The Broadway transfer of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical has received a staggering 12 Tony Award nominations.
Announced today by Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Tony Award-winning actress Sutton Foster in a live webcast on www.TonyAwards.com, the four young Matildas who lead the cast of the New York show, Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro, will also receive a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.
Many of the nominations announced today are for company members who were awarded Olivier Awards last year for their involvement in the West End production, which saw the musical take home a record-breaking seven awards including the prize for Best New Musical Award, a category in which the Broadway show will compete at the Tonys.
Bertie Carvel, who originated the role of Miss Trunchbull when the show first opened at the RSC’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon, is nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical following his Best Actor in a Musical Olivier Award win.
Matthew Warchus, who won Best Director in 2012 for the show, receives a nomination in the Best Director of a Musical category, while Peter Darling is nominated for Best Choreography and last year’s Best Set Design winner Rob Howell receives nods for Best Costume Design of a Musical and Best Scenic Design of a Musical.
Also nominated are writer Dennis Kelly (Best Book of a Musical), musician and comedian Tim Minchin (Best Original Score Written for the Theatre) and Hugh Vanstone, who faces stiff competition in the Best Lighting Design of a Musical from Kenneth Posner having received three nominations in the same category.
Lauren Ward, who has played the role of Miss Honey in Stratford, the West End and on Broadway, and American actor Gabriel Ebert earn nominations in the Best Performance by an Actor and Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical categories.
British actor Tom Sturridge also has reason for celebration today following a nomination in the hotly contested Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category, facing competition from Tom Hanks, Nathan Lane, Tracy Letts and David Hyde Pierce, while British designer Soutra Gilmore receives a Best Costume Design in a Play nomination for her work on Cyrano De Bergerac.
Matilda The Musical faces competition from new musical Kinky Boots, which leads the nominations with 13 nods and was adapted from the 2005 British film.
The winners of the 67th annual Tony Awards will be announced on Sunday 9 June 2013 at a ceremony held at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. For a full list of nominees, visit the Tony Awards website.