Tony Awards: ‘The Book of Mormon’ leads 2011 Tony nominations

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

‘The Book of Mormon,’ the equal-opportunity-offending Broadway musical from the creators of ‘South Park,’ led the Tony Award nominations Tuesday with 14 nods. The musical ‘The Scottsboro Boys,’ which closed earlier this season, received 12 nominations, and the revival of ‘Anything Goes’ had nine.

The nominees for best play included ‘Good People,’ ‘The Mother... With the Hat,’ ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘War Horse.’

This year’s acting nominees included Al Pacino in Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ Edie Falco in ‘The House of Blue Leaves,’ Frances McDormand in ‘Good People,’ Mark Rylance in ‘Jerusalem,’ Ellen Barkin in ‘The Normal Heart’ and Vanessa Redgrave in ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’

The awards, organized by the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League, honor Broadway productions during the 2010-11 season. This year’s ceremony will take place June 12 at the Beacon Theatre in New York. The show will be broadcast live on CBS, with a delay for the West Coast.

‘The Book of Mormon,’ at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, is the creation of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the duo behind the popular animated series ‘South Park.’ The musical comedy, which was co-created by Robert Lopez, tells the story of Mormon missionaries who travel to Africa.

The show’s 14 nominations fell just shy of the record 15 nominations earned by ‘The Producers’ in 2001 and ‘Billy Elliot’ in 2009.

‘War Horse,’ adapted by Nick Stafford from the book by Michael Morpurgo, was first produced at the National Theatre in London before moving to the West End. The play, which uses life-size puppets to represent the equine characters, will come to the Ahmanson Theatre in 2012. A film version directed by Steven Spielberg is scheduled to open in December.

The year’s most talked-about show, ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,’ was ineligible for awards consideration this season because its opening date has been delayed until June 14.

Here’s the full list of this year’s Tony nominees:

Best musical
‘The Book of Mormon’
‘Catch Me if You Can’
‘The Scottsboro Boys’
‘Sister Act’ Best play
‘Good People’ (David Lindsay-Abaire)
‘Jerusalem’ (Jez Butterworth)
‘The Mother... With the Hat’ (Stephen Adly Guirgis)
‘War Horse’ (Nick Stafford)

Best revival of a musical
‘Anything Goes’
‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’

Best revival of a play
‘Arcadia’
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
‘The Merchant of Venice’
‘The Normal Heart’

Best book of a musical
‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’ (Alex Timbers)
‘The Book of Mormon’ (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone)
‘The Scottsboro Boys’ (David Thompson)
‘Sister Act’(Cheri Steinkellner, Bill Steinkellner and Douglas Carter Beane)

Best original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theater
‘The Book of Mormon’ (music and lyrics: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone)
‘The Scottsboro Boys’ (music and lyrics: John Kander and Fred Ebb)
‘Sister Act’ (Music: Alan Menken; lyrics: Glenn Slater)
‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’ (music and lyrics: David Yazbek)

Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play
Brian Bedford, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
Bobby Cannavale, ‘The Mother... With the Hat’
Joe Mantello, ‘The Normal Heart’
Al Pacino, ‘The Merchant of Venice’
Mark Rylance, ‘Jerusalem’

Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play
Nina Arianda, ‘Born Yesterday’
Frances McDormand, ‘Good People’
Lily Rabe, ‘The Merchant of Venice’
Vanessa Redgrave, ‘Driving Miss Daisy’
Hannah Yelland, ‘Brief Encounter’

Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical
Norbert Leo Butz, ‘Catch Me if You Can’
Josh Gad, ‘The Book of Mormon’
Joshua Henry, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’
Andrew Rannells, ‘The Book of Mormon’
Tony Sheldon, ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’

Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical
Sutton Foster, ‘Anything Goes’
Beth Leavel, ‘Baby It’s You!’
Patina Miller, ‘Sister Act’
Donna Murphy, ‘The People in the Picture’

Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play
Mackenzie Crook, ‘Jerusalem’
Billy Crudup, ‘Arcadia’
John Benjamin Hickey, ‘The Normal Heart’
Arian Moayed, ‘Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo’
Yul Vázquez, ‘The Mother... With the Hat’

Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play
Ellen Barkin, ‘The Normal Heart’
Edie Falco, ‘The House of Blue Leaves’
Judith Light, ‘Lombardi’
Joanna Lumley, ‘La Bête’
Elizabeth Rodriguez, ‘The Mother... With the Hat’

Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical
Colman Domingo, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’
Adam Godley, ‘Anything Goes’
John Larroquette, ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’
Forrest McClendon, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’
Rory O’Malley, ‘The Book of Mormon’

Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical
Laura Benanti, ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’
Tammy Blanchard, ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’
Victoria Clark, ‘Sister Act’
Nikki M. James, ‘The Book of Mormon’
Patti LuPone, ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’

Best scenic design of a play
Todd Rosenthal, ‘The Mother... With the Hat’
Rae Smith, ‘War Horse’
Ultz, ‘Jerusalem’
Mark Wendland, ‘The Merchant of Venice’

Best scenic design of a musical
Beowulf Boritt, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’
Derek McLane, ‘Anything Goes’
Scott Pask, ‘The Book of Mormon’
Donyale Werle, ‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’

Best costume design of a play
Jess Goldstein, ‘The Merchant of Venice’
Desmond Heeley, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
Mark Thompson, ‘La Bête’
Catherine Zuber, ‘Born Yesterday’

Best costume design of a musical
Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner, ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’
Martin Pakledinaz, ‘Anything Goes’
Ann Roth, ‘The Book of Mormon’
Catherine Zuber, ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’

Best lighting design of a play
Paule Constable, ‘War Horse’
David Lander, ‘Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo’
Kenneth Posner, ‘The Merchant of Venice’
Mimi Jordan Sherin, ‘Jerusalem’

Best lighting design of a musical
Ken Billington, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’
Howell Binkley, ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’
Peter Kaczorowski, ‘Anything Goes’
Brian MacDevitt, ‘The Book of Mormon’

Best sound design of a play
Acme Sound Partners & Cricket S. Myers, ‘Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo’
Simon Baker, ‘Brief Encounter’
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, ‘Jerusalem’
Christopher Shutt, ‘War Horse’

Best sound design of a musical
Peter Hylenski, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’
Steve Canyon Kennedy, ‘Catch Me if You Can’
Brian Ronan, ‘Anything Goes’
Brian Ronan, ‘The Book of Mormon’

Best direction of a play
Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, ‘War Horse’
Joel Grey & George C. Wolfe, ‘The Normal Heart’
Anna D. Shapiro, ‘The Mother... With the Hat’
Daniel Sullivan, ‘The Merchant of Venice’

Best direction of a musical
Rob Ashford, ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’
Kathleen Marshall, ‘Anything Goes’
Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, ‘The Book of Mormon’
Susan Stroman, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’

Best choreography
Rob Ashford, ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’
Kathleen Marshall, ‘Anything Goes’
Casey Nicholaw, ‘The Book of Mormon’
Susan Stroman, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’

Best orchestrations
Doug Besterman, ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’
Larry Hochman, ‘The Scottsboro Boys’
Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus, ‘The Book of Mormon’
Marc Shaiman & Larry Blank, ‘Catch Me if You Can’

* * *

Recipients of awards and honors in non-competitive categories:

Special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in the theater
Athol Fugard
Philip J. Smith

Regional theater Tony Award
Lookingglass Theatre Company (Chicago)

Isabelle Stevenson Award
Eve Ensler

Special Tony Award
Handspring Puppet Company

Tony honor for excellence in the theater
William Berloni
The Drama Book Shop

RELATED:

Broadway shockers: Complete list of Tony Award snubs

Theater review: ‘The Book of Mormon’ at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre

‘War Horse’ on Broadway: What did the critics think?

‘Sister Act’ on Broadway: What did the critics think?

Tony Awards ceremony moving to New York’s Beacon Theatre

-- David Ng

Photo (top): A scene from ‘The Book of Mormon,’ with Rema Webb, Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in New York. Credit: Joan Marcus / Associated Press

Photo credit (bottom): American Theatre Wing