It’s official: seats to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has cast a spell on Broadway. The two-part, five-hour-plus play dominated the 2018 Tony Awards nominations on Tuesday as the most honored play with a total of 10 nods.
Waitress star Katharine McPhee and Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom, Jr. — both of who starred together in the NBC cult series Smash — announced the candidates live from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. The show, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, celebrates the highest achievement in theater.
Cursed Child comes direct from London where it won nine Oliviers in 2017 (the British equivalent of the Tony). The play — penned by Jack Thorne with J.K. Rowling and director John Tiffany’s conceptual assistance — picks up 19 years after the events of Deathly Hallows with a middle-aged Harry sending his youngest son Albus off to Hogwarts. It opened on April 22 to rave reviews.
It’s also the only play in best play category still running on Broadway. Other shows up for that honor are The Children, Farinelli and the King, Junk and Latin History for Morons.
As for musicals, Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical tied for the most nominations, with 12 each including nods for best original musical. Mean Girls writer Tina Fey scored a nomination for best book.
In the revival categories, Angels in America, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, The Iceman Cometh, Lobby Hero, and Travesties will compete for best revival of a play, while Carousel, My Fair Lady and Once on This Island will try to nab the best revival of a musical title.
Other notable nominees include Amy Schumer (Meteor Shower), Michael Cera (Lobby Hero), Nathan Lane (Angels in America), Laurie Metcalf (Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women), and Reneé Fleming (Carousel).
All the artists who contributed songs to SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical were honored with nominations for best score — meaning Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! at the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., and Domani & Lil’C can all call themselves Tony nominees.
RELATED VIDEO: Angels in America Cast on the Play’s Timely Return to Broadway
Of the 7 new musicals this year, a few big names were left in the dark in the top categories — including Summer, Escape to Margaritaville, and Prince of Broadway.
They weren’t the only ones snubbed. Others left off the list included Frozen‘s Anna and Elsa Patti Murin and Caisse Levy, Chris Evans (Lobby Hero), Alex Newell (Once on This Island), Uma Thurman (The Parisian Woman), Joshua Jackson (Children of a Lesser God), John Lithgow (Stories by Heart), Elizabeth McGovern (Time and the Conways), Keegan-Michael Key (Meteor Shower) and Tom Sturridge (1984).
At least four people can already start prepping their speeches.
Previous Tony winner Chita Rivera and Andrew Lloyd Webber will be given a special award this year for lifetime achievement in the theater.
Bruce Springsteen, whose (mostly) one-man show Springsteen on Broadway has been selling-out houses week after week on the Great White Way, was not eligible for a competitive award because award show nominators were not invited. He will get a special honor instead.
John Leguizamo will also be honored for his contribution to the theater as an actor and a writer.
Select 2018 nominees include:
Best Musical
The Band's Visit
Frozen
Mean Girls
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical
Best Play
The Children
Farinelli and the King
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Junk
Latin History for Morons
Best Revival, Musical
Carousel
My Fair Lady
Once on this Island
Best Revival, Play
Angels in America
Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
The Iceman Cometh
Lobby Hero
Travesties
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
Hailey Kilgore, Once on This Island
LaChanze, Summer
Katrina Lenk, The Band’s Visit
Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
Jessie Mueller, Carousel
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
Joshua Henry, Carousel
Tony Shalhoub, The Band’s Visit
Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Musical
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
Condola Rashad, Saint Joan
Lauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God
Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
Tom Hollander, Travesties
Jamie Parker, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Mark Rylance, Farinelli and the King
Denzel Washington, The Iceman Cometh
Check out the official Tony Awards site for the full list of nominees.
The 72nd annual Tony Awards, hosted by Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles, will air live on CBS on Sunday, June 10 from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
