TONY NOMINEES

By MARK KENNEDY

AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK

The musicals “An American in Paris” and “Fun Home” each received a leading 12 Tony Award nominations Tuesday, showing two very different sides of this Broadway season.

One side is sunny — the dance-heavy stage adaptation of the 1951 musical film with George and Ira Gerswin songs — and the other moody — the dark show based on Alison Bechdel’s coming of age graphic novel about her closeted and suicidal dad.

“It’s nice to know if something’s good, there’s room for it,” said Max von Essen, who earned a nomination for featured actor in a musical in “American in Paris.”

“There’s room for a smaller, darker piece and there’s room for a big, show-stopping revival show with Gershwin.”

Michael Cerveris got one of the dozen nods for “Fun Home” — as best leading actor in a musical — and hopes that will attract more people to see his poignant show that might not initially be a lure for tourists.

“The real value of the Tonys — and I suppose any awards — is to draw attention to something that people otherwise might not seek out. So the fact that every aspect of the production has been acknowledged is the best kind of advertising,” he said.

The nominations also ranged from 11-year-old Sydney Lucas in “Fun Home” to 82-year-old Chita Rivera, looking for her third Tony. Helen Mirren and Bradley Cooper each got nominations, but Hugh Jackman and Matthew Morrison from “Glee” did not get nods in their returns to Broadway.

The best new play category will include the candidates “Wolf Hall, Parts One & Two,” ‘’Hand to God,” ‘’Disgraced” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” Larry David’s “Fish in the Dark” was snubbed entirely.

In addition to “An American in Paris” and “Fun Home,” the best new musical category includes “Something Rotten!” and “The Visit.” The Peter Pan-themed “Finding Neverland,” Harvey Weinstein’s first-ever venture into Broadway as a lead producer, didn’t get a single nomination.

The British did well, with transfers “Wolf Hall Parts One & Two,” ‘’The Audience”, “The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time” and “Skylight” grabbing 24 nominations. Sting’s “The Last Ship” earned the rocker a nomination for best original score even though his show closed in January.

“I’m just thrilled. I had no expectations. I wasn’t even thinking about it. This morning when I got the news, I thought, ‘Yep. That’s wonderful,’” Sting said. “The whole experience for me has been joy from start to finish. This is just another iteration of joy.”

Another production — the revival of “The Elephant Man,” Bernard Pomerance’s play about John Merrick, the horribly deformed man who galvanized London society in the late 19th century — plans to go the other way and open in London this summer with all 13 American actors, including Cooper, Alessandro Nivola and Patricia Clarkson, who all earned nominations.

Clarkson called the play “one of the greatest experiences of my career” and was thrilled that it wasn’t over when it ended its run in New York. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said. “We’re invading their shores, baby! Get ready!”

“The Elephant Man” will face competition in the best play revival category from “Skylight,” ‘’This is Our Youth” and “You Can’t Take It With You.” The revival of Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance,” with John Lithgow and Glenn Close, failed to muster up a single nomination.

The musical revival category has three strong candidates: “The King and I,” ‘’On the Town” and ‘’On the Twentieth Century.” (Vanessa Hudgens’ “Gigi” only got one, for actress Victoria Clark.)

Ruthie Ann Miles, who earned a supporting actress nomination for playing Lady Thiang in the lush Lincoln Center Theater revival of the classic 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The King and I,” was happy she and her co-star Ken Watanabe were recognized.

“It has definitely been something that Asian-American actors have been wanting and passionately fighting for — to be recognized and also to have a more mainstream voice, to not be pegged into a very specific category,” she said.

The nominations were announced in a televised event co-hosted by Mary-Louise Parker and Bruce Willis. The Tonys will be handed out at Radio City Music Hall on June 7.