'Hairspray,' 'Movin' Out' still Tony favorites

By Elysa Gardner
USA Today

Few could have been surprised when a pair of new musicals based on time-honored material emerged as leading contenders for this year's Tony Awards.

After all, "Hairspray," the retro-fabulous adaptation of John Waters' cult film, and "Movin' Out," director/choreographer Twyla Tharp's homage to the music of Billy Joel, have been considered Tony favorites since they opened last year. When nominations for Broadway's biggest prize were announced Monday morning, it was clear that this spring's crop of new shows hadn't dulled their luster.

"Hairspray" got a whopping 13 nominations, which means that it stands to beat "The Producers' " record of a dozen Tonys. That isn't likely, though, with "Movin' Out" up for 10 statuettes and with several high-profile revivals — among them Baz Luhrmann's version of "La Boheme" and "Nine the Musical," respectively nominated six and seven times — offering stiff competition in various categories.

Both Joel and Tharp have pointed out that the dance-driven "Movin' Out" isn't a traditional musical. Still, it is now "Hairspray's" chief rival for the musical trophy. Tharp and four of her dancer/actors were recognized individually, as were Joel and colleague Stuart Malina for their orchestrations. (Joel's songs were not written specifically for the show, so they weren't eligible.)

But "Hairspray" will be a formidable contender in several top categories, among them original score and leading actor. Harvey Fierstein will go head to head with "Nine's" Antonio Banderas in the latter category, while Fierstein's co-star, Marissa Jaret Winokur, this year's breakout ingenue, will compete with two-time winner Bernadette Peters for leading-actress honors.

The acclaimed revival of "Gypsy," which has established Peters as a favorite, garnered four nominations, but celebrated English stage and screen director Sam Mendes' name was conspicuously absent among them.

Other Britons fared better. All nominees for leading actress in a play are British except for Irish actress Fiona Shaw, whose feral performance in the title role of "Medea" will vie with Vanessa Redgrave's similarly harrowing portrayal of Mary Tyrone in a new production of "Long Day's Journey Into Night." The latter revival earned seven nominations, more than any other play, including nods for leading actor Brian Dennehy and supporting actors Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard.

The most acknowledged original play, "Take Me Out," Richard Greenberg's account of a gay baseball star, received four nominations, tying with another searing dramatic revival, "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg," for which British comedian Eddie Izzard was tapped for best actor. Among Izzard's rivals will be Paul Newman, acknowledged for this season's production of "Our Town."

The Britain-based comedy "The Play What I Wrote," "Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway" and one-man shows featuring Jackie Mason and Bill Maher will compete for special theatrical event honors.

The 57th annual Tony Awards will be broadcast from Radio City Music Hall on June 8. This year, for the first time, CBS will air all three hours, beginning at 7 p.m.