Win or lose, ‘Come From Away’ can expect boost from award nominations

TORONTO Bob Martin knows the benefits of the Tony bump.

Martin and Don McKellar co-wrote the book for “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a musical comedy that got its start in Toronto before going to Broadway and scoring 13 Tony nominations, including a nod for best musical.

“We didn’t expect anything, so it was fantastic — and then we ended up winning five Tony Awards,” recalled Martin, who along with McKellar won the best book of a musical prize. The show also won Tonys for original score, costume design, scenic design and best featured actress in a musical for Beth Leavel.

Falling just shy of capturing Broadway’'s biggest musical prize did little to dim the fortunes of “The Drowsy Chaperone.” In fact, the show enjoyed two national tours, was staged in Australia starring Oscar and Tony winner Geoffrey Rush, and other countries including Japan and Sweden. Martin even has Google alerts set up to keep tabs on where the production is heading next.

“It’s been an incredible journey. It changed my life completely because now I spend six months of the year in New York,” he said in a phone interview from the Big Apple, where he is doing a workshop for the new musical “Millions,” for which he has written the book.

“As soon as I won the Tony, I was immediately identified as a librettist — and before that, I had been an actor and a TV writer. So really, it’s hard to overstate how completely my life has changed.”

“Come From Away” co-creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein could find themselves in shared company with their “Drowsy Chaperone” counterparts come Sunday.

The Canadian husband-and-wife team are nominated for best book and best score of a musical, two of the seven Tony nods for “Come From Away.”

The heartwarming musical about Newfoundland hospitality in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks will compete against “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Groundhog Day: The Musical” and “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” for the prestigious best musical Tony.