An American in Paris and Fun Home lead 2015 Tony Award nominations with 12 nods each

The musicals An American in Paris and Fun Home each received a leading 12 Tony Award nominations on Tuesday, showing two very different sides of this Broadway season.

One side is sunny — the dance-heavy stage adaptation of the 1951 musical film choreographed by Gene Kelly — and the other moody — the dark show based on Alison Bechdel's coming of age graphic novel about her closeted and suicidal dad.

Michael Cerveris got one of the dozen nods for Fun Home — as best leading actor in a musical — and hopes that will attract more people to see his poignant show that might not initially be a lure for tourists.

"The real value of the Tonys — and I suppose any awards — is to draw attention to something that people otherwise might not seek out. So the fact that every aspect of the production has been acknowledged is the best kind of advertising," he said.

The nominations also ranged from 11-year-old Sydney Lucas in Fun Home to 82-year-old Chita Rivera, looking for her third Tony. Helen Mirren and Bradley Cooper each got nominations but Matthew Morrison from Glee did not get a nod in his return to Broadway.

The best new play category will include the candidates Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two, Hand to God, Disgraced and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 

Larry David's Fish in the Dark was snubbed entirely.

Best new musicals

In addition to An American in Paris and Fun Home, the best new musical category includes Something Rotten! and The Visit. The Peter Pan-themed Finding Neverland, marking Harvey Weinstein first-ever venture into Broadway as a lead producer, didn't get a single nomination.

The British did well, with transfers Wolf Hall Parts One & Two, The Audience, The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time and Skylight grabbing 24 nominations.

Sting's The Last Ship earned the rocker a nomination for best original score even though his show has closed.

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The best play revival category has The Elephant Man, Skylight, This is Our Youth and You Can't Take It With You. The revival of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, with John Lithgow and Glenn Close, failed to muster up a single nomination.

The musical revival category has three strong candidates: The King and I, On the Town, On the Twentieth Century. (Vanessa Hudgens' Gigi only got one, for actress Victoria Clark.)

The nominations were announced in a televised event co-hosted by Mary-Louise Parker and Bruce Willis. The Tonys will be handed out at Radio City Music Hall on June 7.

Best actor and actress

The best actress in a musical category includes Kristin Chenoweth for On the Twentieth Century, Kelli O'Hara for The King and I, Chita Rivera for The Visit, Leanne Cope from An American in Paris and Beth Malone from Fun Home.

O'Hara got her sixth nomination for her role as the English school teacher in a revival of the classic 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I.

She and Kristin Chenoweth (nominated for the romp On the Twentieth Century) are the hot favourites in the category to win; the two are friends and O'Hara said their two shows are "like apples and oranges."

"I certainly don't want to win because of something left over from years past. I'm doing a show every night and that needs to be judged," she said. "And that's all I can focus on."

The best actor in a musical nominees are Brian d'Arcy James for Something Rotten!, Michael Cerveris in Fun Home, Ken Watanabe in The King and I, Tony Yazbeck in On the Town and Robert Fairchild in An American in Paris.

The best actor in a play nominees include Cooper for The Elephant Man, Ben Miles for Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two, Alex Sharp in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Steven Boyer in Hand to God, and Bill Nighy for Skylight.

This time last year, Sharp hadn't yet graduated from Juilliard. "I never imagined this, not in my wildest dreams," said the star of a show based on an adaptation of Mark Haddon's bestselling novel about a teenager with Asperger's syndrome who tries to find a dog's killer.

Sharp, who thought he'd be an unemployed actor for a decade, didn't miss the announcement. "Yes I was up, watching. The ones who say they aren't are probably lying," he said.

The five best actresses in a play nominees are: Carey Mulligan in Skylight, Mirren in The Audience, Ruth Wilson in Constellations, Geneva Carr in Hand to God and Elisabeth Moss in The Heidi Chronicles.

Mirren earned her nod for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience, which imagines the private weekly meetings between the monarch and eight of Britain's prime ministers over her six-decade reign. Mirren already has an Oscar for playing the same sovereign in the film The Queen and was a hit in the play in London.

"I've studied the shape of her mouth. I know her face probably better than anyone else does. But it's only my portrait," she said. "I can only surmise and imagine."

The complete list of nominees for the 2015 Tony Awards, announced Tuesday:

Best Play

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Disgraced
• Hand to God
• Wolf Hall Parts One & Two

Best Musical

• An American in Paris
• Fun Home
• Something Rotten!
• The Visit

Best Revival of a Play

• The Elephant Man
• Skylight
• This Is Our Youth
• You Can't Take It with You

Best Revival of a Musical

• The King and I
• On the Town
• On the Twentieth Century

Best Book of a Musical

• An American in Paris
• Fun Home
• Something Rotten!
• The Visit

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

• Fun Home, Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron
• The Last Ship, Music & Lyrics: Sting 
• Something Rotten!, Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
• The Visit, Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

• Steven Boyer, Hand to God
• Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
• Ben Miles, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
• Bill Nighy, Skylight
• Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

• Geneva Carr, Hand to God
• Helen Mirren, The Audience
• Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
• Carey Mulligan, Skylight
• Ruth Wilson, Constellations

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

• Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
• Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
• Brian d'Arcy James, Something Rotten!
• Ken Watanabe, The King and I
• Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

• Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
• Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
• Beth Malone, Fun Home
• Kelli O'Hara, The King and I
• Chita Rivera, The Visit

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

• Matthew Beard, Skylight
• K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
• Richard McCabe, The Audience
• Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
• Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
• Micah Stock, It's Only a Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

• Annaleigh Ashford, You Can't Take It with You
• Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
• Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
• Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
• Julie White, Airline Highway

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

• Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
• Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
• Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
• Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
• Max von Essen, An American in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

• Victoria Clark, Gigi
• Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
• Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
• Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
• Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

Best Scenic Design of a Play

• Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Bob Crowley, Skylight
• Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
• David Rockwell, You Can't Take It with You

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

• Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
• David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
• Michael Yeargan, The King and I
• David Zinn, Fun Home

Best Costume Design of a Play

• Bob Crowley, The Audience
• Jane Greenwood, You Can't Take It with You
• Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
• David Zinn, Airline Highway

Best Costume Design of a Musical

• Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!
• Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
• William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
• Catherine Zuber, The King and I

Best Lighting Design of a Play

• Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Paule Constable and David Plater, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
• Natasha Katz, Skylight
• Japhy Weideman, Airline Highway

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

• Donald Holder, The King and I
• Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
• Ben Stanton, Fun Home
• Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Best Direction of a Play

• Stephen Daldry, Skylight
• Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Scott Ellis, You Can't Take It with You
• Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
• Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God

Best Direction of a Musical

• Sam Gold, Fun Home
• Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
• John Rando, On the Town
• Bartlett Sher, The King and I
• Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Choreography

• Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
• Christopher Gattelli, The King and I
• Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
• Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best Orchestrations

• Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, An American in Paris
• John Clancy, Fun Home
• Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
• Rob Mathes, The Last Ship

Tony Nominations by Production

An American in Paris - 12

Fun Home - 12

Something Rotten! - 10

The King and I - 9

Wolf Hall Parts One & Two - 8

Skylight - 7

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - 6

Hand to God - 5

On the Twentieth Century - 5

The Visit - 5

You Can't Take It with You - 5

Airline Highway - 4

The Elephant Man - 4

On the Town - 4

The Audience - 3

The Last Ship - 2

Constellations - 1

Disgraced - 1

Gigi - 1

The Heidi Chronicles - 1

It's Only a Play - 1

This Is Our Youth - 1