Steppenwolf earns multiple Tony noms for 'Airline Highway'

Posted April 27, 2015 11:00 pm

Steppenwolf Theatre's production of Lisa D'Amour's "Airline Highway" - which chronicles the lives of a colorful group of fringe-dwellers who inhabit a rundown SRO hotel near the New Orleans airport - received four Tony Award nominations Tuesday.

Steppenwolf ensemble member K. Todd Freeman, nominated in 1993 for lead actor in a play for Steppenwolf's "The Song of Jacob Zulu," received a nomination for featured actor in a play for his portrayal of tough-talking transvestite Sissy Na Na in "Airline Highway."

"It's been a long time since my first nomination ... and I had set this as a goal since I moved back to New York four years ago," said Freeman in a prepared statement. "I truly owe it to Joe Mantello, who should be nominated for his brilliant direction as well."

Julie White received a featured actress nomination for her performance as Tanya, a middle-aged hooker struggling with addiction, played by Kate Buddeke in Steppenwolf's pre-Broadway premiere last December.

"Airline Highway" also picked up nominations for costume designer David Zinn and lighting designer Japhy Weideman.

"This is Our Life," Kenneth Lonergan's 1996 coming-of-age drama, which transferred to Broadway last year after its Steppenwolf revival, received a nomination for best play revival.

Sting's grand score for "The Last Ship," the musical based on his 2013 CD inspired by his childhood in the coastal town of Wallsend, England, earned a nomination for original score and for Rob Mathes' orchestrations. The musical, which premiered in Chicago last June, struggled on Broadway and closed early.

The musicals "An American in Paris," a dance-heavy stage adaptation of the 1951 musical film choreographed by Gene Kelly, and "Fun Home," a moody show based on Alison Bechdel's coming-of-age graphic novel about her closeted and suicidal dad, tied for a leading 12 Tony nominations, including one for lead actor Michael Cerveris.

The nominations also ranged from 11-year-old Sydney Lucas in "Fun Home" to the 82-year-old Chita Rivera, looking for her third Tony. Helen Mirren and Bradley Cooper each got nominations.

The best new play category will include the candidates "Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two," "Hand to God," "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" and "Disgraced," Ayad Akhtar's 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a Muslim American struggling with identity and assimilation, which premiered at Chicago's American Theater Company in 2012.

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

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's first 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.

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."

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 Bradley 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."

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

The Tonys will be handed out at Radio City Music Hall on June 7.

Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report.

Michael Cera steals Steppenwolf's 'Youth'

Sting's beautiful music, lyrics make for splendid 'Ship'

Lisa D'Amour's bold, engaging 'Airline Highway' expertly chronicles a band of outsiders

The Broadway production of "The Last Ship," which premiered in Chicago last June, received Tony Award nominations Tuesday for composer/lyricist Sting's score and for Rob Mathes' orchestrations. courtesy of Joan Marcus

<h3 class="briefHead">2015 Tony Award nominations</h3>

• "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

Author: Simon Stephens

• "Disgraced"

Author: Ayad Akhtar

• "Hand to God"

Author: Robert Askins

• "Wolf Hall Parts One & Two"

Co-Authors: Hilary Mantel and Mike Poulton

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Musical</h3>

• "An American in Paris"

• "Fun Home"

• "Something Rotten!"

• "The Visit"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Revival of a Play</h3>

• "The Elephant Man"

• "Skylight"

• "This is Our Youth"

• "You Can't Take It With You"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Revival of a Musical</h3>

• "The King and I"

• "On the Town"

• "On the Twentieth Century"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Book of a Musical</h3>

• "An American in Paris"

Craig Lucas

• "Fun Home"

Lisa Kron

• "Something Rotten!"

Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell

• "The Visit"

Terrence McNally

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre</h3>

• "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

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play</h3>

• Geneva Carr, "Hand to God"

• Helen Mirren, "The Audience"

• Elisabeth Moss, "The Heidi Chronicles"

• Carey Mulligan, "Skylight"

• Ruth Wilson, "Constellations"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical</h3>

• Victoria Clark, "Gigi"

• Judy Kuhn, "Fun Home"

• Sydney Lucas, "Fun Home"

• Ruthie Ann Miles, "The King and I"

• Emily Skeggs, "Fun Home"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Scenic Design of a Play</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Scenic Design of a Musical</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Costume Design of a Play</h3>

• Bob Crowley, "The Audience"

• Jane Greenwood, "You Can't Take It with You"

• Christopher Oram, "Wolf Hall Parts One & Two"

• David Zinn, "Airline Highway"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Costume Design of a Musical</h3>

• Gregg Barnes, "Something Rotten!"

• Bob Crowley, "An American in Paris"

• William Ivey Long, "On the Twentieth Century"

• Catherine Zuber, "The King and I"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Lighting Design of a Play</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Lighting Design of a Musical</h3>

• Donald Holder, "The King and I"

• Natasha Katz, "An American in Paris"

• Ben Stanton, "Fun Home"

• Japhy Weideman, "The Visit"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Direction of a Play</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Direction of a Musical</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Choreography</h3>

• 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"

<h3 class="briefHead">Best Orchestrations</h3>

• Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, "An American in Paris"

• John Clancy, "Fun Home"

• Larry Hochman, "Something Rotten!"

• Rob Mathes, "The Last Ship"

<h3 class="briefHead">Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre</h3>

Tommy Tune

<h3 class="briefHead">Special Tony Award</h3>

John Cameron Mitchell

<h3 class="briefHead">Regional Theatre Tony Award</h3>

Cleveland Play House, Cleveland, Ohio

<h3 class="briefHead">Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award</h3>

Stephen Schwartz

<h3 class="briefHead">Total Tony nominations</h3>

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

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