Tony nominations 2012: Surprises and snubs

NEW YORK -- “Clybourne Park,” Angela Lansbury and a play about a dysfunctional family were among those overlooked when Tony Award nominations were announced here Tuesday morning.

Although Bruce Norris’ “Clybourne Park,” the Pulitzer Prize-winner about race and real estate, received a best play nomination and enthusiastic reviews, it failed to dominate the Tony announcements, picking up just three top nominations, as well as a fourth for scenic design. The show received the Laurence Olivier Award for best new play when it opened in London. (The same production of the satirical drama played earlier this year at the Mark Taper Forum; Center Theatre Group is one of the producers.)

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Meanwhile, a drama revival, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” starring Blair Underwood, was even more forgotten, picking up just one nomination in the costume category.

A number of leading actresses failed to impress Tony voters. Angela Lansbury was among the grandes dames of theater to be overlooked for her performance this year; her featured performance as a political operator in the election-themed revival “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” did not land the five-time Tony winner a shot at what would have been a record-breaking sixth prize.

Tony nominatons 2012: The full list

British musical comedy icon Elaine Paige also was snubbed for her role in “Follies” despite stellar reviews for her performance, especially her showstopping number “I’m Still Here.”

And Rachel Griffiths, the television star who followed Jon Robin Baitz to Broadway to incarnate the role of a troubled daughter and memoirist in his drama “Other Desert Cities” did not receive a nomination for her well-reviewed performance. She was left off a Tony list that included her costars Judith Light and Stockard Channing.

The 2012 Tony Award calendar of events

While “Cities” picked up five nominations, another dysfunctional-family drama, Nicky Silver’s “The Lyons,” was largely forgotten by Tony voters. The show received only one nomination, a leading actress nod for Linda Lavin for her performance as an acid-tongued matriarch.

Ricky Martin also failed to pick up a Tony nomination for “Evita,” his first appearance on Broadway in more than 15 years. The actor garnered mixed reviews for his role as Che, a troublemaking Greek chorus of one, in the musical revival. His costar Elena Roger was overlooked too.

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