Tony Awards 2017: Cate Blanchett receives best actress nomination for The Present

CATE Blanchett has been nominated for best actress at Broadway’s Tony Awards, while Tim Minchin’s Groundhog Day: The Musical was also recognised.

CATE Blanchett has been nominated for best actress at Broadway’s Tony Awards, while Tim Minchin’s Groundhog Day: The Musical was also recognised.

Blanchett and co-star Richard Roxburgh made their Broadway debuts in the Sydney Theatre Company’s The Present, an all-Australian adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s 1878 play, Platonov.

The play, adapted by Blanchett’s husband, playwright Andrew Upton, officially began its 13-week Broadway run on January 8.

Blanchett and Roxburgh were joined on stage at New York’s historic Ethel Barrymore Theatre by 11 other members of the Australian theatre company.

BROADWAY DEBUT: Cate Blanchett stuns in The Present

Richard Roxburgh (left) and Cate Blanchett (right) starred in Andrew Upton's (centre) new adaptation of Anton Chekhov's play The Present. Picture: Alex Towle for The Australian

While Blanchett has won two Academy Awards and three Golden Globes, this is the first time she has appeared on Broadway, meaning it is the first chance she has had to be nominated.

Blanchett is up against Sally Field (The Glass Menagerie), Laura Linney (Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes), Jennifer Ehle (Oslo), Laura Linney, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes and Laurie Metcalf (A Doll’s House, Part 2) in the category of best leading actress in a play.

Laura Linney has received a nod for her turn in Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes. Picture: AFP/Jewel Samad

Sally Field has been nominated for her role in The Glass Menagerie. Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images/AFP

Tim Minchin was also nominated for best original score for Groundhog Day: The Musical, in which he will compete against music from the shows Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.

Groundhog Day: The Musical garned seven nominations, including for best actor and best director.

Minchin’s last Broadway adaptation, Matilda, picked up four awards in 2013.

Tim Minchin (left) and Danny Rubin attend the Groundhog Day opening night on Broadway. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/AFP

In a year crowded with dozens of new plays and musicals, major productions of Cats, Sunset Boulevard starring Glenn Close, who won a Tony for the same role in 1995, A Bronx Tale and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were shut-out.

Big names appearing this season who were not nominated included Diane Lane, Mark Ruffalo and Allison Janney.

Sunset Boulevard star Glenn Close was snubbed for a role in which she had already won a Tony Award. Picture: Brad Barket/Getty Images for Sunset Boulevard

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 scored a leading 12 nominations including the top prize, best musical.

Close behind was the hit revival of Hello, Dolly! which took 10 nominations, announced on Tuesday, including for Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce.

Dear Evan Hansen, Groundhog Day The Musical and Come From Away received best musical nominations as well.

Best play nominees included Oslo, Sweat, Indecent, and A Doll’s House, Part 2, which won nominations for stars Laurie Metcalf and Chris Cooper.

This year, there are 24 competitive Tony categories, with winners determined by about 850 industry insiders.

The Tony Awards will be presented on June 11 at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall in a ceremony hosted by film and stage star Kevin Spacey.

Kevin Space will host the Tony Awards. Picture: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File

FULL LIST OF NOMINEES

Best Play

A Doll’s House, Part 2

Indecent

Oslo

Sweat

Best Musical

Come From Away

Dear Evan Hansen

Groundhog Day The Musical

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Best Book of a Musical

Come From Away — Irene Sankoff and David Hein

Dear Evan Hansen — Steven Levenson

Groundhog Day The Musical — Danny Rubin

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 — Dave Malloy

Best Original Score

Come From Away — Music & Lyrics: Irene Sankoff and David Hein

Dear Evan Hansen — Music & Lyrics: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

Groundhog Day The Musical — Music & Lyrics: Tim Minchin

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 — Music & Lyrics: Dave Malloy

Best Revival of a Play

August Wilson’s Jitney

Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

Present Laughter

Six Degrees of Separation

Best Revival of a Musical

Falsettos

Hello, Dolly!

Miss Saigon

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Denis Arndt, Heisenberg

Chris Cooper, A Doll’s House, Part 2

Corey Hawkins, Six Degrees of Separation

Kevin Kline, Present Laughter

Jefferson Mays, Oslo

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Cate Blanchett, The Present

Jennifer Ehle, Oslo

Sally Field, The Glass Menagerie

Laura Linney, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

Laurie Metcalf, A Doll’s House, Part 2

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

Christian Borle, Falsettos

Josh Groban, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Andy Karl, Groundhog Day The Musical

David Hyde Pierce, Hello, Dolly!

Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

Denee Benton, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Christine Ebersole, War Paint

Patti LuPone, War Paint

Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly!

Eva Noblezada, Miss Saigon

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Michael Aronov, Oslo

Danny DeVito, Arthur Miller’s The Price

Nathan Lane, The Front Page

Richard Thomas, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

John Douglas Thompson, August Wilson’s Jitney

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Johanna Day, Sweat

Jayne Houdyshell, A Doll’s House, Part 2

Cynthia Nixon, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

Condola Rashad, A Doll’s House, Part 2

Michelle Wilson, Sweat

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Gavin Creel, H ello, Dolly!

Mike Faist, Dear Evan Hansen

Andrew Rannells, Falsettos

Lucas Steele, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Brandon Uranowitz, Falsettos

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Kate Baldwin, Hello, Dolly!

Stephanie J. Block, Falsettos

Jenn Colella, Come From Away

Rachel Bay Jones, Dear Evan Hansen

Mary Beth Peil, Anastasia

Best Scenic Design of a Play

David Gallo, August Wilson’s Jitney

Nigel Hook, The Play That Goes Wrong

Douglas W. Schmidt, The Front Page

Michael Yeargan, Oslo

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Rob Howell, Groundhog Day The Musical

David Korins, War Paint

Mimi Lien, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Santo Loquasto, Hello, Dolly!

Best Costume Design of a Play

Jane Greenwood, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

Susan Hilferty, Present Laughter

Toni-Leslie James, August Wilson’s Jitney

David Zinn, A Doll’s House, Part 2

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Linda Cho, Anastasia

Santo Loquasto, Hello, Dolly!

Paloma Young, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Catherine Zuber, War Paint

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Christopher Akerlind, Indecent

Jane Cox, August Wilson’s Jitney

Donald Holder, Oslo

Jennifer Tipton, A Doll’s House, Part 2

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Howell Binkley, Come From Away

Natasha Katz, Hello, Dolly!

Bradley King, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Japhy Weideman, Dear Evan Hansen

Best Direction of a Play

Sam Gold, A Doll’s House, Part 2

Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson’s Jitney

Bartlett Sher, Oslo

Daniel Sullivan, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes

Rebecca Taichman, Indecent

Best Direction of a Musical

Christopher Ashley, Come From Away

Rachel Chavkin, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Michael Greif, Dear Evan Hansen

Matthew Warchus, Groundhog Day The Musical

Jerry Zaks, Hello, Dolly!

Best Choreography

Andy Blankenbuehler, Bandstand

Peter Darling and Ellen Kane, Groundhog Day The Musical

Kelly Devine, Come From Away

Denis Jones, Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical

Sam Pinkleton, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Best Orchestrations

Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen, Bandstand

Larry Hochman, Hello, Dolly!

Alex Lacamoire, Dear Evan Hansen

Dave Malloy, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

James Earl Jones

Special Tony Award

Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin, sound designers for The Encounter

Regional Theatre Tony Award

Dallas Theatre Centre in Dallas, Texas

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award

Baayork Lee

Tony Honours for Excellence in the Theatre

Nina Lannan and Alan Wasser

Originally published as Tony Awards 2017: Cate Blanchett receives best actress nomination for The Present