Nominations for the 1998 Tony Awards were announced May 4.
Ragtime got the most nominations: 13, including Best Musical. The Lion King was next with 11, also including Best Musical; followed by Cabaret with 10, including Best Revival of a Musical.
Among plays, The Beauty Queen of Leenane and a revival of The Chairs were tied with six nominations apiece.
The short-lived Side Show got four nominations, including Best Musical, and an unusual double-nomination for leading ladies Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner, who were nominated as a single performance as Best Actress in a Musical, for playing Siamese twins.
All four members of the cast of British import (and Off-Broadway transfer) The Beauty Queen of Leenane were nominated in various categories. The Capeman got three nominations, including Best Score to Paul Simon and Derek Walcott. Triumph of Love got a single nomination, for leading lady Betty Buckley as Best Actress in a Musical. The stage adaptation of High Society got two nominations, though none for the Cole Porter score.
The annual Tony Award for outstanding regional theatre will be presented to the Denver Center Theatre Company.
Among shows that got no nominations: David Mamet's The Old Neighborhood, Wait Until Dark and two late-season British imports, The Herbal Bed and The Judas Kiss. See a separate story in US Theatre News for a rundown of major artists and productions not nominated.
Playbill On-Line readers reacted strongly to the nominations. Most were pleased overall, though nearly all had some favorite whose name was omitted. See our Playbill Poll for their reactions.
The Antoinette Perry Awards for Broadway achievement will be given June 7 in a ceremony hosted by Rosie O'Donnell and broadcast from Radio City Music Hall in two parts, the first hour on PBS, the second and third hours on CBS-TV. Tickets to the ceremony went on sale to the public starting at 10 AM May 4, and sold out four hours later, according to a Tony spokesperson.
The Tony nominations were announced May 4 at Sardi's theatrical restaurant by O'Donnell, Bernadette Peters and Peter Gallagher.
Coming off a booming season, Broadway talents gave several of the categories their tightest field of nominees in years. Here is the complete list of nominees:
BEST MUSICAL
The Lion King
Ragtime
Scarlet Pimpernel
Side Show
BEST PLAY
Art by Yasmina Reza
Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh
Golden Child by David Henry Hwang
Freak by John Leguizamo
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Cabaret
The Sound of Music
1776
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
The Diary of Anne Frank
A View From the Bridge
Ah, Wilderness!
The Chairs
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Betty Buckley in Triumph of Love
Marin Mazzie in Ragtime
Natasha Richardson in Cabaret
Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner in Side Show
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Alan Cumming in Cabaret
Peter Friedman for Ragtime
Brian Stokes Mitchell Ragtime
Douglas Sills in The Scarlet Pimpernel
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Richard Briers in The Chairs
Anthony LaPaglia for A View From the Bridge
John Leguizamo for Freak
Alfred Molina for Art
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Jane Alexander in Honour
Allison Janney in A View From the Bridge
Geraldine McEwan in The Chairs
Marie Mullen in The Beauty Queen of Leenane
BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Matthew Warchus for Art
Garry Hynes for The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Michael Mayer for A View From the Bridge
Simon McBurney for The Chairs
BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Julie Taymor for The Lion King
Frank Galati for Ragtime
Scott Ellis for 1776
Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall for Cabaret
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
The Forever Tango Dancers for Forever Tango
Graciela Daniele for Ragtime
Garth Fagan for The Lion King
Rob Marshall for Cabaret
BEST SCORE
Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty for Ragtime
Paul Simon and Derek Walcott for The Capeman
Henry Krieger and Bill Russell for Side Show
Elton John, Tim Rice, Lego M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymore and Hans Zimmer for The Lion King
BEST BOOK
Terrence McNally for Ragtime
Nan Knighton for The Scarlet Pimpernel
Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi for The Lion King
Bill Russell for Side Show
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Tom Murphy in The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Brian F. O'Byrne in The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Sam Trammell in Ah, Wilderness!
Max Wright in Ivanov
BEST PEFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Enid Graham in Honour
Linda Lavin in The Diary of Anne Frank
Anna Manahan in The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Julyana Soelistyo in The Golden Child
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Gregg Edelman, 1776
John McMartin, High Society
Ron Rifkin, Cabaret
Samuel E. Wright, The Lion King
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Anna Kendrick, High Society
Tsidii Le Loka, The Lion King
Audra McDonald, Ragtime
Mary Louise Wilson, Cabaret
BEST SCENIC DESIGN
Bob Crowley, The Capeman
Richard Hudson, The Lion King
Eugene Lee, Ragtime
Quay Brothers, The Chairs
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
William Ivey Long, Cabaret
Santo Loquasto, Ragtime
Martin Pakledinaz, Golden Child
Julie Taymor, The Lion King
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Paul Anderson, The Chairs
Peggy Eisenhauer and Mike Baldassari, Cabaret
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Ragtime
Donald Holder, The Lion King
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
William David Brohn, Ragtime
Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler, The Lion King
Michael Gibson, Cabaret
Stanley Silverman, The Capeman
A special Tony for regional theatre will be presented to the Denver Center Theatre Company, accompanied by a $25,000 grant. Other special awards will go to theatrical attorney, Edward E. Colton and set designer, Ben Edwards. A Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre will be given to the International Theatre Institute of the United States.
Here are the totals:
Ragtime -- 13
The Lion King -- 11
Cabaret -- 10
The Beauty Queen of Leenane -- 6
The Chairs -- 6
A View From the Bridge -- 4
Side Show -- 4
Art -- 3
Golden Child -- 3
1776 -- 3
The Capeman -- 3
The Scarlet Pimpernel -- 3
Freak -- 2
High Society -- 2
Honour -- 2
The Diary of Anne Frank -- 2
