Tina Fey鈥檚 musical 鈥淢ean Girls,鈥� which she adapted from her much-beloved and oft-quoted 2004 high school comedy movie, and the goofy undersea adaptation from the cartoon 鈥淪pongeBob SquarePants: The Musical鈥� lead the Tony Award nominations with dozen nods each.
A British revival of 鈥淎ngels in America,鈥� Tony Kushner鈥檚 monumental, two-part drama about AIDS, life and love during the 1980s, grabbed 11 nominations 鈥� the most for any play 鈥� 25 years after it first appeared on Broadway. The shimmering, grown-up musical 鈥淭he Band鈥檚 Visit鈥� also earned 11 nods.
J.K. Rowling鈥檚 鈥淗arry Potter鈥� franchise extended its magical touch to Broadway, with a two-part stage play featuring the bespectacled wizard earning 10 nominations, as did a revival of 鈥淢y Fair Lady.鈥�
Best new musical category is filled by 鈥淭he Band鈥檚 Visit,鈥� 鈥滷rozen,鈥� 鈥滿ean Girls鈥� and 鈥淪pongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.鈥� Those musicals that failed to make the cut were the Hal Prince revue 鈥淧rince of Broadway,鈥� the Jimmy Buffet musical 鈥淓scape to Margaritaville鈥� and 鈥淪ummer,鈥� about disco diva Donna Summer.
The two-part 鈥淗arry Potter and the Cursed Child,鈥� which picks up 19 years from where Rowling鈥檚 last novel left off and portrays Potter and his friends as grown-ups, won nine Olivier Awards in London before coming to America and bewitching critics and audiences alike. It now will face 鈥淭he Children,鈥� 鈥滷arinelli and The King,鈥� 鈥滼unk鈥� and 鈥淟atin History for Morons鈥� for best new play.
Best male acting nominations for a play include Denzel Washington, starring in a revival of Eugene O鈥橬eill鈥檚 epic 鈥淭he Iceman Cometh.鈥� The 2010 Tony winner for 鈥淔ences鈥� will have to face-off against Andrew Garfield in 鈥淎ngels in America,鈥� Tom Hollander of 鈥淭ravesties,鈥� Jamie Parker of 鈥淗arry Potter and the Cursed Child鈥� and Mark Rylance in 鈥淔arinelli and The King.鈥�
Michael Cera of Brampton, Ont., received a nomination for best featured actor in a play for his role in 鈥淟obby Hero.鈥�
Amy Schumer, who made her Broadway debut in Steve Martin鈥檚 comedy 鈥淢eteor Shower,鈥� won a nomination for best actress in a play. Others in the category include Glenda Jackson from 鈥淓dward Albee鈥檚 Three Tall Women,鈥� Condola Rashad in 鈥淪aint Joan鈥� and Lauren Ridloff in 鈥淐hildren of a Lesser God.鈥�
鈥淐arousel,鈥� 鈥滿y Fair Lady鈥� and 鈥淥nce on This Island鈥� make up the best musical revival category, mostly because they鈥檙e only eligible nominees.
The best play revival category is filled by 鈥淎ngels in America,鈥� 鈥漈hree Tall Women,鈥� 鈥滾obby Hero,鈥� 鈥漈ravesties鈥� and 鈥淭he Iceman Cometh.鈥�
Bruce Springsteen, whose solo show mixes songs and stories from his bestselling memoir 鈥淏orn to Run鈥� and has been banking over $2 million each week he鈥檚 onstage, will be granted a special, non-competitive Tony, along with John Leguizamo for 鈥淟atin History for Morons.鈥�
Plenty of nominations don鈥檛 necessarily lead to actual wins on Tony night. While 鈥淗amilton鈥� was nominated for 16 awards in 2016 and went on to win 11, just last year 鈥淣atasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812鈥� earned a leading 12 nominations but got just two technical awards on the big night.
Related: 鈥楽hape of Water鈥� Oscars wins called a 鈥榳atershed moment鈥� for Canadian film
Related: Okanagan-born makeup artist sees wonderous heights
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Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
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