesn't hurt that I wrote him a fan letter to the theater and he wrote me back less than 5 days later (!!) with the loveliest card and a personalized Playbill..I melted.

[Alex]

I'm sort of shocked at the lack of love for the well-reviewed Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, considering it's star and status as one of last year's Pulitzer finalists, not to mention its fairly high profile director, Moises Kaufman.

No surprise at the Kathleen Turner snub. Closed after 8 performances. It'd be obvious such an obvious case of star-****ing if she still got a nomination after that.

Too bad about Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson not getting more, especially a nod for Benjamin Walker, who I was hoping would win. Looks like the only possible spoiler to upset The Book of Mormon for Best Musical isn't even nominated.

I'm guessing Sutton Foster wins her second, but Butz doesn't. Tony Sheldon, probably.

[Yancey]

Daniel Radcliffe fell victim to the Hunter Foster brigage. I'm sure he's crying himself to sleep with all of his "Harry Potter" gazillons, but still, that's some petty insider politics at play when it shouldn't have been.

And get it, Sutton Foster! Third Tony award time!

Very nice that "The Scottsboro Boys" managed what it did. Is that the highest nod tally ever for a closed show? It's poised to be the biggest loser ever too with "The Book of Mormon" being the juggernaut that it seems to be. Hoping for awesomely crass acceptance speeches from Matt Parker and Trey Stone! Well, as crass as they can get for CBS.

[John T]

I'm so bummed about Estelle Parsons missing out-she was such a crowd-pleaser the night I went, and kept the play going when it dragged at the start.

If Mark Rylance doesn't win, there is no justice-that performance is a towering achievement.

I may have been the only person in New York who saw High, so I gotta say that while Turner was very good, the play was poor and I'm guessing that Tony voters couldn't bother to see something that mundane.

Kerry Butler was only in one big number in Catch Me If You Can, and while she nailed it, it was such a slight role. I heart Aaron Tveit so much, though, that I was hoping he'd sneak in on pipes alone; oh well, it's easy to switch to Team Norbert.

Oh, and are they going with Kathy Griffin to host the thing? I'm sure hoping so.

[Rami]

Joanna Lumley is now a Tony nominee, I love her even if I didn't really love that performance when she did it in London. Happy for Rylance in Jerusalem , probably one of the best things I've seen on stage ever.

[Robert G]

Nathaniel, I see shows the old fashioned way: I beg people for extra tickets. When that fails, I use TKTS or TDF for discounts. Barring that, I'll enter a show's lottery if I'm in the city to research something and if I have money on me, I'll try rushing. My preferred method is to buy late preview period tickets for shows. Everyone always goes for opening night or the last two previews, but the show is normally frozen at least five performances before opening night. So when Wonderland opened on a Sunday, I saw the show Wednesday.

[Joe Reid]

God, that tap number in "Anything Goes" is just the greatest thing in the universe. Cannot recommend it enough, worth the price of admission alone, all the cliches do apply.

I'm sitting vigil for Aaron Tveit and Benjamin Walker today, but really, how stacked was that category? Radcliffe, Colin Donnell, Will Swenson -- you could do a whole separate category with the snubbed and it'd be just as worthy (if SO MUCH cuter).

[NATHANIEL R]

Joe Reid -- point!

Robert -- i use TDF as well but rarely do lotteries. I guess I should. i have won doing that at three shows (wicked, bloody bloody, west side story)

[James]

I really like Sutton Foster but I have such a hard time imagining her playing Reno. From the videos I've seen she has the voice but her interpretation seems just off.

Also, its strange that they chose to nominate Kerry Butler for her (in my opinion) weakest role. She had Hairspray and Little Shop of Horrors both of which were far more worthy than Xanadu.

[RobUK]

Agreed that Mark Rylance is astonishing though of course not seen any of the others. Unless they are the greatest performance to ever hit a stage, then Rylance please!

So thrilled to see Tony Sheldon make it in; he was sensational in that role in London. A bit disappointed it didn't make it into Best Musical. Oh sure, it's beyond jukebox into jukebox-on-shuffle territory, but it still entertained so much more than Sister Act, which I really didn't rate at all. A nice score, but the whole piece didn't sit together that well in London.

Also: why only 2 nominees for Musical Revival? Did only 2 musicals get revived on Broadway in a whole year?!

[/3rtfu11]

Was Chris Rock terrible in The MotherFucker with the Hat?

[Susan P]

Nat, I'm with you on the Sutton Foster love. She's my current celebrity "crush."

She was fantastic in Anything Goes -- it is definitely a different take on the role, but she makes it work.

And I agree with Joe Reid, the tap number was worth the price of admission. Watching it, I felt the real world (and all the troubles that come with it) simply disappear.

[haqyunus]

I am very happy for Vanessa Redgrave's nom! She is been out of the awards circuit for so long. I hope she can carry this momentum for Coriolanus come Oscar time too.

[Nathaniel R]

Susan -- thats' good to hear. i could use troubles sliding away :) must see this show.

[Sam C.]

Are we assuming Butz and Foster are wining the Lead Musical categories? Repeat offenders. And if Benanti takes Featured Actress and Rylace takes Play Actor...we could be looking at a ton of repeat winners.

By the way...without Collum and Grey, WHO is winning Feature Actor in a Musical?