Spring Awakening, Utopia, Grey Gardens Top List of 2007 Tony Nominees

Spring Awakening, The Coast of Utopia and Grey Gardens topped the list of 2007 Tony Award nominees, which were announced on May 15 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center by Tony winner Jane Krakowski and Broadway veteran Taye Diggs. Spring led the pack with 11 Tony nods, followed by 10 nominations each for Utopia and Grey Gardens.

The Tony nominators spread the wealth: Curtains picked up eight nominations, and Mary Poppins and Legally Blonde got seven each, although Blonde was denied the most prestigious nod, for Best Musical. In that highly competitive category, LoveMusik and its director, Harold Prince, were also left out, though the show's stars, Michael Cerveris, Donna Murphy and David Pittu garnered nominations. Snubbed completely—even for its elaborate costumes and design elements—was The Pirate Queen.

The large nomination count for The Coast of Utopia was fueled by the inclusion of five of its actors, including featured players Billy Crudup, Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Ehle and Martha Plimpton. In the toughest race of the season, Best Actor in a Play, Coast star Brian F. O'Byrne earned a spot alongside Boyd Gaines of Journey's End, Frank Langella of Frost/Nixon, Christopher Plummer of Inherit the Wind and Liev Schreiber of Talk Radio. Among the celebrated performers who did not make the cut: Plummer's co-star Brian Dennehy, Gaines' co-star Hugh Dancy, Langella's co-star Michael Sheen, Kevin Spacey of A Moon for the Misbegotten and Bill Nighy of The Vertical Hour.

The most glaring omission among actresses was Kristin Chenoweth, who played four roles in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of the musical The Apple Tree. Although Angela Lansbury was honored for Deuce, her co-star, Marian Seldes, was not.

In the play categories, Melly Still drew the most individual nominations for her production of Coram Boy cited for Best Director, Best Costume Design and Best Scenic Design the latter two with Ti Green. However, the play itself was not nominated, a big disappointment for the big-budget British transfer.

Here is a complete list of this year's nominees:

Best Play
The Coast of Utopia by Tom Stoppard
Frost/Nixon by Peter Morgan
The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane
Radio Golf by August Wilson

Best Musical
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Mary Poppins
Spring Awakening

Best Revival of a Play
Inherit the Wind
Journey's End
Talk Radio
Translations

Best Revival of a Musical
110 in the Shade
The Apple Tree
A Chorus Line
Company

Best Special Theatrical Event
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only
Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Boyd Gaines, Journey's End
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Brian F. O'Byrne, The Coast of Utopia
Christopher Plummer, Inherit the Wind
Liev Schreiber, Talk Radio

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Eve Best, A Moon for the Misbegotten
Angela Lansbury, Deuce
Swoosie Kurtz, Heartbreak House
Vanessa Redgrave, The Year of Magical Thinking
Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, LoveMusik
Raul Esparza, Company
Jonathan Groff, Spring Awakening
Gavin Lee, Mary Poppins
David Hyde Pierce, Curtains

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Laura Bell Bundy, Legally Blonde
Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens
Audra McDonald, 110 in the Shade
Donna Murphy, LoveMusik
Debra Monk, Curtains

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Anthony Chisholm, Radio Golf
Billy Crudup, The Coast of Utopia
Ethan Hawke, The Coast of Utopia
John Earl Jelks, Radio Golf
Stark Sands, Journey's End

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Jennifer Ehle, The Coast of Utopia
Xanthe Elbrick, Coram Boy
Dana Ivey, Butley
Jan Maxwell, Coram Boy
Martha Plimpton, The Coast of Utopia

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Brooks Ashmanskas, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
Christian Borle, Legally Blonde
John Cullum, 110 in the Shade
John Gallagher, Jr, Spring Awakening
David Pittu, LoveMusik

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Charlotte d'Amboise, A Chorus Line
Rebecca Luker, Mary Poppins
Orfeh, Legally Blonde
Mary Louise Wilson, Grey Gardens
Karen Ziemba, Curtains

Best Direction of a Play
Michael Grandage, Frost/Nixon
David Grindley, Journey's End
Jack O'Brien, The Coast of Utopia
Melly Still, Coram Boy

Best Direction of a Musical
John Doyle, Company
Scott Ellis, Curtains
Michael Greif, Grey Gardens
Michael Mayer, Spring Awakening

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Curtains
Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear, Mary Poppins
Bill T. Jones, Spring Awakening
Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde

Best Book of a Musical
Rupert Holmes and Peter Stone, Curtains
Doug Wright, Grey Gardens
Heather Hach, Legally Blonde
Steven Sater, Spring Awakening

Best Original Score Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre
Music: John Kander; Lyrics: Fred Ebb, John Kander & Ruper Holmes, Curtains
Music: Scott Frankel; Lyrics: Michael Korie, Grey Gardens
Music & Lyrics: Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, Legally Blonde
Music: Duncan Sheik; Lyrics: Steven Sater, Spring Awakening

Best Orchestrations
Bruce Coughlin, Grey Gardens
Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening
Jonathan Tunick, LoveMusik
Jonathan Tunick, 110 in the Shade

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bob Crowley and Scott Pask, The Coast of Utopia
Jonathan Fensom, Journey's End
David Gallo, Radio Golf
Ti Green and Melly Still, Coram Boy

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins
Christine Jones, Spring Awakening
Anna Louizos, High Fidelity
Allen Moyer, Grey Gardens

Best Costume Design of a Play
Ti Green and Melly Still, Coram Boy
Jane Greenwood, Heartbreak House
Santo Loquasto, Inherit the Wind
Catherine Zuber, The Coast of Utopia

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Legally Blonde
Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins
Susan Hilferty, Spring Awakening
William Ivey Long, Grey Gardens

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, Coram Boy
Brian MacDevitt, Inherit the Wind
Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner and Natasha Katz, The Coast of Utopia
Jason Taylor, Journey's End

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, Spring Awakening
Christopher Akerlind, 110 in the Shade
Howard Harrison, Mary Poppins
Peter Kaczorowski, Grey Gardens

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA

Total Nominations by Production
Spring Awakening - 11
The Coast of Utopia - 10
Grey Gardens - 10
Coram Boy - 6
Journey's End - 6
Curtains - 8
Legally Blonde - 7
Mary Poppins - 7
110 in the Shade - 5
Inherit the Wind - 4
LoveMusik - 4
Radio Golf - 4
Company - 3
Frost/Nixon - 3
A Chorus Line - 2
Heartbreak House - 2
The Little Dog Laughed - 2
Talk Radio - 2
A Moon for the Misbegotten - 1
Butley - 1
Deuce - 1
High Fidelity - 1
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me - 1
Translations - 1 The Year of Magical Thinking - 1