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A poster for the 1998 Tony Awards is shown in an undated handout photo. Nominations for the 1998 Tony Awards were announced Monday, May 4, 1998, in New York. AP/SPECIAL

1998 Tony Awards: Battle of the musicals

Web posted May 5, 1998

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The 1998 Tony Awards will be a battle of big musicals produced by Broadway's new titans, as Livent's ``Ragtime'' and Disney's ``The Lion King'' snapped up a total of 24 nominations Monday.

``Ragtime,'' with 13 nomination and ``The Lion King,'' with 11, are major contenders in nearly every category, including the all-important best musical. They play across from each other on a revitalized 42nd Street

``The Lion King,'' director Julie Taymor's lavish retelling of the Disney animated film, and ``Ragtime,'' based on the E.L. Doctorow's novel about America's loss of innocence, have been among the season's most popular shows.

Both Disney and Livent are relative newcomers to the Broadway producing scene, using large infusions of money and marketing to sell their shows. ``The Lion King'' is Disney's second New York production, after ``Beauty and the Beast'' in 1994. Livent has also produced ``Kiss of the Spider Woman'' and the revival of ``Show Boat.''

Also nominated for the top musical prize were ``The Scarlet Pimpernel,'' a critically drubbed work by the composer of ``Jekyll & Hyde,'' and ``Side Show,'' a short-lived musical about Siamese twins. It has become a cult favorite.

The revival of ``Cabaret'' had 10 nominations, including honors for its two stars -- Natasha Richardson and Alan Cumming -- and its director, Sam Mendes.

Two hits from London -- ``Art,'' Yasmina Reza's comedy about the tribulations of friendship, and ``The Beauty Queen of Leenane,'' Martin McDonagh's examination of a harrowing mother-daughter relationship -- were nominated for best play.

Their competition will be two memory plays -- John Leguizamo's autobiographical one-man show about growing up Hispanic, and ``Golden Child,'' David Henry Hwang's recollections of his grandmother's conversion to Christianity in China. Leguizamo received a nomination for best actor.

It was a clean sweep for ``Beauty Queen'' in the acting categories. The entire cast -- Marie Mullen, Anna Manahan, Brian F. O'Byrne and Tom Murphy -- was nominated.

The stars of ``Side Show,'' Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner, received a rare joint nomination in the best actress in a musical category for their performances as real-life Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton.

Two pop and rock idols also received nominations. Elton John, one of seven collaborators on the music for ``The Lion King,'' received a nomination for best score. So did Paul Simon, whose musical ``The Capeman'' was one of the season's biggest flops.

Broadway appears to be having a boom year. The League of American Theater estimates that when the season ends the first week in June, a record 11.3 million people will have seen a Broadway show and spent nearly $545 million for tickets.

The Tony Awards will be given out June 7. Winners will be chosen by more than 780 theater professionals and journalists.

The nominating committee of 26 theater professionals ignored Liam Neeson and ``The Judas Kiss,'' in which the Irish actor plays Oscar Wilde. Also snubbed were Natalie Portman, who plays the title role in a revival of ``The Diary of Anne Frank,'' and the two stars of David Mamet's ``The Old Neighborhood,'' Peter Riegert and Patti LuPone.

A struggling ``High Society'' didn't get a much-needed, best-musical nomination, either, and its star, Melissa Errico, was passed over, too.