‘Millie’ Leads Tony Nominees

“Thoroughly Modern Millie,” a musical based on the 1967 film about a gold-digging flapper, captured the most nominations--11, including nods for best musical, best actress and best actor--for the 2002 Tony Awards.

The nominees were announced Monday morning at Sardi’s by Steven Weber of “The Producers” and Jennifer Jason Leigh of “Proof.”

Unlike last year, when “The Producers” was favored to win in all categories in which it was nominated, this year’s race for best musical is said to be the most competitive in years. A win is important because it carries box-office clout.

Competing against “Millie” is “Mamma Mia!,” the ABBA tuner that has become an international phenomenon; “Sweet Smell of Success,” a dark musical based on the 1957 movie about a demonic gossip columnist; and “Urinetown,” the quirky off-Broadway transfer concerning the draconian measures of a drought-stricken town.

“Urinetown,” which premiered at the 1999 New York Fringe Festival, received 10 nominations, while “Sweet Smell” garnered seven, including two for stars John Lithgow and Brian D’Arcy. “Mamma Mia!” received five nods (a touring production returns to L.A. this fall).

“It’s been an extraordinary voyage,” said lyricist-composer Mark Hollmann, nominee for “Urinetown,” who with partner Greg Kotis began writing the show in 1996. “Any number of things could’ve stopped us along the way, but our lucky stars kept bringing us to new levels. I’m glad there’s space on Broadway for things that are a little edgy.”

“Millie,” which had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse and boasts Whoopi Goldberg as one of its producers, took a far more conventional route to Broadway. Book writer Dick Scanlan, a nominee for “Millie,” got the idea for the show in 1988 and began work in 1992 with Richard Morris, the original screenwriter for the 1967 film, which starred Julie Andrews. Morris, who died in 1996, has been posthumously nominated.

“He was ornery and fiercely independent, but he’d be delighted with the nominations,” said Scanlan.

Also nominated is Sutton Foster, the relative unknown who originated the role of the title character in La Jolla.

In the musical revival category, the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical “Into the Woods,” which premiered at the Ahmanson Theatre earlier this year, will compete against “Oklahoma!,” the Royal National production directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Susan Stroman.

A lavish revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “Oklahoma!” opened in March after a hugely successful run on London’s West End and was widely favored to dominate the Tonys. However, it received only seven nominations, while “Into the Woods,” which opened on Broadway last week, received 10.

“Morning’s at Seven,” a 1939 comedy by Paul Osborn, emerged as the most nominated play of the season, with nine nominations, five of which were in acting categories. It will compete for best revival of a play with Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” and the Michael Frayn farce “Noises Off.”

“Crucible” and “Private Lives,” a London import, each brought in six nominations, including nods for its respective stars, Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, and Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman.

In the best play category, Edward Albee’s new “The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?,” about a man who falls in love with a goat, will compete against “Fortune’s Fool,” a 150-year-old Russian melodrama by Ivan Turgenev (ruled eligible in the category because the rarely seen work had never played Broadway); “Metamorphoses,” Mary Zimmerman’s irreverent take on Ovid myths that began as a university production; and “Topdog/Underdog,” a drama of warring brothers by Suzan-Lori Parks that won the Pulitzer last month.

Albee declared himself “delighted” to be taking on Turgenev and Ovid. “I’ve competed with a lot worse people, who I won’t name because they usually win,” said the playwright. “My plays usually win in revival because by then people have figured out what it’s about.”

While Mercedes Ruehl was nominated for her performance as the long-suffering wife in the Albee play, Bill Pullman, who plays her erring husband, was not. (“Maybe if he’d had an English accent he would’ve been,” Albee said.)

This season’s acting categories were very competitive, which led to other omissions, such as Ian McKellen (“Dance of Death”), Chris O’Donnell (“The Man Who Had All the Luck”) and Kevin Bacon (“An Almost Holy Picture”).

Most egregious to many insiders was the absence of George C. Wolfe among the nominees for best direction of a play for “Topdog/ Underdog,” though one of its stars, Jeffrey Wright, was nominated. Wolfe’s work on the drama was universally acclaimed and considered key to the production’s success.

Less surprising was the shutout of “The Graduate,” the much-ballyhooed stage adaptation of the 1967 Mike Nichols film, starring Kathleen Turner, Jason Biggs and Alicia Silverstone.

Armed with huge advance sales of $5 million, “The Graduate” is in better shape than its nominated counterparts, some of which are struggling to stay afloat.

Also overlooked in the best revival of a play category was Bernard Pomerance’s “The Elephant Man,” the 1979 Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner.

Two of “The Elephant Man” stars, Billy Crudup and Kate Burton, were nominated for their performances. Burton also was nominated for her performance in the title role of Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler.”

The winners of the 2002 Tony Awards will be announced on June 2 in a nationally televised broadcast on PBS and CBS from Radio City Music Hall in New York.

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The Leader Board

*--* Production Category Nominations “Thoroughly Modern Millie” Musical 11 “Urinetown” Musical 10 “Into the Woods” Revival/Musical 10 “Morning’s at Seven” Play 9 “Sweet Smell of Success” Musical 7 “Oklahoma!” Revival/Musical 7

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