West End transfers have done well in the nominations for the 2007 Tony Awards, with Frost/Nixon, Coram Boy, Journey’s End, A Moon For The Misbegotten and Mary Poppins all receiving nominations. The Lincoln Center Theater production of Tom Stoppard's The Coast Of Utopia also featured heavily, receiving 10 nominations, including Best Play.
The Best Director of a Play category is dominated by transfers, with Michael Grandage (Frost/Nixon), David Grindley (Journey's End) and Melly Still (Coram Boy) nominated alongside The Coast Of Utopia director Jack O'Brien.
The Best Director of a Play nomination is one of three for Frost/Nixon, Peter Morgan's play that started life at the Donmar Warehouse before transferring to the West End. Frank Langella is nominated in the category of Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his portrayal of disgraced former President Richard Nixon. Frost/Nixon is also nominated for Best Play.
The National Theatre production of Coram Boy receives six nominations, two more than it received at the 2006 Laurence Olivier Awards. In addition to Still's directorial nomination, she is also nominated, along with Ti Green, for Best Scenic Design of a Play and Best Costume Design of a Play. Paule Constable is nominated for Best Lighting Design of a Play, and both Xanthe Elbrick and Jan Maxwell receive nominations in the Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play category.
Journey's End, which was last seen in the West End in 2005, also receives six nominations in the categories of Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (Boyd Gaines), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (Stark Sands), Best Direction of a Play (Grindley), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Jonathan Fensom) and Best Lighting Design of a Play (Jason Taylor).
The Old Vic's production of A Moon For The Misbegotten receives one nomination, Eve Best repeating her Laurence Olivier Award feat by being nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.
Gavin Lee, like Best and Langella, also repeats the trick of being nominated for the same performance at both the Laurence Olivier Awards and Tonys. Lee is nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of cheeky chimney sweep Bert in Mary Poppins, one of seven nominations for the show. The others include Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Rebecca Luker), Best Choreography (Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Bob Crowley), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Bob Crowley) and Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Howard Harrison).
Other nominations of interest to the West End aficionado include: The Coast Of Utopia's 10 nominations, of which the Best Scenic Design of a Play nomination is another for Crowley, this time in collaboration with Scott Pask; John Doyle – whose recent West End credits include Sweeney Todd and Mack & Mabel – who is nominated for Best Direction of a Musical for Company; and Rob Ashford, who directs Parade at the Donmar Warehouse this autumn, nominated for Best Choreography for Curtains.
The 2007 Tony Awards are announced on Sunday 10 June. For a full list of nominations visit www.tonyawards.com
MA