Tonys kiss 'Kate'
Tuner leads noms with 12; 'Music Man' nabs 8
Next up among top vote-getters were the new tuners “Contact” and “The Wild Party,” which nabbed seven nominations apiece. They will vie along with “James Joyce’s The Dead” (five noms) and “Swing!” (six) for the coveted new musical prize.
The votes for “Contact” and “Wild Party” were particularly notable since both tuners have kicked up some controversy in recent days. The former’s eligibility in the musical categories was protested by the Broadway musicians union, the dance-based show is performed to a collage of recorded songs, and led to the resignation of a Tony nominating committee member.
‘Party’ in mix
“Wild Party,” meanwhile, received wildly mixed reviews, including a New York Times pan publicly protested by the show’s director and co-book writer George C. Wolfe. The tuner has since struggled at the box office and will face an uphill battle as “Contact” is heavily favored to win the top prize.
The most significant omission from the new musical category was the Hyperion Theatricals (aka Disney) production “Aida,” which was snubbed in other significant categories as well. Although star Heather Headley and Elton John’s score received nominations, the other three noms were in the design categories. The show’s book, director Robert Falls and co-stars Adam Pascal and the much-praised Sherie Rene Scott were all overlooked.
Claudia Shear’s Mae West tribute “Dirty Blonde” and the London-originating revival of “The Real Thing” nabbed the most nominations in the straight play categories with five apiece.
In the new play sweepstakes, “Dirty Blonde” goes up against a London import, Michael Frayn’s “Copenhagen,” as well as two less-than-brand-new plays from veteran American playwrights: Arthur Miller’s “The Ride Down Mt. Morgan,” originally produced in London in 1991 and seen Off Broadway last season, and Sam Shepard’s “True West,” first produced in 1980 but new to Broadway.
Old-time revivalists
Vying for the play revival prize are “The Real Thing,” “Amadeus,” “A Moon for the Misbegotten” and Miller’s “The Price,” which flopped earlier in the season. (Tony spokesmen couldn’t remember a prior season in which the same playwright was nominated for a new play and a revival.)
The nominations for the 1999-2000 Broadway season were announced by Kelsey Grammer and Bebe Neuwirth Monday at Sardi’s restaurant. Grammer is heading to Broadway in a new production of “Macbeth” this summer.
The nominations pit an unusual number of co-stars against each other. There are also a pair of relatives in the same category, and two artists are vying against themselves in two categories apiece.
Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly, who switch off in the two central roles in “True West,” both received actor-in-a-play nominations. They’ll compete against Gabriel Byrne in “Moon for the Misbegotten,” Stephen Dillane in “Real Thing” and David Suchet in “Amadeus.”
(In an ironic twist, Patrick Stewart failed to win notice for his work in “The Ride Down Mt. Morgan” as lead actor, but the producers he chastised from the stage of the Ambassador Theater for not promoting his show could pick up a Tony if “Ride” wins the best play award. Also overlooked in this hotly contested category were the acclaimed performances of Philip Bosco and Michael Cumpsty in “Copenhagen,” and the Vanya of Derek Jacobi, which won him an Outer Critics Circle Award.)
Stacking noms
Other categories featuring more than one nominee from the same show are featured actor in a play (Kevin Chamberlin and Bob Stillman from “Dirty Blonde”), featured actor in a musical (Michael Berresse, Michael Mulheren and Lee Wilkof from “Kiss Me, Kate”) and featured actress in a musical (Laura Benanti and Ann Hampton Callaway of “Swing!” alongside “Contact’s” Deborah Yates and Karen Ziemba, with only Eartha Kitt in “Wild Party” repping her show). All the acting categories were expanded to include five nominations this season rather than the usual four.
Susan Stroman and Michael LaChiusa each received four nominations. Stroman took noms for director and choreographer of both “Contact” and “The Music Man”; LaChiusa was nominated for the scores of both “Wild Party” and “Marie Christine” (he wrote music and lyrics for each) and for the books for both shows.
LaChiusa’s nom for “Wild Party’s” book is shared with Wolfe, who nabbed two other nominations: as producer on best musical contender “Wild Party” and play contender “Mt. Morgan,” which was essentially a transfer of the Public Theater production. (Surprisingly, Stroman’s and LaChiusa’s feats are not unprecedented: Elizabeth Swados received four nominations in one season for “Runaways” in 1978, but didn’t win any.)
In the family
In a historic turn, Rosemary Harris took home a nom for “Waiting in the Wings,” while her daughter Jennifer Ehle got one for her Broadway debut in “Real Thing.” It’s the first time in the awards’ 54 years that mother and daughter have vied for the best actress honor in the same legit season. They’ll compete against Jayne Atkinson in “The Rainmaker,” Cherry Jones in “Moon for the Misbegotten” and Shear in “Dirty Blonde” (whose entire cast of three was nominated).
Overlooked in the category was Olympia Dukakis, the sole star of the critically clobbered “Rose,” which was totally blanked in the nominations. Also failing to receive any noms were “Epic Proportions,” “Kat and the Kings,” “Riverdance — On Broadway,” “Squonk,” “Taller Than a Dwarf,” “Voices in the Dark” and, perhaps most significantly, the popular “Saturday Night Fever.”
A few more doubles: Lighting designers Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, nominated for both “Marie Christine” and “Wild Party,” and Michael Blakemore, nominated as director of a play (“Copenhagen”) and musical (“Kiss Me, Kate”).
The lineup also includes some notable facts for theater trivia fans: Productions of “Moon for the Misbegotten” and “Real Thing” are vying in several categories, just as they were in 1984. Back then, David Leveaux’s direction of “Moon” lost out to Mike Nichols’ work on “Real Thing.” This year, Leveaux is nominated for helming “Real Thing’s” revival.
Blakemore, meanwhile, may find it rather droll that his “Copenhagen” is a best play candidate against “The Ride Down Mt. Morgan,” since it was Blakemore who directed the Miller play’s world preem — to mixed reviews — on the West End nearly a decade ago.
Additional honors
The Tony for regional theater will go to the Utah Shakespearean Festival of Cedar City. Grammer and Neuwirth also announced five special Tony Awards: a lifetime achievement nod for producer T. Edward Hambleton, founder of the Phoenix Theater, and honors for excellence in theater to actress Eileen Heckart (a two-time nominee, currently Off Broadway in “The Waverly Gallery”), theatrical agent and manager Sylvia Herscher and the City Center Encores! series. Barry Humphries’ “Dame Edna: The Royal Tour” will be given a special Tony for live theatrical event.
The 54th Annual Tony Awards will be held June 4 at Radio City Music Hall. The show will be telecast on PBS (8-9 p.m.) and CBS (9-11 p.m.), with the latter portion hosted by Rosie O’Donnell.
A complete list of nominations follows.
(Matt Wolf in London contributed to this report.)
PLAY
"Copenhagen," author Michael Frayn and producers Michael Codron, Lee Dean, Royal National Theater, James M. Nederlander, Roger Berlind, Scott Rudin, Elizabeth I. McCann, Ray Larsen, Jon B. Platt, Byron Goldman, Scott Nederlander
"Dirty Blonde," author Claudia Shear and producers Shubert Organization, Chase Mishkin, Ostar Enterprises, ABC Inc., New York Theater Workshop
"The Ride Down Mt. Morgan," author Arthur Miller and producers Shubert Organization, Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Spring Sirkin, ABC Inc., The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival/George C. Wolfe
"True West," author Sam Shepard and producer Ron Kastner
MUSICAL
"Contact," producers Lincoln Center Theater, Andre Bishop, Bernard Gersten
"James Joyce’s The Dead," producers Gregory Mosher, Arielle Tepper, Playwrights Horizons, Tim Sanford
"Swing!," producers Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Steven Baruch, Tom Viertel, Lorie Cowen Levy/Stanley Shopkorn, Jujamcyn Theaters, BB Promotion, Dede Harris/Jeslo Productions, Libby Adler Mages/Mari Glick, Douglas L. Meyer, James D. Stern, PACE Theatrical Group/SFX
"The Wild Party," producers Joseph Papp Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, George C. Wolfe, Scott Rudin/Paramount Pictures, Roger Berlind, Williams/Waxman
REVIVAL OF A PLAY
"Amadeus," producers Kim Poster, PW Productions, Adam Epstein, SFX Theatrical Group, Center Theater Group/Ahmanson Theater, Back Row Productions, Old Ivy Productions
"A Moon for the Misbegotten," producers Elliot Martin, Chase Mishkin, Max Cooper, Jujamcyn Theaters, Anita Waxman, Elizabeth Williams, the Goodman Theater
"The Price," producer David Richenthal
"The Real Thing," producers Anita Waxman, Elizabeth Williams, Ron Kastner, Miramax Films, the Donmar Warehouse
REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
"Jesus Christ Superstar," producers The Really Useful Superstar Company Inc., The Nederlander Producing Company of America Inc., Terry Allen Kramer
"Kiss Me, Kate," producers Roger Berlind, Roger Horchow
"The Music Man," producers Dodger Theatricals, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Elizabeth Williams/Anita Waxman, Kardana-Swinsky Productions, Lorie Cowen Levy/Dede Harris
"Tango Argentino," producer DG Producciones
BOOK OF A MUSICAL
John Weidman, "Contact"
Richard Nelson, "James Joyce’s The Dead"
Michael John LaChiusa, "Marie Christine"
Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe, "The Wild Party"
ORIGINAL SCORE
Elton John and Tim Rice, "Aida"
Shaun Davey and Richard Nelson & Shaun Davey, "James Joyce’s The Dead"
Michael John LaChiusa, "Marie Christine"
Michael John LaChiusa, "The Wild Party"
DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Michael Blakemore, "Copenhagen"
James Lapine, "Dirty Blonde"
David Leveaux, "The Real Thing"
Matthew Warchus, "True West"
DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Michael Blakemore, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Susan Stroman, "Contact"
Susan Stroman, "The Music Man"
Lynne Taylor-Corbett, "Swing!"
ACTOR IN A PLAY
Gabriel Byrne, "A Moon for the Misbegotten"
Stephen Dillane, "The Real Thing"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "True West"
John C. Reilly, "True West"
David Suchet, "Amadeus"
ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Jayne Atkinson, "The Rainmaker"
Jennifer Ehle, "The Real Thing"
Rosemary Harris, "Waiting in the Wings"
Cherry Jones, "A Moon for the Misbegotten"
Claudia Shear, "Dirty Blonde"
ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Craig Bierko, "The Music Man"
George Hearn, "Putting It Together"
Brian Stokes Mitchell, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Mandy Patinkin, "The Wild Party"
Christopher Walken, "James Joyce’s The Dead"
ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Toni Collette, "The Wild Party"
Heather Headley, "Aida"
Rebecca Luker, "The Music Man"
Marin Mazzie, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Audra McDonald, "Marie Christine"
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Kevin Chamberlin, "Dirty Blonde"
Daniel Davis, "Wrong Mountain"
Roy Dotrice, "A Moon for the Misbegotten"
Derek Smith, "The Green Bird"
Bob Stillman, "Dirty Blonde"
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Blair Brown, "Copenhagen"
Frances Conroy, "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan"
Amy Ryan, "Uncle Vanya"
Helen Stenborg, "Waiting in the Wings"
Sarah Woodward, "The Real Thing"
FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Michael Berresse, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Boyd Gaines, "Contact"
Michael Mulheren, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Stephen Spinella, "James Joyce’s The Dead"
Lee Wilkof, "Kiss Me, Kate"
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Laura Benanti, "Swing!"
Ann Hampton Callaway, "Swing!"
Eartha Kitt, "The Wild Party"
Deborah Yates, "Contact"
Karen Ziemba, "Contact"
SCENIC DESIGN
Bob Crowley, "Aida"
Thomas Lynch, "The Music Man"
Robin Wagner, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Tony Walton, "Uncle Vanya"
COSTUME DESIGN
Bob Crowley, "Aida"
Constance Hoffman, "The Green Bird"
William Ivey Long, "The Music Man"
Martin Pakledinaz, "Kiss Me, Kate"
LIGHTING DESIGN
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, "The Wild Party"
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, "Marie Christine"
Peter Kaczorowski, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Natasha Katz, "Aida"
CHOREOGRAPHY
Kathleen Marshall, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Susan Stroman, "Contact"
Susan Stroman, "The Music Man"
Lynne Taylor-Corbett, "Swing!"
ORCHESTRATIONS
Doug Besterman, "The Music Man"
Don Sebesky, "Kiss Me, Kate"
Jonathan Tunick, "Marie Christine"
Harold Wheeler, "Swing!"
