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‘Enron,’ ‘The Addams Family,’ David Mamet snubbed in Tony nominations

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Every Tony Award season has its share of snubs and dashed hopes -- which, for some of us, can be as much fun to analyze as the actual nominees. This year, the nominating committee was especially generous in whom it chose to ignore in the top categories.

‘The Addams Family’ opened this spring to tepid reviews after a tryout run in Chicago that was plagued by rumors of creative strife. The Broadway transfer was met with scorn by many New York critics but audiences so far have been loving it, making the show one of biggest the box-office hits of the season.

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But the musical -- which stars Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth -- scored only two nominations and was shut out of the best new musical category. The show’s two nods went to actor Kevin Chamberlin (who plays Uncle Fester) and Andrew Lippa for his score.

Lucy Prebble’s ‘Enron’ -- a new drama about the infamous energy trading company -- was widely praised in London, where it ran before transferring to New York. But the topical play failed to land a nomination in the best play category.

‘Enron’ received nods for actor Stephen Kunken, score, sound and lighting design.

Playwright Tracy Letts’ ‘Superior Donuts’ -- his eagerly awaited follow-up to his Tony-winning ‘August: Osage County’ -- was also shut out of the top categories and received a single nomination for actor Jon Michael Hill.

Likewise David Mamet’s ‘Race,’ which earned a single nod for actor David Alan Grier, and Martin McDonagh’s ‘A Behanding in Spokane,’ which received a nomination for Christopher Walken’s performance and nothing else.

Among the acting snubs were Lane and Neuwirth in ‘The Addams Family’; Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig for Keith Huff’s ‘A Steady Rain’; Kristin Chenoweth in ‘Promises, Promises’; James Spader in ‘Race’; and the entire cast of ‘American Idiot.’

-- David Ng

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