Hollywood stars get little love at Tony nominations

New York - It was a brutal Tuesday morning for some A-list stars on Broadway.

Snubbed for Tony Award nominations were Denzel Washington, James Franco, Zachary Quinto, Michelle Williams, Orlando Bloom, Ethan Hawke, Zach Braff, Billy Crudup, Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig. Daniel Radcliffe struck out for his third consecutive Broadway show.

Neil Patrick Harris, who won a nomination for his brilliant performance in the punk-rock show Hedwig and the Angry Inch, said he was surprised by the final list. But he's been a Tony host and knows from experience the process is often rough.

"Having been the host in previous years, it's always interesting and surprising," he said. "It's a small group of people that nominate and you're never quite sure what they're responding to. That being said, it does get to showcase the talents of people who often don't get their moment in the spotlight."

One of the winners on Tuesday was unconventional musicals: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, a romp with a leading man killed eight times, led the field with 10 nods. It was followed by Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a rock concert by a transgender German, with eight, and After Midnight, a candy sampler of stunning dance and singing acts, with seven.

"It's going to be a really exciting Tony race to watch," said Scott Sanders, who produced After Midnight, which celebrates Duke Ellington's years at the Cotton Club nightclub. (The nomination happened to come on Ellington's birthday.) "The four shows could not be more different in many ways."

Another big winner was the old master himself — Shakespeare. The Mark Rylance-led productions of Richard III and Twelfth Night from London together scooped up eight nominations.

Embracing drag

Rylance will compete in the best leading actor in a play category with Samuel Barnett, also in Twelfth Night, Bryan Cranston in All The Way, Chris O'Dowd in Of Mice and Men and Tony Shalhoub in Act One.

The Shakespeare productions — performed by an all-male cast and seeking to replicate how the plays were produced in the Bard's day — also extended the trend on Broadway toward embracing drag.

Last year, Kinky Boots and Matilda the Musical featured leading men dressed as women. This year has Casa Valentina, Harvey Fierstein's play about straight cross-dressers, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, starring Neil Patrick Harris in a skirt. Even Gentleman's Guide features Jefferson Mays playing both genders.

While not all Hollywood stars came away empty-handed — Cranston, as expected, won a nod for playing Lyndon Johnson in All the Way — the lack of nominations for Broadway veterans from the film world such as Washington, Radcliffe, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, or first-timers, like Franco and Williams, was striking.

"I'm heartbroken that she wasn't nominated," said Danny Burstein, who got his fifth nod, about his Cabaret co-star Williams, who plays as Sally Bowles. "She is so fantastic in the show. And in all my years, I have never seen anyone work harder," he said.

The full list of Tony Award nominees is as follows:

Best Play
Act One
All the Way
Casa Valentina
Mothers and Sons
Outside Mullingar

Best Musical
After Midnight
Aladdin
Beautiful
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Best Revival of a Play
The Cripple of Inishmaan
The Glass Menagerie
A Raisin in the Sun
Twelfth Night

Best Revival of a Musical
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Les Misérables
Violet

Best Book of a Musical
Chad Beguelin - Aladdin
Douglas McGrath - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Woody Allen - Bullets Over Broadway
Robert L. Freedman - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Jason Robert Brown - The Bridges of Madison County
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey - If/Then
Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Alan Menken and Chad Beguelin - Aladdin

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Samuel Barnett - Twelfth Night
Bryan Cranston - All the Way
Chris O'Dowd - Of Mice and Men
Mark Rylance - Richard III
Tony Shalhoub - Act One

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Audra McDonald - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Tyne Daly - Mothers and Sons
Estelle Parsons - The Velocity of Autumn
LaTanya Richardson Jackson - A Raisin in the Sun
Cherry Jones - The Glass Menagerie

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Ramin Karimloo - Les Misérables
Neil Patrick Harris - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Jefferson Mays - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Bryce Pinkham - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Andy Karl - Rocky

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Idina Menzel - If/Then
Mary Bridget Davis - A Night With Janice Joplin
Jessie Mueller - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Kelli O'Hara - The Bridges of Madison County
Sutton Foster - Violet

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney - Casa Valentina
Paul Chahidi - Twelfth Night
Stephen Fry - Twelfth Night
Mark Rylance - Twelfth Night
Brian J. Smith - The Glass Menagerie

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Sarah Greene - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Celia Keenan-Bolger - The Glass Menagerie
Sophie Okonedo - A Raisin in the Sun
Anika Noni Rose - A Raisin in the Sun
Mare Winningham - Casa Valentina

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein - Cabaret
Nick Cordero - Bullets Over Broadway
Joshua Henry - Violet
James Monroe Iglehart - Aladdin
James Monroe Iglehart - Aladdin
Jarrod Spector - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Linda Emond - Cabaret
Lena Hall - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Anika Larsen - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Adriane Lenox - After Midnight
Lauren Worsham - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt - Act One
Bob Crowley - The Glass Menagerie
Es Devlin - Machinal
Christopher Oram - The Cripple of Inishmaan

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Christopher Barreca - Rocky
Julian Crouch - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Alexander Dodge - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Santo Loquasto - Bullets Over Broadway

Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood - Act One
Michael Krass - Machinal
Rita Ryack - Casa Valentina
Jenny Tiramani - Twelfth Night

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
William Ivey Long - Bullets Over Broadway
Arianne Phillips - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Isabel Toledo - After Midnight

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Jane Cox - Machinal
Natasha Katz - The Glass Menagerie
Japhy Weideman - Of Mice and Men

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Christopher Akerlind - Rocky
Howell Binkley - After Midnight
Donald Holder - The Bridges of Madison County

Best Sound Design of a Play
Alex Baranowski - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Steve Canyon Kennedy - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Dan Moses Schreier - Act One
Matt Tierney - Machinal

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Peter Hylenski - After Midnight
Tim O'Heir - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Mick Potter - Les Misérables
Brian Ronan - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Best Direction of a Play
Tim Carroll - Twelfth Night
Michael Grandage - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Kenny Leon - A Raisin in the Sun
John Tiffany - The Glass Menagerie

Best Direction of a Musical
Warren Carlyle - After Midnight
Michael Mayer - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Leigh Silverman - Violet
Darko Tresnjak - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Best Choreography
Warren Carlyle - After Midnight
Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine - Rocky
Casey Nicholaw - Aladdin
Susan Stroman - Bullets Over Broadway

Best Orchestrations
Doug Besterman - Bullets Over Broadway
Jason Robert Brown - The Bridges of Madison County
Steve Sidwell - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Jonathan Tunick - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Jane Greenwood

Regional Theatre Award
Signature Theatre, New York, N.Y.
Isabelle Stevenson Award
Rosie O'Donnell

Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Joseph P. Benincasa
Joan Marcus