Producers & Stones Top 2001 Tony Nominations

The nominations for the 2001 Tony Awards, Broadway’s premier stage awards, were announced at Sardi’s Restaurant in
New York’s Theatre District yesterday, 7 May. They include a resounding 15 nominations for the new
musical version of Mel Brooks’ The Producers – the highest number of nominations
for a single production in Broadway history – including nods for Best
Musical, two for leading actor in a musical to both its high profile stars
Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, and three more (out of a total five
nominations) in the featured actor in a musical category to Roger Bart, Gary
Beach and Brad Oscar.

Other musicals recognised in the Best Musical category were A Class
Act, The Full Monty and Jane Eyre, all of which also
compete with The Producers in the Best Book and Best Original Score
categories. Two other new musicals, Seussical and The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer, were all but shuttered out, the former only taking a
nomination for lead Kevin Chamberlin (as Best Actor in a Musical) and the
latter named for its scenic design (Heidi Ettinger) and lighting (Kenneth
Posner) only.

Of the musical revivals, Bells are Ringing,
Follies, 42nd Street and The Rocky Horror Show are
nominated for Best Revival of a Musical, with cast members from each of
those variously named, including Faith Prince from Bells, Blythe
Danner from Follies and Christine Ebersole from 42nd Street
for Leading Actress in a Musical (alongside A Class Act‘s Randy Graff
and Jane Eyre‘s Marla Schaffel), Tom Hewitt from Rocky Horror
for Best Actor in a Musical (alongside Broderick, Lane and Chamberlin, plus
The Full Monty‘s Patrick Wilson), and 42nd Street‘s Kate
Levering and Mary Testa both named in the Featured Actress in a Musical
category.

In the Best Plays stakes, three new American plays – August Wilson’s King
Hedley II, David Auburn’s Proof and Charles Busch’s The Tale
of the Allergist’s Wife compete with Tom Stoppard‘s {The Invention of
Love::E01247340916}, the latter of which was originally produced at the Royal National
Theatre. Marie Jones‘s Olivier Award winning Best Comedy {Stones in His
Pockets::E01048796670}, which has taken the West End by storm was shut out of this category, but its two stars, Sean Campion
and Conleth Hill, reprise their Olivier nominee status in going head-to-head
against each other for Leading Actor in a Play. (The Olivier – as well as
Whatsonstage.com’s Award – eventually went to Hill.) Also
nominated for Leading Actor are Gary Sinise (for his performance in One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, seen last year at the Barbican as part of
BITE:00), Richard Easton (in The Invention of Love), and Brian Stokes
Mitchell (in King Hedley II). The director of {Stones in His
Pockets::E01048796670}, Ian McElhinney, is nominated for Best Direction of a Play,
alongside the directors of King Hedley II, The Invention of
Love and Proof.

A Tony Award for Special Theatrical Event, a new category, was awarded to
Blast!, which is currently at Broadway’s Broadway Theatre but was actually
first seen at the Hammersmith Apollo.

The Tony Awards will be presented in a ceremony at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on 3 June
2001, to be hosted by Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick of The
Producers.

– by Mark Shenton