‘The Book Of Mormon’ Gets A Leading 14 Tony Award Nominations; ‘The Scottsboro Boys’ Gets 12

“The Book of Mormon” nabbed a leading 14 Tony Award nominations Tuesday morning, earning the profane musical nods for best musical, best book of a musical, best original score, two leading actor spots and two featured actor nominations, among others.

The second-highest nominations went to “The Scottsboro Boys,” a searing tale of 1930s injustice framed as a minstrel show. It received 12 nominations, including best musical, best book of a musical, best original score as well as a leading actor and two featured actor nods.

Among others who earned nominations were Al Pacino, who played Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice,” Vanessa Redgrave in “Driving Miss Daisy,” Edie Falco in “The House of Blue Leaves” and Ellen Barkin in “The Normal Heart.”

Some notable snubs included James Earl Jones in “Driving Miss Daisy,” Daniel Radcliffe in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and Aaron Tveit from “Catch Me If You Can.”

The Cole Porter comedy “Anything Goes” was nominated for nine awards, including best revival, best leading actress for Sutton Foster, a best featured role nomination for Adam Godley, best scenic and costume design.

“I’m very happy. I’m thrilled for our show,” said Kathleen Marshall, who picked up her sixth and seventh nominations for directing “Anything Goes” and its high-kicking choreography. “‘Anything Goes’ is one of those shows that is there to delight and entertain and transport the audience.”

“The Book of Mormon,” about two Mormon missionaries who find more than they bargained for in Africa, was written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of Comedy Central’s irreverent “South Park,” and Robert Lopez, co-creator of the equally irreverent Tony Award-winning musical “Avenue Q.”

The trio teamed up with Casey Nicholaw, who co-directed with Parker and choreographed. Both won nominations for best direction and Nicholaw won a best choreography nomination. “Mormon” also earned its two missionaries — Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells — acting nominations as well as Nikki M. James for featured actress.

Of the 42 new productions this season, there were 14 musicals — 12 new ones and two revivals — and 25 plays, a whopping 16 of them brand new. The last time there were 16 new plays produced in a single season was 1986-87.

It is also shaping up to be a lucrative time for Broadway, with total box-office grosses already at more than $987,057,484, or 3.6 percent more than the same time last year. Attendance this season is at over 11.4 million, up 3 percent from this time last year.

The awards will be handed out June 12 at a new location: the Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side of Manhattan after producers lost their long-term space at Radio City Music Hall. It will be broadcast live by CBS.

Nominations for the 2011 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards, announced Tuesday:

Best Play: “Good People,” ‘‘Jerusalem,” ‘‘The Motherf—- With the Hat,” ‘‘War Horse.”

Best Musical: “The Book of Mormon,” ‘‘Catch Me If You Can,” ‘‘The Scottsboro Boys,” ‘‘Sister Act.”

Best Book of a Musical: “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” ‘‘The Book of Mormon,” ‘‘The Scottsboro Boys,” ‘‘Sister Act.”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: “The Book of Mormon,” ‘‘The Scottsboro Boys,” ‘‘Sister Act,” ‘‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.”

Best Revival of a Play: “Arcadia,” ‘‘The Importance of Being Earnest,” ‘‘The Merchant of Venice,” ‘‘The Normal Heart.”

Best Revival of a Musical: “Anything Goes,” ‘‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Brian Bedford, “The Importance of Being Earnest”; Bobby Cannavale, “The Motherf—- With the Hat”; Joe Mantello, “The Normal Heart”; Al Pacino, “The Merchant of Venice”; Mark Rylance, “Jerusalem.”

Best Performance by an Actress in 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: The Musical.”

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 Vazquez, The Motherf—- 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 Bete”; Elizabeth Rodriguez, “The Motherf—- 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 Motherf—- 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 Bete”; Catherine Zuber, “Born Yesterday.”

Best Costume Design of a Musical: Tim Chappel and 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 and 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 and George C. Wolfe, “The Normal Heart”; Anna D. Shapiro, “The Motherf—- 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 and Larry Blank, “Catch Me If You Can.”

___

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre: Athol Fugard, Philip J. Smith.

Regional Theatre Tony Award: Lookingglass Theatre Company (Chicago)

Isabelle Stevenson Award: Eve Ensler.

Special Tony Award: Handspring Puppet Company.

Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre: William Berloni, The Drama Book Shop, Sharon Jensen and Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts

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