Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis in scene from Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess'
The 2012 Tony Award Nominations were announced today in New York City by Emmy winning-actress Kristin Chenoweth and Emmy and Golden Globe winning-actor, Jim Parson.
“The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” with an African-American cast, receives a total of ten nominations, more than any other play or musical except the musical “Once,” which received eleven nominations. “Porgy and Bess” was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical; Best Direction of a Musical (Diane Paulus); Best Costume Design of a Musical (Esosa); Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Christopher Akerlind); Best Sound Design of a Musical (Acme Sound Partners); and Best Orchestrations (William David Brohn and Christopher Jahnke).
Four actors were nominated for their roles in “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” including: four-time Tony Award winner, Audra McDonald for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical; and first-time nominee Norm Lewis for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. Both David Alan Grier and Phillip Boykin (who is making his Broadway debut) are nominees in the same category for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical.
This year’s nominees included seven African American actors. The other nominees in the acting category were: two-time Tony Award winner James Earl Jones for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, (“Gore Vidal’s The Best Man”); and two actors who are making their Broadway debuts: Condola Rashad, the daughter of Phylicia Rashad, for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play (“Stick Fly) and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“Ghost the Musical”).
Although “A Streetcar Named Desire” was disappointingly shut out in other categories, the production did receive a nomination for Best Costume Design of a Play. Pop star Ricky Martin also was not nominated for his featured role in “Evita.”
The 2011/2012 eligibility season began on April 29, 2011 and ended on April 26, 2012. The Tony Awards will be voted in 26 competitive categories by 851 members of the theatrical community.
The 2012 recipients for the non-competitive categories include: Emanuel Azenberg for the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre; The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. for the Regional Theatre Award; Bernadette Peters for the Isabelle Stevenson Award; Hugh Jackson and the Actors’ Equity Association for the Special Tony Award; Freddie Gershon, Artie Siccardi and TDF Open Doors for the Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.
The American Theatre Wing’s 66th Annual Antoinette Perry “Tony Awards” will be broadcast live from New York City’s Beacon Theatre on Sunday, June 10, 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m ET/PT on CBS.
For a complete list of the 2012 Tony Award Nominations, please visit: www.tonyawards.com.
Gwendolyn Quinn is veteran media specialist with a career spanning 20 years. She is the founder of the African American Public Relations Collective (AAPRC) and the publisher and editorial director of Global Communicator, an e-publication for public relations, marketing, journalists and communications professionals. She is a contributor to Souls Revealed (Souls of My Sisters/Kensington) and featured in Handle Your Entertainment Business (Grand Central/Warner Publishing). She is a contributor to the forthcoming book, Souls of My Faithful Sisters (Souls of My Sisters/Kensington). Contact her at GwendolynQuinn@aol.com.
