Chicago's Jessie Mueller, “Clybourne Park,” “Once” among the 2012 Tony Award ... - Chicago Sun-Times

BY MARK KENNEDY May 1, 2012 12:20PM

In this theater image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Steve Kazee, left, and Cristin Milioti are shown in a scene from "Once," in New York. The production was nominated for a Tony Award for best musical, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Joan Marcus)

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Updated: May 1, 2012 5:44PM

NEW YORK â€" The low-tech musical “Once,” based on the love story of a Czech flower seller and an Irish street musician in Dublin, received a leading 11 Tony Award nominations Tuesday, proving sentiment can sway nominators just as much as special effects.

Two other musicals â€" “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It” â€" each got 10 nominations as the Tony committee spread the wealth across 30 of 37 eligible shows. Unlike last year’s “The Book of Mormon,” no monster single hit dominated the nominations.

“Once,” with songs by Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, was originally a low-budget movie made for about $150,000. The film earned $20 million, thanks in part to an original score that included the sublime, 2007 Oscar-winning song, “Falling Slowly.” The musical is a study in how to beautifully adapt a movie to the stage.

Its director, John Tiffany, was sitting at a play in Glasgow, Scotland, when his phone began buzzing “like crazy” with word of the show’s success. He sat through the play but learned about the Tony haul after glancing at texts.

“It’s just brilliant. It’s incredible because it’s such a delicate, unassuming show. But ‘Once’ constantly surprises me. I think it’s the power of the music and the storytelling that people connect with,” said Tiffany, who was nominated for best director of a musical.

His show earned its stars, Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti, best actor nominations. It also earned nods for best scenic design, best book of a musical and Elizabeth A. Davis got a nomination for an actress in a featured role.

“I think it’s a universal message about love. Not just between two people, but a love of music, a love of your country, how we share things as people,” Kazee said. “There are moments that are just snapshots in your life, but they stay with you forever. We all have those moments.”

“Peter and the Starcatcher,” a play about the origins of Peter Pan, earned nine nominations, while the fall revival of “Follies” and the new Disney musical “Newsies” got eight nods each.

Later this summer, “Once,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and “Newsies” will compete for the title of best musical with a surprise entry â€" “Leap of Faith,” which was ravaged by critics. “Ghost the Musical,” an import from London with songs by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard, failed to get nominated in the best musical category.

Joe DiPietro earned a Tony nomination for writing the book to “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” which stars Matthew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara, who also got a nomination as a leading actress in a musical. The frothy musical smartly integrates classic Gershwin songs such as “Sweet and Lowdown,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “S’Wonderful,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “They All Laughed” and “Fascinating Rhythm.”

“Other Desert Cities,” a play by Jon Robin Baitz that moved to Broadway after critical acclaim at Lincoln Center Theater, earned five nominations, including best play.

Broadway’s most expensive show, the $75 million “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” got only two nominations, for best scenic design and costume. The former punch-line is now a top-earning hit and a spokesman shrugged off the snub.

“Even without a nomination for best musical, we can assure you that the audiences this week will love the show just as much as they did last week,” Rick Miramontez said.

The best new play category includes “Clybourne Park” by Bruce Norris, “Other Desert Cities,” “Peter and the Starcatcher” by Rick Elice, and David Ives’ “Venus in Fur.” Plays that didn’t make the cut included Katori Hall’s “The Mountaintop,” Nicky Silver’s “The Lyons,” David Auburn’s “The Columnist” and Theresa Rebeck’s “Seminar.”

In the musical revival category, “Follies” and “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” will compete against two Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice works: “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita.”

The best leading actor in a play Tony will pit James Corden from the British import “One Man, Two Guvnors,” Philip Seymour Hoffman from Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” James Earl Jones from “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man,” Frank Langella from “Man and Boy” and John Lithgow of “The Columnist.”

The battle in the female leading actress play category will be fierce, with competitors including Nina Arianda of “Venus in Fur,” Tracie Bennett of “End of the Rainbow,” Linda Lavin of “The Lyons,” Cynthia Nixon in “Wit” and Channing.

Chicago’s Jessie Mueller was nominated for best performance by an actress in a featured role for her Broadway debut turn in “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.”

One of the more intriguing moves by the Tony nominating committee was in the category of best original score. They awarded Alan Menken and Jack Feldman a nod for “Newsies” but also Frank Wildhorn and Don Black for “Bonnie & Clyde,” a show that closed after only 69 performances. They also nominated the songwriters for “One Man, Two Guvnors” and “Peter and the Starcatcher,” although both are really plays with incidental music. Overlooked were “Spider-Man” and “Ghost the Musical.”

In addition to O’Hara and Milioti, the nominations for best leading actress in musical include Jan Maxwell of “Follies,” Audra McDonald for “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” and Laura Osnes of the now-closed “Bonnie & Clyde.” One name missing from many critics’ list in this category was Bernadette Peters, who co-starred with Maxwell in “Follies.”

Peters will be the recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Award, which honors someone from the theater community who has helped a charity. Peters founded Broadway Barks! along with Mary Tyler Moore to promote the adoption of shelter animals. The Tony Awards will also honor Hugh Jackman, citing “his contributions to the Broadway community” and “personal generosity of spirit.”

The Shakespeare Theatre Company won the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, and Actors’ Equity Association, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in June, will get a Special Tony, too.

The Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS from the Beacon Theatre on June 10. Neil Patrick Harris, the star of “How I Met Your Mother,” will be the host.

AP