By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
NEW YORK � Broadway got religion in the 2010-11 season.
By Joan Marcus, AP
Andrew Rannells performs in The Book of Mormon.
By Joan Marcus, AP
Andrew Rannells performs in The Book of Mormon.
To no one's surprise, The Book of Mormon? the irreverent but warm-hearted tip of the hat to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, from the creators of South Park and Broadway's Avenue Q? swept this year's Tony Award nominations, announced Tuesday morning.
The critically adored musical collected 14 nods in all, one short of the record set by another famously sassy show, The Producers, back in 2001, and later matched by the musical adaptation of Billy Elliot.
Another new musical that got a lot of attention was The Scottsboro Boys, the last Broadway entry from the legendary team of John Kander and the late Fred Ebb. Based on racially charged trials in the 1930s, the show was championed by many critics both on and off-Broadway, though it closed in December, less than two months after opening at the Lyceum Theatre.
Still, Scottsboro was remembered fondly enough to pick up 12 nominations, and will compete with Mormon in major categories such as best musical, book, score, director and leading actor. Another acclaimed, historically based off-Broadway transfer, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, fared less well, grabbing only two nods.
A revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes stands to win nine Tonys, including one for leading lady and Broadway darling Sutton Foster, cast as evangelist-turned-nightclub singer Reno Sweeney. But she'll have to beat Patina Miller, who plays a singer-turned-nun in the new musical Sister Act, up for five Tonys.
Among plays, big contenders include a revival of The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino, who received one of the production's seven nominations, and the new plays Jerusalem and The Mother??? with the Hat, whose respective leading men Mark Rylance and Bobby Cannavale will likely give Pacino a run for his money in the best-actor department. Each of the latter plays received a total of six nominations
Other familiar names acknowledged include Vanessa Redgrave, for her performance in a revival of Driving Miss Daisy, and Frances McDormand, for the new play Good People, both for best leading actress. Edie Falco will face Ellen Barkin, Judith Light, Joanna Lumley and Elizabeth Rodriguez in the race for best featured actress in a play.
Celebrity wasn't a guarantor of recognition, though. Stars whose names were not read on Tuesday included Daniel Radcliffe and Robin Williams, though both received a good share of favorable notices for, respectively, a revival of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Redgrave's Daisy co-star James Earl Jones was also omitted, along with Ben Stiller and Chris Rock, respectively eligible for leading actor in The House of Blue Leaves and featured actor in Hat.
There may be a pair of winners in this year's best-director-of-a-play trophy: Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, co-directors of The Normal Heart, would share the award, as would Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, for the best-play nominee War Horse.
The Tony Awards will be broadcast live on June 12 from the Beacon Theatre on CBS, (8- 11 p.m. ET/PT time delay).
Brittany Murphy Minka Kelly Emmanuelle Chriqui Kristanna Loken Cameron Richardson
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