I didn't realize you could be nominated for the same role twice. Nina Arianda and Jeremy Shamos were nominated in 2010 for Venus in Fur and Clybourne Park, respectively. And yet Hugh Dancy doesn't score a nomination. A shame.
I thought she was an incredible Maureen-she's the best I've ever seen in the role. I'm glad she was remembered for her performance. (Surprised? Maybe a little, but it was a pleasant surprise.)
It seems that the Drama League has an unspoken "No more than 2 people from any given show" rule...yes?
NOTABLE OVERSIGHTS: Absolutely nothing for Lysistrata Jones, but Ghost and Leap of Faith get Best Musical nominations. Patrick Page Laura Osnes Melissa Van Der Schyff Kara Lindsay Judy Kaye (or any of the other Noce Work supporting cast) Danny Burstein (or any of the other Follies supporting cast) Michael Cerveris Stacy Keach Rachel Griffiths Tom Sadoski Hugh Dancy Jennifer Lim Any of the 1M2G supporting cast Dick Latessa Any of the Columnist supporting cast Carla Gugino Jim Dale Finn Wittrock (or any of the Salesman supporting cast...although if they could only pick 2, I understand the Hoffman/Garfield choice) Nicole Ari Parker Spencer Kayden
Obvioudly, there were a lot more left off, but I am a bit suprised by those in particular...
I was so confused not to see Stockard Channing until I realized she isn't eligible as she has won before. Makes more sense to me now.
There are other shows where I would have selected different folks. Cerveris over Roger and Martin in Evita. Adam Driver over Matthew Rhys in Look Back, but overall a solid list.
It does seem (to me, at least) that this is a season that didn't have one performance praised (or buzzed) above all others. There's no Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens or LuPone in Gypsy. I really have no idea who it will go to, which is actually fairly refreshing. My vote would be for Mary Louise Wilson in 4000 Miles. That's probably a stretch.
Yes, there is an unspoken "no more than 2 nominees per show" (with some exceptions), which explains a lot of the omissions. I am surprised, though, by the omissions of Patrick Page, Spencer Kayden, and Danny Burstein, all of whom I think will get a Tony nomination.
In addition to the weird thing that Arianda and Shamos are getting re-nominated for the same role, the productions of Other Desert Cities, Clybourne Park, and Venus of Fur are also re-nominated for Distinguished Production of a Play, which seems strange (particularly for Clybourne Park, which to the best of my knowledge has no cast changes or significant design element changes).
I think it will go to either Lansbury, who as I said before, has never won, Hoffman, whose performance has been very well-received.
I don't know why something tells me Lansbury may get it. She is a living legend (I know that term gets bandied about often-but she is one) and this is one award she's NEVER won.
Danny Burstein didn't suck. He was egregiously overlooked because Follies is really centered on the ladies (Maxwell was nominated and Peters got an honorary spot on the dais). Burstein deserves to win the award (frankly, I'd have given him the outstanding performance award).
Nobody is claiming that Danny Burstein "sucked." We're talking about the absurdity of this kind of list of nominees where everyone is tossed in together with almost-impossible odds of actually winning. I doubt anyone on the nominating committee argued against nominating Mr. Burstein because FOLLIES is so "ladies-centered."
If they failed to award Angela Lansbury for her legendary turns in Mame, Gypsy, Dear World, Sweeney Todd and later for her great achievements in Blithe Spirit and A Little Night Music I highly doubt she can win for The Best Man. To be honest I think she has better chances winning 6th Tony this year than winning here.
A nomination really means nothing. A win, however, is a great honor and often the winner of the Drama League Award wins the Tony in his or her respective category. (Except for Fred Molina...)
Not knowing much about the Drama League, my curiosity piqued by Angela Lansbury never having one, I just looked at the previous performer winners.
As impressive a roster of great actors on Broadway as imaginable; practically a pantheon with few musical icons, Peters, Lupone, Kiley and Ebersole being the exceptions, and many shocking omissions including Mostel, Channing, and Merman. Clearly a preference for the legit. Perhaps most telling is of the three great Harrises, Julie and Rosemary are there, but no Barbara.
1935 Katharine Cornell 1936 Helen Hayes 1937 Maurice Evans 1938 Sir Cedric Hardwicke 1939 Raymond Massey 1940 Paul Muni 1941 Paul Lukas 1942 Judith Evelyn 1943 Alfred Lunt 1944 Lynn Fontanne 1945 Mady Christians 1946 Louis Calhern 1947 Ingrid Bergman 1948 Dame Judith Anderson 1949 Robert Morley 1950 Grace George 1951 Claude Rains 1952 Julie Harris 1953 Shirley Booth 1954 Josephine Hull 1955 Viveca Lindfors 1956 David Wayne 1957 Eli Wallach 1958 Ralph Bellamy 1959 Cyril Ritchard 1960 Jessica Tandy 1961 Hume Cronyn 1962 Paul Scofield 1963 Charles Boyer 1964 Sir Alec Guinness 1965 Sir John Gielgud 1966 Richard Kiley 1967 Rosemary Harris 1968 Zoe Caldwell 1969 Alec McCowan 1970 James Stewart 1971 Sir Anthony Quayle 1972 Eileen Atkins and Claire Bloom 1973 Alan Bates 1974 Christopher Plummer 1975 John Wood 1976 Eve LeGallienne 1977 Tom Courtenay 1978 Frank Langella 1979 Frances Sternhagen 1980 Roy Schder 1981 Sir Ian McKellen 1982 Milo O’Shea 1983 Kate Nelligan and Edward Hermann 1984 Jeremy Irons 1985 Sir Derek Jacobi 1986 Bernadette Peters 1987 James Earl Jones 1988 John Lithgow 1989 Pauline Collins 1990 Robert Morse 1991 Stockard Channing 1992 Glenn Close 1993 Stephen Rea 1994 Sam Waterston 1995 Cherry Jones 1996 Uta Hagen 1997 Charles Durning and Bebe Neuwirth 1998 Brian Stokes Mitchell 1999 Kathleen Chalfant 2000 Eileen Heckart 2001 Mary-Louise Parker and Gary Sinise 2002 Liam Neeson 2003 Harvey Fierstein 2004 Hugh Jackman 2005 Norbert Leo Butz 2006 Christine Ebersole 2007 Liev Schreiber 2008 Patti LuPone 2009 Geoffrey Rush 2010 Alfred Molina 2011 Mark Rylance
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joined:5/3/03
Posted: 4/24/12 at 11:09am