
Someone must have said the name of the play in the theatre, because Alan Cumming's one-man adaptation of Macbeth, one of the most hotly anticipated productions of the spring following its run at Lincoln Center Festival last summer, and Cumming himself, did not receive any nominations. Perhaps it was his truncated performance schedule (six vs. eight shows a week) that doomed Cumming's Scottish Play?
Harvey, the Roundabout Theatre's revival starring Jim Parsons as the affably eccentric Elwood P. Dowd, was not nominated for any awards. The production, and Parsons' performance, were praised by both audience members and critics alike, but it opened almost a year ago, which could have contributed to it being forgotten by nominators.
Also produced by the Roundabout, the revival of William Inge's play Picnic was not recognized by the nominators. The play, which featured a starry ensemble of stage veterans including Ellen Burstyn, Mare Winningham and Elizabeth Marvel, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1953 due to its frank portrayal of sexuality and liberation, but it did not score any nominations in 2013.
Another revival that did not garner any nominations was the Manhattan Theatre Club's revival of Ibsen's play An Enemy of the People. Starring an intensely charismatic Boyd Gaines as the crusading Dr. Stockmann, the production smacked of political significance during election season but was not nominated for any awards.
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Alec Baldwin in Orphans. | ||
photo by Joan Marcus |
The sun will surely come out tomorrow for this season's popular Annie revival — it has grossed close to $28.5 million since its fall opening. But the show grabbed only one nod, for Best Revival. Its adorable leading lady, Lilla Crawford, was overlooked. With Crawford performing almost all week and Matilda's title player alternating between four girls (who were given special Tony recognition for their efforts), some might be crying foul for the red-headed moppet.
Another talented young tot that surprisingly didn't get a nod was Motown's Raymond Luke, Jr. Luke alternates the role of Young Berry Gordy, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder with Jibreel Mawry, but only Luke was eligible for the Best Featured Actor in a Musical Award. Luke has taken audiences and critics by storm with his standout performance singing the Jackson 5 anthem "I Want You Back."
Two well-known revivals with Hollywood stars in the leading roles also did not receive any nominations: Glengarry Glen Ross, starring Al Pacino and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, starring Scarlett Johansson. Pacino, a two-time Tony Award winner, was not nominated for his performance as the down-on-his luck businessman Shelly Levine, and Johansson, who won the Tony for her role in the 2010 production of A View from the Bridge, received mixed reviews for her performance as Maggie "The Cat" in Tennessee Williams' play. Cat also marked the directorial debut of a play, rather than a musical, by Rob Ashford, but he was not recognized either.
Two world-premiere productions that did not receive a nomination for Best Play were David Mamet's The Anarchist and Douglas Carter Beane's The Nance. The Anarchist, a two-person script starring Patti LuPone and Debra Winger as a prisoner serving a life sentence and her parole officer, closed after 23 previews and 17 performances. And nominators did not say, "Hi, simply hi!" to The Nance, which, starring Nathan Lane as a homosexual burlesque performer, recently opened at the Lyceum Theatre.
The new stage adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany's, by Richard Greenberg, was snubbed as well; the production was not well received by critics and closed one month after it opened. While Breakfast at Tiffany's fared much better in Hollywood than it has on Broadway (the 1966 musical adaptation closed quickly as well), some of Hollywood has not fared well on Broadway this season. As Holly Golightly, Emilia Clarke, known for her role in the television show "Game of Thrones," was not nominated, and neither was Jessica Chastain, of "Zero Dark Thirty" fame, or "Downton Abbey" star Dan Stevens for their roles as the doomed lovers in The Heiress.
Film and television stars Alec Baldwin, Vanessa Williams and Bette Midler did not receive nominations either.
Read Playbill.com's full list of the 2013 Tony Award nominees here. Make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!