'Mean Girls,' 'SpongeBob,' 'Band's Visit,' 'Harry Potter' lead Tony nominations

NEW YORK - The box-office magic of Tony glory was bestowed Tuesday morning on "Mean Girls," "The Band's Visit," "SpongeBob SquarePants" - which premiered in Chicago two years ago - and "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," as these new musicals and plays led their categories in nominations for Broadway's highest honors, to be bestowed June 10.

Tina Fey's "Mean Girls" and the stage version of "SpongeBob" led all eligible productions with 12 nominations each, followed by "The Band's Visit," the elegiac musical about an Egyptian military orchestra showing up in the wrong Israeli town, with 11. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," the two-part stage sequel to the popular J.K. Rowling franchise, led all new plays with 10 nominations, including an unusual one, for best choreography, a category normally reserved for musicals.

The revival of Tony Kushner's two-part "Angels in America," meanwhile, also harvested a bushel of nods - 11 - including recognition for Andrew Garfield as lead actor, Nathan Lane, as supporting actor for his portrayal of lawyer Roy Cohn, and Susan Brown and Denise Gough as supporting actress. (The production also gathered up a nomination for best score, by Adrian Sutton, a rare citation for a play.)

A revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel" also rounded up 11 nominations. Joshua Henry and Evanston native Jessie Mueller - a Chicago area veteran of Marriott, Writers and Court theaters who received a 2014 Tony for her performance in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" - earned lead acting slots. Nominated in the supporting categories were Alex Gemignani, Lindsay Mendez and opera star Renee Fleming, creative consultant for the Lyric Opera of Chicago since 2010.

Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Tina Landau received a nomination in the musical direction category for "SpongeBob." Also nominated in the musical direction category for "The Band's Visit" is director David Cromer, a Chicago native acclaimed for his work with Goodman Theatre, The Hypocrites, Evanston's defunct Next Theatre and for Writers Theatre in Glencoe, where he will return in May 2019 to stage the musical "Next to Normal."

Notable by its absence was "Escape to Margaritaville," the musical based on Jimmy Buffett's catalog which premiered in Chicago last year and failed to receive any nominations.

Steppenwolf member and 2018 Academy Award nominee Laurie Metcalf, currently appearing in ABC's "Roseanne" reboot, was nominated in the featured actress category for her performance in Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women."

In the awards in two dozen categories announced by Leslie Odom Jr. and a giggly Katharine McPhee, two special Tonys, to Bruce Springsteen and John Leguizamo, were revealed. "Springsteen on Broadway" is one of the season's biggest hits, and Leguizamo, who appeared this season in his solo show, "Latin History for Morons," is a well-liked return visitor to Broadway.

"Mean Girls" and "The Band's Visit" will vie with Disney's "Frozen" and Nickelodeon's Broadway version of "SpongeBob SquarePants" for best musical, while "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" will be up against Claire van Kampen's "Farinelli and the King," Lucy Kirkwood's "The Children," Ayad Akhtar's "Junk" and Leguizamo's "Latin History for Morons" for the title of best play.

The high number of nominations concentrated among several musicals suggests a tight race among "Mean Girls," "SpongeBob" and "The Band's Visit" for best musical and between "Carousel" and Lincoln Center Theater's "My Fair Lady" - which picked up 10 nominations - in the separate category of best musical revival. Even the third and only other show selected for best musical revival, "Once on This Island," scooped up an impressive eight nominations.

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" is the clear front-runner, though, for best play. Among the nominees for best play revival, which include "Angels in America," Kenneth Lonergan's "Lobby Hero," Tom Stoppard's "Travesties," Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women" and Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," the early favorite would have to be "Angels."

The surprises were few, but the nomination for Amy Schumer for best actress in a play for her performance in Steve Martin's "Meter Shower" - that show's sole nod - was unexpected. She will vie in that category with Condola Rashad of "Saint Joan," Lauren Ridloff of "Children of a Lesser God" and the formidable Glenda Jackson, making her first Broadway appearance in 30 years in "Three Tall Women." Ethan Slater, the amazingly elastic SpongeBob of the musical version, was named a best-actor nominee for his Broadway debut.

For pure artistic achievement, "The Band's Visit," with its luscious score by best music and lyrics nominee David Yazbek and lead performance by Tony nominated Katrina Lenk, has to be considered the leading candidate for best musical. But if "Mean Girls" were to win - certainly a possibility, given Fey's witty book for the production, and the bevy of excellent comic performances it showcases - the victory would be the second in a row for a musical that began life in Washington, D.C. (at the National Theatre). Last year's Tony winner, "Dear Evan Hansen," took its first public bows at Arena Stage.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 10 and will be hosted by Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles.

• Daily Herald staff writer Barbara Vitello contributed to this report.