Jeremy Jordan & Cast of "Newsies". Photo by Deen van Meer.
[Fully updated as of 9:50am] Extra! Extra! Those Newsies have something to shout about…that they got beat! In a surprise, it’s their main competition Once that took the most 2012 Tony nominations with a pack leading 11 nods. But Newsies is still an odds-on favorite with strong support in major categories.
One of the most competitive seasons in recent memory has finally come to a close so let’s take a look (including my two cents on most of the categories):
Best Play
Clybourne Park
Other Desert Cities
Peter and the Starcatcher
Venus in Fur
[Biggest Snub: The Lyons from longtime Off-Broadway favorite Nicky Silver and the British farce sensation One Man, Two Guvnors. I think it’s a two way race between first two choices but Peter showed surprising strength across the board. They love them some theater-y theater.]
Best Musical
Leap of Faith
Newsies
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Once
[Biggest Snub: Some were pulling mighty hard for Spider-Man to get a nod for surviving the worst preview period in Broadway history. Biggest Save: This just might help keep Leap of Faith from closing early. It’s a two show race though between Once and Newsies — and as in year’s past it’s rousing tourable show vs. arty underdog.]
Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Don’t Dress for Dinner
Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Master Class
Wit
[Biggest Snub: A Streetcar Named Desire. Um…can we just give the award to Death of a Salesman now and do an extra musical number on the awards show?]
Best Revival of a Musical
Evita
Follies
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Jesus Christ Superstar
[Biggest Snub: Godspell lost the Jesus battle. And people say New York is full of a bunch of heathens…]
Best Actor in a Leading Role, Play
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
[Biggest Snub: Alan Rickman for Seminar…which is surprising since this is a pretty rote category full of Tony favorites and he’d have fit right in. Langella and Lithgow seemingly could read the proverbial phone book and get a nod. Sorry to see Hugh Dancy ignored for Venus in Fur.]
Best Actress in a Leading Role, Play
Nina Arianda – Venus in Fur
Tracie Bennett – End of the Rainbow
Stockard Channing – Other Desert Cities
Linda Lavin – The Lyons
Cynthia Nixon – Wit
[Biggest Snub: Tyne Daly for Master Class…but doesn’t that feel like two seasons ago now? This is a blockbuster category where a strong case could be made for every single actress. But my gut says its Bennett for shear exhaustion with Arianda close behind.]
Best Actor in a Leading Role, Musical
Danny Burstein – Follies
Jeremy Jordan – Newsies
Steve Kazee – Once
Norm Lewis – The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Ron Raines – Follies
[Biggest Snub: Raul Esparza for Leap of Faith or Matthew Broderick for Nice Work…but not the biggest surprise which is soap stalwart Raines sneaking in (and making Bernadette the only lead of Follies not nominated.) I’d vote Kazee or Burstein.]
Best Actress in a Leading Role, Musical
Jan Maxwell – Follies
Audra McDonald – The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Cristin Milioti – Once
Kelli O’Hara – Nice Work If You Can Get It
Laura Osnes – Bonnie & Clyde
[Biggest Snub: See no Bernadette above…though announcing that she’s getting a special humanitarian Tony saves face in a big way. Laura Osnes!! Probably one of the biggest surprises of the morning over Evita‘s Elena Roger. Maxwell or McDonald for the win.]
Best Actor in a Featured Role, Play
Tom Sedden, One Man, Two Guvnors
Andrew Garfield, Death of a Salesman
Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
Michael Cumpsty, End of the Rainbow
Jeremy Shamos, Clybourne Park
Best Actress in a Featured Role, Play
Linda Emond, 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
[Biggest Snub: No knee jerk nomination for the always wonderful and legendary Angela Lansbury in The Best Man. Thrilled to see Keenan-Bolger but Light is the boss on this one unless Emond rides Salesman wave.]
Best Actor in a Featured Role, Musical
Philip Boykin, Porgy and Bess
Michael Cerveris, Evita
David Alan Grier, Porgy and Bess
Michael McGrath, Nice Work…
Paul Young, Jesus Christ Superstar
Elizabeth A. Davis, Once
Jane Houdyshell, Follies
Judy Kaye, Nice Work
Jessie Mueller, On a Clear Day
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Ghost
[Biggest Snub: Elaine Paige for Follies. Davis’s surprise nod shows the depth of support for Once…you don’t see Newsies cast members do you other than the leading man.]
Best Original Score
Frank Wildhorn & Don Black, Bonnie & Clyde
Alan Menken & Jack Feldman, Newsies
Grant Olding, One Man, Two Guvnors
Wayne Barker & Rick Elice, Peter and the Starcatcher
[Biggest Snub: To the world of musical theater. Two of the four nominees are plays. Menken can finally add that Tony to his shelf…and we should all say a little prayer to Howard Ashman, who should be there by his side.]
Best Book of a Musical
Douglas Carter Beane, Lysistrata Jones
Harvey Fierstein, Newsies
Nice Work If You Can Get It, Joe DiPeitro
Enda Walsh, Once
[Biggest Snub: Leap of Faith needed more love to run and this was another spot they could have snuck in. Underdog Lysistrata steals the slot thanks to the very popular Carter Beane. I mean, who wouldn’t want him dropping delicious jokes at Tony parties?]
Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Evita
Christopher Gattelli, Newsies
Steven Hoggett, Once
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It
[Pretty on the nose list with Hoggett being an interesting entry given that his expressive, non-dancer choreography breaks the mold of expected dance in a musical. But this one is Gattelli’s for making Broadway boys leap again.]
Best Director, Play
Nicholas Hytner, One Man, Two Guvnors
Pam MacKinnon, Clybourne Park
Mike Nichols, Death of a Salesman
Roger Rees & Alex Timbers, Peter and the Starcatcher
[Biggest Snub: Joe Mantello for Other Desert Cities…which suggest that Clybourne is the one to beat for best play. And what did I tell you about the strength of Peter?]
Best Director, Musical
Jeff Calhoun, Newies
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Diane Paulus, Porgy and Bess
John Tiffany, Once
[Biggest Snub: Michael Grandage for Evita…which makes Bess look awfully strong in revival category. But I think Tiffany is the one to beat here given it feels like a director’s show and his Black Watch Off-Broadway was a tour de force seen by many voters.]
Best Scenic Design, Play
John Lee Beatty, Other Desert Cities
Daniel Ostling, Clybourne Park
Mark Thompson, One Man, Two Guvnors
Donyale Werle, Peter and the Starcatcher
[How dead on is that set for Desert Cities? Seriously, you can feel a hot Palm Springs’ breeze wafting off the stage.]
Best Scenic Design, Musical
Bob Crowley, Once
Rob Howell & Jon Driscoll, Ghost
Tobin Ost & Sven Ortel, Newsies
George Tsypin, Spider-Man
[Crowley should get some points for just letting audience members get drunk on his set. I’m just saying…]
Best Lighting Design, Play
Jeff Croiter, Peter and the Starcatcher
Peter Kaczorowski, The Road to Mecca
Brian MacDevitt, Death of a Salesman
Kenneth Posner, Other Desert Cities
[Great to see young up and comer Croiter break through with this nod. Fun fact: his wife is Kate Weatherhead, the star and writer of the hit web series Submissions Only. Now you know.]
Best Lighting Design, Musical
Christopher Akerlind, Porgy and Bess
Natasha Katz, Follies
Natasha Katz, Once
Hugh Vanstone, Ghost
[Biggest Snub: Evita. That lighting was amazing! Will this be where they acknowledge the magic tricks of Ghost?]
Best Costume Design, Play
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
Gregg Barnes, Follies
ESosa, Porgy and Bess
Eiko Ishioka, Spider-Man
Martin Pakledinaz, Nice Work
[Will they honor the recently passed fashion icon Ishioka?]
Best Sound Design, Play
Paul Arditti, One Man, Two Guvnors
Scott Lehrer, Death of a Salesman
Gareth Owen, End of the Rainbow
Darron L. West, Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Sound Design, Musical
Acme Sound Partners, Porgy and Bess
Clive Goodwin, Once
Kai Harada, Follies
Brian Ronan, Nice Work
Best Orchestrations
William David Brohn Y Christopher Jahnke, Porgy and Bess
Bill Elliott, Nice Work…
Martin Lowe, Once
Danny Troob, Newsies
[Loved Chenoweth’s call out to the recent Drama Desk controversy in canceling this category only to have it reinstated by popular demand. Sondheim may be muttering under his breathe about Bess and its inclusion given his vocal distaste for the editing of the original opera.]
So, there you have it. Big winners: Once, Peter and the Starcatcher, Porgy and Bess show surprising depth in all categories and promise quite an interesting Tony night. Biggest snub: The Lyons getting only one nomination, very sadly left out thanks to an unusually strong field of plays.
