Wicked Tops Tony Award Nominations with 10

Wicked, the hit musical playing at the Gershwin Theater, topped the list of Tony Award nominees with 10 when the nominations were announced at the Hudson Theatre on May 10 at 8:30am. Among the show's honors were nominations for its score, book, both of its lead actresses Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel and Best Musical. Despite this success, director Joe Mantello who was honored for helming Assassins did not receive a nomination for his work on Wicked and supporting players Joel Grey and Carole Shelley were also snubbed.

There were several surprises this year, mostly in the featured categories. Michael McElroy, who earned great acclaim for his work in Big River but was overlooked by the Outer Critics Circle Awards and Drama Desk Awards, picked up a nomination in the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical category. The Boy from Oz's Beth Fowler and Wonderful Town Jennifer Westfeldt, also both ignored by previous awards, received nominations in the Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical category. Same goes for Twentieth Century's Tom Aldredge and The Retreat from Moscow's Ben Chaplin Featured Actor in a Play and Daphne Rubin-Vega of the departed Anna in the Tropics Featured Actress in a Play. Another surprise to many may be the success of The Boy from Oz. While a few of the cast members received good reviews especially star Hugh Jackman, the show itself got demolished by critics, yet librettist Martin Sherman received a Best Book nod bringing the show's total to five nominations.

A big winner today was Wonderful Town director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall. Not only did her revival earn a total of five nominations including Best Revival, she received nods for both Best Director and Best Choreographer. She becomes the fourth woman to earn nominations in both categories, following in the footsteps of Graciela Daniele, Susan Stroman and Twyla Tharp.

Six eligible productions were totally snubbed this year. "Master Harold"… and the boys, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, The Violet Hour, Drowning Crow, Sly Fox and Prymate were completely left out of the nominations. While Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Little Shop of Horrors, Sixteen Wounded and The Caretaker received just one nomination each.

Here's a complete list of the nominees:

Best Musical
Avenue Q
Caroline, or Change
The Boy from Oz
Wicked

Best Play
Anna in the Tropics
Frozen
I Am My Own Wife
The Retreat from Moscow

Best Revival of a Musical
Assassins
Big River
Fiddler on the Roof
Wonderful Town

Best Revival of a Play
A Raisin in the Sun
Henry IV
Jumpers
King Lear

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Hunter Foster, Little Shop of Horrors
Hugh Jackman, The Boy from Oz
Alfred Molina, Fiddler on the Roof
Euan Morton, Taboo
John Tartaglia, Avenue Q

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kristin Chenoweth, Wicked
Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Avenue Q
Idina Menzel, Wicked
Donna Murphy, Wonderful Town
Tonya Pinkins, Caroline, or Change

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
John Cariani, Fiddler on the Roof
Michael Cerveris, Assassins
Raúl Esparza, Taboo
Michael McElroy, Big River
Denis O'Hare, Assassins

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Beth Fowler, The Boy from Oz
Isabel Keating, The Boy from Oz
Anika Noni Rose, Caroline, or Change
Jennifer Westfeldt, Wonderful Town
Karen Ziemba, Never Gonna Dance

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Simon Russell Beale, Jumpers
Kevin Kline, Henry IV
Frank Langella, Match
Jefferson Mays, I Am My Own Wife
Christopher Plummer, King Lear

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Eileen Atkins, The Retreat from Moscow
Tovah Feldshuh, Golda's Balcony
Anne Heche, Twentieth Century
Swoosie Kurtz, Frozen
Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Tom Aldredge, Twentieth Century
Ben Chaplin, The Retreat from Moscow
Aidan Gillen, The Caretaker
Omar Metwally, Sixteen Wounded
Brían F. O'Byrne, Frozen

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Essie Davis, Jumpers
Sanaa Lathan, A Raisin in the Sun
Margo Martindale, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Audra McDonald, A Raisin in the Sun
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Anna in the Tropics

Best Director of a Play
Doug Hughes, Frozen
Moisés Kaufman, I Am My Own Wife
David Leveaux, Jumpers
Jack O'Brien, Henry IV

Best Director of a Musical
Joe Mantello, Assassins
Jason Moore, Avenue Q
Kathleen Marshall, Wonderful Town
George C. Wolfe, Caroline, or Change

Best Choreography
Wayne Cilento, Wicked
Kathleen Marshall, Wonderful Town
Jerry Mitchell, Never Gonna Dance
Anthony Van Laast and Farah Khan, Bombay Dreams

Best Book of a Musical
Jeff Whitty, Avenue Q
Martin Sherman, The Boy from Oz
Winnie Holzman, Wicked
Tony Kushner, Caroline, or Change

Best Original Score
Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, Avenue Q
Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner, Caroline, or Change
George O'Dowd, Taboo
Stephen Schwartz, Wicked

Best Scenic Design
Robert Brill, Assassins
Ralph Funicello, Henry IV
Eugene Lee, Wicked
Tom Pye, Fiddler on the Roof

Best Costume Design
Jess Goldstein, Henry IV
Susan Hilferty, Wicked
Mike Nicholls and Bobby Pearce, Taboo
Mark Thompson, Bombay Dreams

Best Lighting Design
Jules Fisher and Peggy Eishenhauer, Assassins
Brian MacDevitt, Fiddler on the Roof
Brian MacDevitt, Henry IV
Kenneth Posner, Wicked

Best Orchestrations
Paul Bogaev, Bombay Dreams
William David Brohn, Wicked
Larry Hochman, Fiddler on the Roof
Michael Starobin, Assassins

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the TheatreJames M. Nederlander

Productions with two or more nominations:
Wicked - 10
Assassins - 7
Avenue Q - 6
Caroline, or Change - 6
Fiddler on the Roof - 6
Henry IV - 6
The Boy From Oz - 5
Wonderful Town - 5
A Raisin in the Sun - 4
Frozen - 4
Jumpers - 4
Taboo - 4
I Am My Own Wife - 3
Bombay Dreams - 3
The Retreat from Moscow - 3
Anna in the Tropics - 2
Big River - 2
King Lear - 2
Never Gonna Dance - 2
Twentieth Century - 2