‘Gentleman’s Guide’ leads Tony nominees
CMU grad Cherry Jones up for best actress
The darkly comic musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder” felt the warm embrace of Tony Award voters with 10 nominations, the most of any production when nominees were announced Tuesday.
The sixth Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” earned six Tony nominations, the first such honors since the play made its debut in 1945.
Two-time Tony winner and Carnegie Mellon University alumna Cherry Jones was nominated as best actress in a play for her role as matriarch Amanda Wingfield, with costars Brian J. Smith and Celia Keenan-Bolger nominated as featured actors in a play. Only Green Tree native Zachary Quinto, in an acclaimed performance, was left out.
The Tony nominations were as notable for those whose names weren’t called as those who got the call. “Rocky,” the mega-musical with songs by composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens, was nominated for best actor, Andy Karl, and for its scenic magic but did not make the best musical cut. “Bullets Over Broadway” earned a best book nomination for Woody Allen but was left off the best musical list. Some big Hollywood names — Denzel Washington, James Franco, Daniel Radcliffe and Michelle Williams, to name a few — also were MIA.
New musicals garnering the most Tony love were “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder,” which counts CMU alumna Jamie deRoy among its producers; “After Midnight”; “Beautiful — The Carole King Musical”; and Disney’s latest Broadway venture, “Aladdin.” The revival of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” was also recognized often, including for star Neil Patrick Harris. Ms. deRoy was a producer of last year’s best play winner, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”
Other CMU alumni in Tony contention include Paula Wagner, a producer of best play nominee “Mothers and Sons.” Tony winner Sutton Foster, a best actress in a musical nominee for the revival of “Violet,” attended CMU and starred in Pittsburgh CLO productions in 2001 and ’04.
“The Glass Menagerie’s” Ms. Keenan-Bolger was a Pittsburgh CLO ensemble member in “Bye Bye Birdie,” circa 1999, and the play’s lighting design nominee, Natasha Katz, worked for CLO in 1982 and ’83. First-time nominee Lauren Worsham (featured actress in “A Gentleman’s Guide”) was seen here in 2012 as Hodel in CLO’s “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Last season, eight CMU alumni were Tony Award winners, including the top acting awards in musicals for Billy Porter and Patina Miller. Of course, you can almost always find local ties when perusing a Broadway Playbill. For example, the “Aladdin” ensemble includes CMU’s Daisy Hobbs and Point Park University’s Bobby Pestka, with Mike Cannon of Point Park as a swing.
“Outside Mullingar,” a best play nominee, is on City Theatre’s slate for the 2014-15 season. “Twelfth Night,” with seven nominations and three best featured actor nominees, was seen at Pittsburgh Public Theater in 1991, when Mark Rylance brought his all-male company here. Mr. Rylance, a two-time Tony winner, is nominated twice — as a feature actor in “Twelfth Night” and as best actor in “Richard III.” The Public leads off its 2014-15 season Oct. 2 by reviving “The Glass Menagerie.”
On Monday, it was announced that CMU will partner with The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, which present the Tonys, to honor educators who have excelled in teaching the arts in grades K-12.
The Tony Awards ceremony will be broadcast live June 8 on CBS, as host Hugh Jackman reminded online viewers when he crashed Tuesday’s announcement before Lucy Liu and Jonathan Groff read the names of the nominees.
For a full list of nominees, visit TonyAwards.com.
Sharon Eberson: seberson@ post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: SEberson_pg.