The Life, Cy Coleman and Ira Gasman's gritty musical about 1980 Times Square street life, got 12 nominations for the 1997 Antoinette Perry Awards May 5, the most for any single show.

Steel Pier got 11 nominations; Chicago got eight. Among non-musicals, A Doll's House, Skylight and The Last Night Of Ballyhoo got four nominations each.

Berkeley Rep in Berkeley, CA was named outstanding regional theatre.

A special Tony Award for lifetime achievement was voted to Bernard B. Jacobs, long-time president of the Shubert Organization who passed away in August 1996.

Some of the leading lights of Broadway musical orchestration were nominated in a new Tony category: Best Orchestrations. Nominees include Jonathan Tunick, Don Sebesky and Luther Henderson. According to a spokesperson for The Gin Game, Julie Harris' 10th Tony nomination makes her the most nominated actress in Broadway history. She's already won more Tony awards - five - than any other actress on the Great White Way.

The 12 nominations for The Life -- virtually every category in which it was eligible -- came the same morning that it was announced the show had won the Outer Critics Circle Award as Best Broadway Musical. For other OCC winners, see story Outer Critics Awards Winners Announced in Theatre News. To top off a busy day for The Life, the show also recorded its original cast album May 5.

Producer Roger Berlind must have enjoyed the nominations. Three shows he produced this season were nominated as "Bests": Skylight for Best Play and both The Life and Steel Pier (a combined investment of $15 million) for Best Musical.

The American Theatre Wing and League Of American Theatres & Producers announced the official nominees for the 1996-97 Tony Awards in a ceremony hosted by Rosie O'Donnell, Alec Baldwin and Raquel Welch at Sardi's Restaurant in Manhattan, May 5.

The Awards will be bestowed in a June 1 ceremony at Radio City Music Hall, to be broadcast on PBS (8-9 PM) and CBS-TV (9-11 PM), hosted by Rosie O'Donnell.

BEST PLAY:
Skylight; Stanley; The Last Night Of Ballyhoo; The Young Man From Atlanta

BEST MUSICAL:
Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass; Steel Pier; The Life; Titanic

BEST PLAY REVIVAL:
A Doll's House; London Assurance; Present Laughter; The Gin Game

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL:
Annie; Candide; Chicago; Once Upon A Mattress.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY:
Brian Bedford (London Assurance); Michael Gambon (Skylight); Christopher Plummer (Barrymore); Antony Sher (Stanley)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY:
Julie Harris (Gin Game); Shirley Knight (Young Man From Atlanta); Janet McTeer (A Doll's House); Lia Williams (Skylight).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:
Bob Cuccioli Jekyll & Hyde); Jim Dale (Candide); Daniel McDonald (Steel Pier); James Naughton (Chicago).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:
Pamela Isaacs (The Life); Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago); Tonya Pinkins (Play On!); Karen Ziemba (Steel Pier).

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY:
John Caird (Stanley); Richard Eyre (Skylight); Anthony Page (A Doll's House); Charles Nelson Reilly (The Gin Game).

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL:
Michael Blakemore (The Life); Walter Bobbie (Chicago); Scott Ellis (Steel Pier); Julie Taymor (Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass).

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY:
Wayne Cilento (Dream); Joey McKneely (The Life); Ann Reinking (Chicago); Susan Stroman (Steel Pier).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY:
Terry Beaver (The Last Night Of Ballyhoo); William Biff McGuire (Young Man From Atlanta); Brian Murray (The Little Foxes); Owen Teale (A Doll's House).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY:
Helen Carey (London Assurance); Dana Ivey (Last Night Of Ballyhoo); Celia Weston (Last Night Of Ballyhoo); Lynne Thigpen (An American Daughter).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL:
Joel Blum (Steel Pier); Chuck Cooper (The Life); Andre De Shields (Play On!); Sam Harris (The Life).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:
Marcia Lewis (Chicago(); Andrea Martin (Candide); Debra Monk (Steel Pier); Lillias White (The Life).

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC & LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE:
Juan Darien (Elliot Goldenthal musical and lyrics), Steel Pier (music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb), The Life (music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Ira Gasman), Titanic (music and lyrics by Maury Yeston)

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL:
Leslie Bricusse (Jekyll & Hyde), David Thompson (Steel Pier), David Newman, Ira Gasman, Cy Coleman (The Life), Peter Stone (Titanic)

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS:
Michael Gibson (Steel Pier); Luther Henderson (Play On!); Don Sebesky/Harold Wheeler (The Life); Jonathan Tunick (Titanic)

BEST SCENIC DESIGN:
John Lee Beatty (The Little Foxes); Stewart Laing (Titanic); G.W. Mercier/Julie Taymor (Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass); Tony Walton (Steel Pier).

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
Ann Curtis (Jekyll & Hyde); Judith Dolan (Candide); William Ivey Long (Chicago); Martin Pakledinaz (The Life).

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN:
Ken Billington (Chicago); Beverly Emmons (Jekyll & Hyde); Donald Holder (Juan Darien); Richard Pilbrow (The Life).

SPECIAL AWARDS:
Bernard B. Jacobs for lifetime achievement.

REGIONAL THEATRE: Berkeley Repertory.

MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS:
The Life: 12
Steel Pier: 11
Chicago: 8
Juan Darien: 5
Titanic: 5
A Doll's House: 4
Candide: 4
Jekyll & Hyde: 4
Last Night of Ballyhoo: 4
Skylight: 4
London Assurance: 3
Play On!: 3
Stanley: 3
The Gin Game: 3
The Young Man From Atlanta: 3
The Little Foxes: 2

For information on how to purchase tickets for the Tony Awards, refer to our story, Tony Tickets Go On Sale to The Public.
To see PBOL's opinion of who was left out of the Tony Nominations, please refer to our story, And the 'Egregiously Overlooked' Are....
To contibute your opinion of the Tony nominations, please take the Playbill Poll.