Jim Spellman/WireimageAh, the Tony nominations. The time of year when everyone west of the Hudson offers a collective shoulder shrug (come on, you can admit it), while back in New York, the lights of Broadway start to shine a little brighter.
But what do you really know about the Tony Awards, currently in its 65th year? Well, for starters, we're guessing you were not aware that the event's full name is actually the American Theatre Wing's Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards. Or that this year's event is shaping up to be a veritable Hollywood on the Hudson.
The glitz! The glamour! The controversy! The snubs! Break out the pancake makeup and get in here, because these are the five things you need to know about this year's Tonys...
1. Oh My God! They Killed Kenny Everyone Else's Chances! Those dudes from South Park? The ones seemingly so lacking the grace and panache and serious thespianism befitting the Great White Way? Yeah, they kicked the competition's asses.
The Book of Mormon, the controversial musical from the minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, absolutely dominated the nominations this morning, walking away with a leading 14 for the production, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and a handful of acting and technical nods. Uh, censors? Better have your fingers on the button for those acceptance speeches. And just imagine the red carpet styles! Actually, now that we think of it, we'd better have Joan Rivers on standby.
2. Spider-Man Left in the Dark: Are your Spidey senses tingling? No? Well, you're in good company, because they weren't for the nominating body for the Tony Awards, either. Though, surprisingly, not because of their series of increasingly serious injuries, rotating cast and crew and epic failure on nearly every level. No, the flop that is Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark in fact wasn't so much snubbed as it was deemed ineligible as its constantly delayed opening doesn't qualify it for any awards this year. Not that Bono and The Edge should hold their breath or anything. Now if only there was someone who could save this production. Preferably someone not in a full-body spandex suit.
3. We're Not in Hogwarts Anymore: It wasn't only Spider-Man who was snubbed—Harry Potter got the big raspberry, too. Daniel Radcliffe, who earned rave (though apparently not rave enough) reviews for his second Broadway stint, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, was also curiously absent from this morning's nomination list. Hmmm…maybe if he insulted a religion?
4. It's Hollywood on the Hudson: No doubt about it, when the awards come calling next month, you won't need to consult your playbill to be able to recognize the actors strolling the red carpet. Whoopi Goldberg, who produces Best Musical nominee Sister Act, will be there; so will Al Pacino, up for Best Actor in a Play for his work in The Merchant of Venice; Good People's Frances McDormand and Driving Miss Daisy's Vanessa Redgrave are among the Actress in a Play nominees, while Broadway vet Sutton Foster is nominated for Anything Goes; O.G. Office (U.K. version) star Mackenzie Crook is up for Supporting Actor in a Play for Jerusalem, and he vies against Arcadia's Billy Crudup; John Laroquette did what his Harry Potter costar couldn't and got nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, while the most star-studded category of all is Best Supporting Actress in a Play: up for that honor is The Normal Heart's Ellen Barkin, The House of Blue Leaves' Edie Falco, Lombardi's Judith Light and La Bête's Joanna Lumley.
5. Chris Rock Is a Serious Actor Now: No, he didn't take a nomination slot away from Daniel, but he definitely earned his thespian wings in his first well-received Broadway run. While Rock wasn't singled out for his performance, his production (get ready again, censors), The Motherf--ker With the Hat, is up for Best Play, and several of Rock's costars—including Bobby Cannavale, Yul Vazquez and Elizabeth Rodriguez—are all up for acting nods.
The awards will be handed out June 12 on CBS. Here's the complete list of nominations:
Best Play
Good People
Jerusalem
The Motherf--ker 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, Music & Lyrics: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone
The Scottsboro Boys, Music & Lyrics: John Kander and Fred Ebb
Sister Act, Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Glenn Slater
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek
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--ker 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 Motherf--ker 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 Motherf--ker 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
The Motherf--ker With the Hat
War Horse
Jerusalem
The Merchant of Venice
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
The Scottsboro Boys
Anything Goes
The Book of Mormon
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Best Costume Design of a Play
The Merchant of Venice
The Importance of Being Earnest
La Bête
Born Yesterday
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Anything Goes
The Book of Mormon
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Best Lighting Design of a Play
War Horse
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
The Merchant of VeniceJerusalem
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
The Scottsboro Boys
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Anything Goes
The Book of Mormon
Best Sound Design of a Play
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Brief Encounter
Jerusalem
War Horse
Best Sound Design of a Musical
The Scottsboro Boys
Catch Me If You Can
Anything Goes
The Book of Mormon
Best Direction of a Play
War Horse
The Normal Heart
The Motherf--ker With the Hat
The Merchant of Venice
Best Direction of a Musical
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Anything Goes
The Book of Mormon
The Scottsboro Boys
Best Choreography
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Anything Goes
The Book of Mormon
The Scottsboro Boys
Best Orchestrations
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
The Scottsboro Boys
The Book of Mormon
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, IL)
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