66th Tony Award Nominations Filled With Surprises, Snubs And Lots Of Straights

Just a few years ago we had more drag queens on Broadway than on RuPaul’s Drag Race, with La Cage, Priscilla and a gender-bending version of the Importance of Being Earnest all tearing up the Great White way—even as gay hearts were melting in dramas like The Normal Heart and Next Fall. And while all those shows got Tony nominations, this year’s list of nominees—announced this morning at a ceremony in Manhattan—are a little less… queer.

Out playwright Jon Robin Baitz should be tickled that his “Other Desert Cities” is up for Best Play alongside “Clybourne Park,” “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “Venus in Fur.”

And openly gay helmer Nicholas Hytner got a Best Direction nod for the gay-ish One Man, Two Guvnors, along with Pam MacKinnon (Clybourne Park), Mike Nichols (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman), and Roger Rees and Alex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher).

But Ricky Martin, who some say is carrying Evita on his broad shoulders, got snubbed—even though the Andrew Lloyd Weber show did get nominated for Best Revival of a Musical, alongside The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Follies. (At least we got a Sondheim show in there–with eight nominations altogether!)

Another gay Latino snub was Raul Esparza, who no one really expected to get a nod for Leap of Faith. But the show itself was honored in the Best Musical category alongside fellow movie adaptions Newsies and Once, which swept the ceremony with 11 nods altogether. Nice Work If You Can Get It was the only original entry and its basically a Gershwin jukebox musical.

There is some good news for queer Broadway geeks: Gay elder statesman Gore Vidal’s The Best Man is up for best revival against Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Master Class and Wit. We’re especially keen to see who wins Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Tom Edden, who is nominated for One Man, Two Guvnors, famously smooched Danielle Radcliffe during the What’s On Stage Awards in London. Maybe he’ll repeat his ambush snog with Spider-Man Andrew Garfield, up for a Tony for Salesman?

Of course we don’t just care about the sexuality of Tony winner and nominees. That would be shallow. We also care about the host! And ridiculously cute, talented and openly gay Neil Patrick Harris will emcee the 66th annual Tony Awards, airing June 10 at 8pm EST on CBS—so you know we’ll be tuning in.

Click through to the next page for a list of  2012 Tony nominations

 

Best Play: “Clybourne Park,” “Other Desert Cities” (right), “Peter and the Starcatcher,” “Venus in Fur.”

Best Musical: “Leap of Faith,” “Newsies,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “Once.”

Best Book of a Musical: “Lysistrata Jones,” “Newsies,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “Once.”

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: “Bonnie & Clyde,” “Newsies,” “One Man, Two Guvnors,” “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

Best Revival of a Play: “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman,” “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man,” “Master Class,” “Wit.”

Best Revival of a Musical: “Evita,” “Follies,” “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: James Corden, “One Man, Two Guvnors”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”; James Earl Jones, “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man”; Frank Langella, “Man and Boy”; John Lithgow, “The Columnist.”

Best Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play: Nina Arianda, “Venus in Fur”; Tracie Bennett, “End of the Rainbow”; Stockard Channing, “Other Desert Cities”; Linda Lavin, “The Lyons”; Cynthia Nixon, “Wit.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Danny Burstein, “Follies”; Jeremy Jordan, “Newsies”; Steve Kazee, “Once”; Norm Lewis, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess”; Ron Raines, “Follies.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Jan Maxwell, “Follies”; Audra McDonald, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess”; Cristin Milioti, “Once”; Kelli O’Hara, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”; Laura Osnes, “Bonnie & Clyde.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Christian Borle, “Peter and the Starcatcher”; Michael Cumpsty, “End of the Rainbow”; Tom Edden, “One Man, Two Guvnors”; Andrew Garfield, “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”; Jeremy Shamos, “Clybourne Park.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Linda Emond, “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”; Spencer Kayden, “Don’t Dress for Dinner”; Celia Keenan-Bolger, “Peter and the Starcatcher”; Judith Light, “Other Desert Cities”; Condola Rashad, “Stick Fly.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Phillip Boykin, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess”; Michael Cerveris, “Evita”; David Alan Grier, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess”; Michael McGrath, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”; Josh Young, “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Elizabeth A. Davis, “Once”; Jayne Houdyshell, “Follies”; Judy Kaye, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”; Jessie Mueller, “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever”; Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “Ghost the Musical.”

Best Direction, Play: Best Direction of a Play: Nicholas Hytner, “One Man, Two Guvnors”; Pam MacKinnon, “Clybourne Park”;  Mike Nichols, “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”; Roger Rees and Alex Timbers “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Best Direction, Musical: Jeff Calhoun, “Newsies”;  Kathleen Marshall, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”; Diane Paulus, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess”; John Tiffany, “Once “
Best Costume Design, Play: William Ivey Long, “Don’t Dress for Dinner”; Paul Tazewell, “A Streetcar Named Desire”; Mark Thompson, “One Man, Two Guvnors”; Paloma Young “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Best Costume Design, Musical: Gregg Barnes, “Follies”; ESosa, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess”; Eiko Ishioka, “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark”; Martin Pakledinaz, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”
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