“Once” Dominates the Tony Awards

Tonight, the best of Broadway was celebrated on the 66th Annual Tony Awards hosted by the always brilliant Neil Patrick Harris. He, and the show, were excellent with wonderful performances from all the nominated musicals (big ups to Newsies, Once, Ghost, Follies, Porgy & Bess and Ricky Martin with Evita for my favorite numbers) and clips from the nominated plays. The musical adaptation of the Oscar-winning film Once was the big winner with 7 trophies included Best Musical and Best Actor for Steve Kazee who had the best and most emotional speech of the night. Audra MacDonald also gave a very emotional and lovely speech as she won her 5th Tony for Porgy which also won best Revival of a Musical. Taking the Featured Actor in a Musical wins were Nice Work if You Can Get It stars Judy Kaye and Michael McGrath… On the play side, Clybourne Park took home best play while best revival went to Death of a Salesman and its lauded director Mike Nichols. Other big winners included the wonderful Judith Light for Featured Actress in a Play, Smash’s Christan Borle for Featured Actor in a Play, Nina Arianda for Lead Actress in a Play and the hilarious James Corden for Lead Actor in a Play. Take a look at all the winners below and head to the Tony website for more on this fantastic show and the wonderful theatre of Broadway.

2012 Tony Award Winners~

Best Musical
Nominees: Leap of Faith; Newsies; Nice Work if You can Get it; Once
WINNER: Once

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Nominees: Audra McDonald (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess); Cristin Milioti (Once); Kelli O’Hara (Nice Work If You Can Get It); Laura Osnes (Bonnie & Clyde)
WINNER: Audra McDonald (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Nominees: Nina Arianda (Venus in Fur); Tracie Bennett (End of the Rainbow); Stockard Channing (Other Desert Cities); Linda Lavin (The Lyons); Cynthia Nixon (Wit)
WINNER: Nina Arianda (Venus in Fur)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Nominees: James Corden (One Man, Two Guvnors); Philip Seymour Hoffman (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman); James Earl Jones (Gore Vidal’s The Best Man); Frank Langella (Man and Boy); John Lithgow (The Columnist)
WINNER: James Corden (One Man, Two Guvnors)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Nominees: Danny Burstein (Follies); Jeremy Jordan (Newsies); Steve Kazee (Once); Norm Lewis (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess); Ron Raines (Follies)
WINNER: Steve Kazee (Once)

Best Revival of a Musical
Nominees: Evita; Follies; The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; Jesus Christ Superstar
WINNER: The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess

Best Play
Nominees: Clybourne Park, Other Desert Cities, Peter and the Starcatcher; Venus in Fur

WINNER: Clybourne Park
Best Revival of a Play
Nominees: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman; Gore Vidal’s The Best Man; Master Class; Wit
WINNER: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Best Original Score
Nominees: Bonnie & Clyde (music by Frank Wildhorn and Lyrics by Don Black; Newsies (Music by Alan Menken and Lyrics by Jack Feldman); One Man, Two Guvnors (Music & Lyrics by Grant Olding); Peter and the Starcatcher (Music by Wayne Barker and Lyrics by Rick Elice)
WINNER: Newsies (Music by Alan Menken and Lyrics by Jack Feldman)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Nominees: Elizabeth A. Davis (Once); Jayne Houdyshell (Follies); Judy Kaye (Nice Work If You Can Get It); Jessie Mueller (On a Clear Day You Can See Forever); Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Ghost the Musical)
WINNER: Judy Kaye (Nice Work If You Can Get It)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Nominees: Michael Cumpsty (End of the Rainbow); Tom Edden (One Man, Two Guvnors); Andrew Garfield (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman); Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park)
WINNER: Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher)
Best Direction of a Play

Nominees: Nicholas Hytner (One Man, Two Guvnors); Pam MacKinnon (Clybourne Park); Mike Nichols (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman); Roger Rees and Alex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher)
WINNER: Mike Nichols (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman)

Best Direction of a Musical
Nominees: Jeff Calhoun (Newsies); Kathleen Marshall (Nice Work if You Can Get It); Diane Paulus (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess); John Tiffany (Once)
WINNER: John Tiffany (Once)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Nominees: Linda Emond (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman); Spencer Kayden (Don’t Dress for Dinner); Celia Keenan-Bolger (Peter and the Starcatcher); Judith Light (Other Desert Cities); Condola Rashad (Stick Fly)
WINNER: Judith Light (Other Desert Cities)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Nominees: Phillip Boykin (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess); Michael Cerveris (Evita); David Alan Grier (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess); Michael McGrath (Nice Work If You Can Get It); Josh Young (Jesus Christ Superstar)
WINNER: Michael McGrath (Nice Work If You Can Get It)

Best Choreography
Nominees: Rob Ashford (Evita); Christopher Gattelli (Newsies); Steven Hoggett (Once); Kathleen Marshall (Nice Work If You Can Get It)
WINNER: Christopher Gattelli (Newsies)

Best Orchestration
Nominees: William David Brohn and Christopher Jahnke (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess); Bill Elliott (Nice Work If You Can Get It); Martin Lowe (Once); Danny Troob (Newsies)
WINNER: Martin Lowe (Once)

Best Book of a Musical
Nominees: Newies (Harvey Fierstein); Nice Work if You can Get it (Joe DiPietro); Once (Edna Walsh); Lysistrata Jones (Douglas Carter Beane)
WINNER: Once (Edna Walsh)

Best Costume Design of a Play
Nominees: William Ivey Long (Don’t Dress for Dinner); Paul Tazewell (A Streetcar Named Desire); Mark Thompson (One Man, Two Guvnors); Paloma Young (Peter and the Starcatcher)
WINNER: Paloma Young (Peter and the Starcatcher)

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Nominees: John Lee Beatty (Other Desert Cities); Daniel Ostlin (Clybourne Park); Mark Thompson (One Man, Two Guvnors); Donyale Werle (Peter and the Starcatcher)
WINNER: Donyale Werle (Peter and the Starcatcher)

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Nominees: Bob Crowley (Once); Rob Howell and Jon Driscoll (Ghost the Musical); Tobin Obst and Sven Ortel (Newsies); George Tsypin (Spider-Man Turn off the Dark)
WINNER: Bob Crowley (Once)

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Nominees: Gregg Barnes (Follies); ESosa (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess); Eiko Ishioka (Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark); Martin Pakledinaz (Nice Work If You Can Get It)
WINNER: Gregg Barnes (Follies)

Best Sound Design of a Play
Nominees: Paul Arditti (One Man, Two Guvnors); Scott Lehrer (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman), Gareth Owen (End of the Rainbow), Darron L. West (Peter and the Starcatcher)
WINNER: Darron L. West (Peter and the Starcatcher)

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Nominees: Acme Sound Partners (The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess); Clive Goodwin (Once), Kai Harada (Follies); Brian Ronan (Nice Work If You Can Get It)
WINNER: Clive Goodwin (Once)

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Nominees: Jeff Croiter (Peter and the Starcatcher); Peter Kaczorowski (The Road to Mecca); Brian MacDevitt (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman); Kenneth Posner (Other Desert Cities)
WINNER: Jeff Croiter (Peter and the Starcatcher)

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Nominees: Christopher Akerlind (The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess); Natasha Katz (Follies); Natasha Katz (Once); Hugh Vastone (Ghost the Musical)
WINNER: Natasha Katz (Once)

Actor’s Equity Association Award
WINNER: Hugh Jackman
Isabelle Stevenson Award
WINNER: Bernadette Peters
Regional Theater Award
WINNER: Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, D.C.
Special Tony Award For Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
WINNER: Emanuel Azenberg

The Book of Mormon preaches at the Tony Award Nominations

The incredibly funny and totally awesome new musical from the creators of South Park, The Book of Mormon, led the Tony Award nominations this morning with a big 14 nods including Best Musical. The big surprise though was the now closed musical The Scottsboro Boys which came close behind with 12 nominations. Those two shows will compete against Catch Me if You Can and Sister Act for Best Musical while Good People, Jerusalem, The Motherfucker with the Hat and War Horse will square off for Best Play…. This year the acting nominees were a little less starry than last year when movie stars Scarlett Johanson, Viola Davis, Alfred Molina and Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Catharine Zeta Jones were among the winners. Instead we have only one three big  movie stars, Oscar winners Al Pacino, Vanessa Redgrave and Frances McDormand in the running, but several notable TV vets are up for awards including Emmy winners John Laroquette (Night Court), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Bobby Cannavale (Will & Grace) plus John Benjamin Hickey (The Big C), Judith Light (Ugly Betty) and screen vets Ellen Barkin and Billy Crudup…. Some big surprises were the omission of Priscilla Queen of the Desert in the Best Musical category and no Harry Potter, ahem, Daniel Radcliffe (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) in Best Actor Musical…. Check out the full list of nominations below… and head to Broadway in NYC before June 5th to see all the nominees.

Best Play
“Good People”
“Jerusalem”
“The Motherf**ker With the Hat”
“War Horse”

Best Musical
“The Book of Mormon”
“Catch Me If You Can”
“The Scottsboro Boys”
“Sister Act”

Best Book of a Musical
Alex Timbers, “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”
Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone, “The Book of Mormon”
David Thompson, “The Scottsboro Boys”
Cheri Steinkellner, Bill Steinkellner, and Douglas Carter Beane, “Sister Act”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
“The Book of Mormon,” music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone
“The Scottsboro Boys,” music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb
“Sister Act,” music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater
“Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” music and lyrics by David Yazbek

Best Revival of a Play
“Arcadia”
“The Importance of Being Earnest”
“The Merchant of Venice”
“The Normal Heart”

Best Revival of a Musical
“Anything Goes”
“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
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
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 Leading Role in a Musical
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 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 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 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
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 Play
Todd Rosenthal, “The Motherf**ker With the Hat”
Rae Smith, “War Horse”
Ultz, “Jerusalem”
Mark Wendland, “The Merchant of Venice”

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

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Tim Chappel and 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 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 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 Play
Acme Sound Partners and Cricket S. Myers, “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo”
Simon Baker, “Brief Encounter”
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, “Jerusalem”
Christopher Shutt, “War Horse”

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”

Best Direction of a Play
Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, “War Horse”
Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, “The Normal Heart”
Anna D. Shapiro, “The Motherf**ker With the Hat”
Daniel Sullivan, “The Merchant of Venice”

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 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 and Larry Blank, “Catch Me If You Can”

Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-Competitive Categories

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Athol Fugard
Philip J. Smith

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Lookingglass Theatre Company (Chicago)

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