‘Rent,’ ‘Funk’ Make Noise at Tony Nominations

“Rent” and “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk” top the list of shows nominated for Broadway’s Tony Awards announced Monday, with 10 nods for “Rent” and nine for “Noise.”

“Seven Guitars,” a Center Theatre Group co-production that played the Ahmanson Theatre earlier this year, garnered eight Tony nominations--more than any other nonmusical play. Also snagging eight was the recent revival of “The King and I.”

The big news in the new musicals nominations was that “Big,” based on the popular movie, failed to make the best musical finalists, edged out by the relatively obscure “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” and “Swinging on a Star” in addition to “Rent” and “Noise.” “Big” did receive five nominations, including nods for best book and score; by contrast, “Swinging on a Star,” a tribute to lyricist Johnny Burke, received only the single best musical nomination. (It was ineligible for best score because its music was not written for the theater.)

Among the big-name contenders in leading actor or actress categories are Carol Burnett (“Moon Over Buffalo”), Julie Andrews (“Victor/Victoria”), George C. Scott (“Inherit the Wind”), Lou Diamond Phillips in his Broadway debut (“The King and I”) and Nathan Lane (“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”), whose role in “Love! Valour! Compassion!” was conspicuously overlooked in last year’s nominations.

Lane will be the sole host of this year’s Tony ceremony, to be broadcast on CBS on June 2; last year he was one of three co-hosts.

Besides “Seven Guitars,” four other productions that played in Southern California are represented among the nominees: “Master Class” (Mark Taper Forum, 1995) and “Racing Demon” (Doolittle Theatre, 1994), which will compete against “Seven Guitars” and “Buried Child” (a revision of the 1979 Pulitzer Prize winner) for best play; “Hello, Dolly!” (San Diego Civic Theatre, Orange County Performing Arts Center and Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 1995); and “State Fair” (Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 1995).

One of the two nominations for “State Fair” was an oddity, in that only the four songs in the show that were written directly for the theater were nominated for the score award. The majority of the show’s Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II songs were written for previous film versions.

La Jolla Playhouse artistic director Michael Greif received a nomination for staging “Rent” and Met Theatre co-founder James Gammon received a nomination for his featured performance in “Buried Child.”

The nominees:

* Play: “Buried Child,” by Sam Shepard; “Master Class,” by Terrence McNally; “Racing Demon,” by David Hare; “Seven Guitars,” by August Wilson.

* Musical: “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk,” “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” “Rent,” “Swinging on a Star.”

* Revival/Play: “A Delicate Balance,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “An Ideal Husband,” “Inherit the Wind.”

* Revival/Musical: “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Company,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “The King and I.”

* Book of a Musical: John Weidman, “Big”; Reg. E. Gaines, “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk”; Graciela Daniele, Jim Lewis, Michael John LaChiusa, “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”; Jonathan Larson, “Rent.”

* Original Score: David Shire and Richard Maltby Jr., “Big”; Daryl Waters, Zane Mark, Ann Duquesnay, Reg E. Gaines, George C. Wolfe, “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk”; Jonathan Larson, “Rent”; Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, “State Fair.”

* Director/Musical: Michael Greif, “Rent”; Christopher Renshaw, “The King and I”; George C. Wolfe, “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk”; Jerry Zaks, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

* Director/Play: Gerald Gutierrez, “A Delicate Balance”; Peter Hall, “An Ideal Husband”; Lloyd Richards, “Seven Guitars”; Gary Sinise, “Buried Child.”

* Leading Actor/Play: Philip Bosco, “Moon Over Buffalo”; George Grizzard, “A Delicate Balance”; George C. Scott, “Inherit the Wind”; Martin Shaw, “An Ideal Husband.”

* Leading Actress/Play: Carol Burnett, “Moon Over Buffalo”; Zoe Caldwell, “Master Class”; Rosemary Harris, “A Delicate Balance”; Elaine Stritch, “A Delicate Balance.”

* Leading Actor/Musical: Savion Glover, “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk”; Nathan Lane, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”; Adam Pascal, “Rent”; Lou Diamond Phillips, “The King and I.”

* Leading Actress/Musical: Julie Andrews, “Victor/Victoria”; Crista Moore, “Big”; Donna Murphy, “The King and I”; Daphne Rubin-Vega, “Rent.”

* Featured Actor/Play: James Gammon, “Buried Child”; Roger Robinson, “Seven Guitars”; Reg Rogers, “Holiday”; Ruben Santiago-Hudson, “Seven Guitars.”

* Featured Actress/Play: Viola Davis, “Seven Guitars”; Audra McDonald, “Master Class”; Michele Shay, “Seven Guitars”; Lois Smith, “Buried Child.”

* Featured Actor/Musical: Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Rent”; Lewis J. Stadlen, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”; Brett Tabisel, “Big”; Scott Wise, “State Fair.”

* Featured Actress/Musical: Joohee Choi, “The King and I”; Veanne Cox, “Company”; Ann Duquesnay, “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk”; Idina Menzel, “Rent.”

* Scenic Design: John Lee Beatty, “A Delicate Balance”; Scott Bradley, “Seven Guitars”; Brian Thomason, “The King and I”; Anthony Ward, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

* Costume Design: Jane Greenwood, “A Delicate Balance”; Roger Kirk, “The King and I”; Allison Reeds, “Buried Child”; Paul Tazewell, “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk.”

* Lighting Design: Christopher Akerlind, “Seven Guitars”; Blake Burba, “Rent”; Jules Fisher/Peggy Eisenhauer, “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk”; Nigel Levings, “The King and I.”

* Choreography: Graciela Daniele, “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”; Savion Glover, “Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk”; Susan Stroman, “Big”; Marlies Yearby, “Rent.”

* Special Tony: Alley Theatre, Houston.