SCHOOL AND fISH
‘Mean Girls,’ ‘SpongeBob’ lead in Tony nominations
THE PLASTICS and Bikini Bottom’s finest cleaned up at the Tony Award nominations. “Mean Girls” and “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” lead in the Tony nods announced Tuesday with 12 apiece, as the revival of “Angels in America,” the new musical “The Band’s Visit” and the musical revival “Carousel” followed closely with 11 nods. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” earned 10 nominations, the most for a new play. Joining “Harry Potter” in the best play race are “The Children,” “Farinelli and the King,” “Junk” and “Latin History for Morons.” Best musical nominees include “Frozen,” “Mean Girls,” SpongeBob SquarePants” and “The Band’s Visit.” Glenda Jackson, a four-time Tony nominee who returned to Broadway after three decades away, will vie for best actress in a play with Condola Rashad in “Saint Joan,” Lauren Ridloff in “Children of a Lesser God” and Amy Schumer in “Meteor Shower.” The best actor in a play race includes Andrew Garfield in “Angels in America,” Tom Hollander in “Travesties,” Jamie Parker in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” Mark Rylance in “Farinelli and the King” and Denzel Washington in “The Iceman Cometh.”
The three shows up for best musical revival include “Carousel,” “My Fair Lady” and “Once on This Island.”
Best play revival nods went to “Angels in America,” “Three Tall Women,” “The Iceman Cometh,” “Lobby Hero” and “Travesties.”
The best actor in a musical field includes Harry Hadden-Paton in “My Fair Lady,” Joshua Henry in “Carousel,” Tony Shalhoub in “The Band’s Visit” and Ethan Slater in “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Best actress in a musical nominees include Lauren Ambrose in “My Fair Lady,” Hailey Kilgore in “Once on This Island,” LaChanze in “Summer,” Katrina Lenk in “The Band’s Visit,” Taylor Louderman in “Mean Girls” and Jessie Mueller in “Carousel.”
Featured acting categories in plays and musicals, as always, features an array of known stars and newcomers. Nathan Lane, Michael Cera, David Morse, Laurie Metcalf, Norbert Leo Butz, Ari’el Stachel, Renee Fleming and Diana Rigg are among the nominees.
Shows that failed to earn any nominations include the Jimmy Buffett musical “Escape to Margaritaville” and the Uma Thurman play “The Parisian Woman.”
Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban will host the 72nd annual Tony Awards from Radio City Musical Hall on June 10.