'Spring Awakening' tops Tony nominees

Sex, eccentricity, and 19th-century European politics captured the fancy of the nominators for this year's Tony Awards, as the list announced yesterday has "Spring Awakening" leading the pack with 11 nods and "The Coast of Utopia" and "Grey Gardens" close behind at 10 each.

If those shows have followed an unlikely recipe for Broadway success, the list of nominees nevertheless shadows the trend of the season's earlier awards. "Spring Awakening," Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's moody rock saga of yearning German adolescents, is already considered a favorite for best musical, and Tom Stoppard's Russian-exile epic "Coast," once the Tony judges had ruled that its three parts would be judged as a single work, established itself as a similarly strong contender for best play.

Up against "Coast" are "Frost/Nixon," Peter Morgan's reimagining of the post-Watergate chinfest between Richard Nixon and David Frost; "The Little Dog Laughed," Douglas Carter Beane's acerbic satire of Hollywood mores (as a satire, naturally, it's already closed); and the final installment in the late August Wilson's monumental 10-play Pittsburgh cycle, "Radio Golf," which Boston audiences saw at the Huntington in September before it transferred to Broadway.

"Awakening" will likely find its strongest competition from "Grey Gardens," the culty retelling of the even cultier documentary about those wacky relatives of Jackie O. Also nominated for best musical were the Kander-and-Ebb "Curtains," the backstage whodunit set in Boston's own Colonial, and the Disney behemoth "Mary Poppins." "Legally Blonde The Musical," like "Curtains," received seven nominations in other categories -- but, like the Kurt Weill/Lotte Lenya story "LoveMusik," it was shut out from the best musical slot. That's a snub that hurts, because only the best-musical nominees have the chance to perform a number in the awards show broadcast.

Also snubbed was Kevin Spacey in "A Moon for the Misbegotten"; Eve Best garnered the Eugene O'Neill revival's only nomination, in the leading actress/play category. She'll go up against heavy hitters Vanessa Redgrave ("The Year of Magical Thinking"), Swoosie Kurtz ("Heartbreak House"), and Julie White ("The Little Dog Laughed"), along with sentimental favorite and all-around legend Angela Lansbury, who already has a shelf full of Tonys and may be hampered by the tepid reaction to her current vehicle, the tennis soap "Deuce."

The field of leading actors in a play is particularly strong this year, with Brían F. O'Byrne in "Coast" facing Frank Langella of "Frost/Nixon" and three stars of revivals: Liev Schrieber in "Talk Radio," Christopher Plummer in "Inherit the Wind," and Boyd Gaines in "Journey's End." Those productions, not surprisingly, all received nods in the best-revival category, along with "Translations."

As for musical leads, "Awakening" and "Curtains" added to their tallies with votes for Jonathan Groff and David Hyde Pierce, respectively. Michael Cerveris of "LoveMusik," Raúl Esparza of "Company," and Gavin Lee of "Mary Poppins" round out the list. On the female side, Christine Ebersole scored for "Grey Gardens," along with Audra McDonald ("110 in the Shade"), Debra Monk ("Curtains"), Donna Murphy ("LoveMusik"), and the "Legally Blonde" star who isn't Reese Witherspoon, Laura Bell Bundy.

Some of the cruelest competitions come in the supporting categories, especially for the members of the uniformly excellent and cohesive ensemble who appear in the three parts of "Coast" -- "Voyage," "Shipwreck," and "Salvage." Votes may split between Billy Crudup and Ethan Hawke for the men, and Jennifer Ehle and Martha Plimpton for the women.

Besides "Radio Golf," Boston audiences had a chance to see a few other nominees before they hit New York -- including Anthony Chisholm, featured in "Golf," but not castmate and fellow nominee John Earl Jelks, who missed the production here because of illness. The Huntington's Nathan Lane showcase, "Butley," also received its sole nomination for a performance we didn't see here, by Dana Ivey.

But we did see "High Fidelity," and Lord knows not many people can say that. So hometown boosters may want to cheer for set designer Anna Louizos, the sunken musical's only nominee. Or there's one of the two nominees for best special theatrical event, "Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!" The ventriloquist touched down at the American Repertory Theatre's Zero Arrow before hitting Manhattan with his monkey.

Perhaps you'd rather look ahead? The other nominee in the special-event category, "Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway," comes to the Huntington next month. And we'll be seeing at least one nominee for best play next season, when SpeakEasy Stage Company presents the local premiere of "The Little Dog Laughed."

For a complete list of nominations and details on the broadcast of the awards ceremony, which takes place on June 10, visit tony awards.com.

Louise Kennedy can be reached at kennedy@globe.com.