British plays dominate Tony Awards shortlists

The nominations for the 2015 Tony Awards were announced in New York today, and it's a strong year for British talent.

Leading the field are new musicals Fun Home and An American in Paris with 12 apiece, while Something Rotten! has 10. The plays categories are dominated by British productions Wolf Hall (8), Skylight (7), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (6) and The Audience (3).

Sting musical The Last Ship is nominated in two categories, including Best Original Score, though screen-to-stage musical Finding Neverland missed out.

The acting categories include nominations for Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Bill Nighy, Ben Miles and Ruth Wilson, while British directors Jeremy Herrin, Stephen Daldry and Marianne Elliott also feature.

Mirren, nominated for her portrayal of The Queen in The Audience, said: "It is an honour to be nominated and to become a part of the grand tradition of American theatre. I am very lucky that I speak American! Albeit in the play with a very British accent. It is a very exciting season on Broadway, with many great plays, musicals, and performances, so just to be a part of that is a thrill."

Bradley Cooper, who will reprise his nominated performance in The Elephant Man in the West End next month, also said he was delighted the show had been "a part of this season's story telling".

And author John O'Farrell, nominated for Book of a Musical for Something Rotten!, said: "I'm sure that this is some sort of dream and in a minute I'm going to wake up at my desk in South London… But we really have created a big, funny, glitzy, all-singing dancing great night out on Broadway. It feels like a long way from all that Brecht and Strindberg that I did as a drama student."

The Tony Awards will be announced at Radio City Music Hall on 7 June in a ceremony hosted by Kristin Chenoweth, who is nominated for On the Twentieth Century, and Alan Cumming.

Announcing the nominees this year were Mary-Louise Parker and Bruce Willis. This year's special award recipients include actors John Cameron Mitchell and Tommy Tune, and composer Stephen Schwartz.

Full list of nominees below – for more on the Tony Awards visit TheaterMania.com

Best Play
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Disgraced
Hand to God
Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two

Best Musical
An American in Paris
Fun Home
Something Rotten!
The Visit

Best Revival of a Play
The Elephant Man
Skylight
This Is Our Youth
You Can't Take It with You

Best Revival of a Musical
The King and I
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century

Best Book of a Musical
An American in Paris – Craig Lucas
Fun Home – Lisa Kron
Something Rotten! – Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell
The Visit – Terrence McNally

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Fun Home (Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron)
The Last Ship (Music & Lyrics: Sting)
Something Rotten! (Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick)
The Visit (Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two
Bill Nighy, Skylight
Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Geneva Carr, Hand to God
Helen Mirren, The Audience
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Ruth Wilson, Constellations

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Brian d'Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe, The King and I
Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Beth Malone, Fun Home
Kelli O'Hara, The King and I
Chita Rivera, The Visit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Matthew Beard, Skylight
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Richard McCabe, The Audience
Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two
Micah Stock, It’s Only a Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Annaleigh Ashford, You Can't Take It with You
Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two
Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
Julie White, Airline Highway

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
Max von Essen, An American in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Victoria Clark, Gigi
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Bob Crowley, Skylight
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two
David Rockwell, You Can't Take It with You

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan, The King and I
David Zinn, Fun Home

Best Costume Design of a Play
Bob Crowley, The Audience
Jane Greenwood, You Can't Take It with You
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two
David Zinn, Airline Highway

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
Catherine Zuber, The King and I

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Paule Constable and David Plater, Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two
Natasha Katz, Skylight
Japhy Weideman, Airline Highway

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder, The King and I
Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
Ben Stanton, Fun Home
Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Best Direction of a Play
Stephen Daldry, Skylight
Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Scott Ellis, You Can't Take It with You
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall: Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God

Best Direction of a Musical
Sam Gold, Fun Home
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
John Rando, On the Town
Bartlett Sher, The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
Christopher Gattelli, The King and I
Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Orchestrations
Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, An American in Paris
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
Rob Mathes, The Last Ship