Carole King Musical ‘Beautiful’ Nominated for Seven Tonys
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical has received seven Tony Awards nominations, including Best Musical and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for Jessie Mueller. It was also recognized for its book and actors in featured roles.
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Other notable nominations include the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch – which earned eight nominations, including a nod for Neil Patrick Harris – A Night With Janis Joplin, whose Mary Bridget Davie is up against Mueller and Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston, who was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way. The musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder earned the most Tony nominations with 10, including Best Musical.
The American Theatre Wing’s 68th Annual Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. on June 8th. Hugh Jackman will host, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The nominations come at a crucial time for A Night With Janis Joplin, which recently moved off Broadway and was set to open in another part of Manhattan. Production issues have forced the musical to postpone the production, which featured a “lost” Joplin song, indefinitely.
But for Hedwig, which opened in late April and features Harris acting like a rock star, the timing is perfect. The former How I Met Your Mother star recently spoke with Rolling Stone about how he prepared for his Hedwig role by watching videos of rock stars like Tina Turner, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and David Bowie. Regarding the difference between a musical-theater role and being a rock star, he said, “It’s a lot more frowning and a lot less looking up at the spotlight and smiling.” He laughed, and continued, “Musical-theater performers have that wistful, earnest look, right at the horizon. I love watching it and doing it. But this is not the show for that. When you look at Tina, she’s in it – sweaty, twitching her mouth making oooh’s while her legs are making aaah’s.”
The multiple Carole King nominations come just months after the influential singer-songwriter was honored as MusiCare’s 2013 Person of the Year. Several famous faces, including Lady Gaga, Steven Tyler, Pink and more paid tribute to her at an event in Los Angeles in January. “It is my absolute privilege to be honoring such an incredible woman, a true musical genius named Carole King,” Gaga said, referencing King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” “[I used to] crank this song so high – and I really believed so much, Carole, that you were my friend. Thank you so much for the way you sing right to us.”