'Sponge Bob,' ‘Mean Girld’ top nominees for Tonys

NEW YORK - Reuters

A hit play from the "Harry Potter" franchise joined an acclaimed revival of AIDS drama "Angels in America" to dominate Broadway's Tony award nominations on May 1.

Glenda Jackson and Denzel Washington were nominated for acting Tonys, while "Mean Girls" and "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical" scored the most nominations with 12 each, including for best musical.

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," a new play about the grown wizard and his troubled relationship with his teen-aged son, won 10 nominations, including best play and best actor for star Jamie Parker.

The more than five-hour, two-part saga earned raves on Broadway after winning record Olivier awards in London last year.

Another monumental two-part drama, a revival of "Angels in America," took 11 nominations, including best play revival, best actor Andrew Garfield and best featured actor for Nathan Lane as closeted conservative firebrand Roy Cohn.

Jackson, marking a return to Broadway after three decades,  was nominated for best actress in a revival of Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women," while Washington won a nod for his star turn in "The Iceman Cometh." Both shows were nominated for best play revival.

Special Tony awards were announced for rocker Bruce Springsteen, who has extended his sold-out run, and John Leguizamo, whose one-man show "Latin History for Morons" also scored a best play nomination, though the star was not cited for best actor.

Other best musical nominees were "The Band's Visit," about Egyptian musicians stranded in a small Israeli town, which had 11 nominations, and "Frozen," adapted from the hit Disney film.

The other nominees for best new play were "Junk," "The Children" and "Farinelli and the King."

Best play revival nominees included "Lobby Hero" and "Travesties," while best musical revival nominees were led by "Rodgers  Hammerstein's Carousel" with 11 total nominations, "My Fair Lady," which brought Diana Rigg a featured actress nomination, and "Once on This Island."

Tom Hollander in "Travesties" and Mark Rylance in "Farinelli and The King" rounded out the best actor in a play category.  Condola Rashad in "Saint Joan," Lauren Ridloff in "Children of a Lesser God" and Amy Schumer in "Meteor Shower" were the other nominees for best actress in a play.

"Coming back to Broadway is like coming home again," Washington said after his nomination. "'The Iceman Cometh' experience has been especially gratifying," the past Tony and Oscar winner added, citing, "our sensational director George C. Wolfe and my 18 wonderful cast mates."

The 72nd Tony awards will be presented on June 10 at Radio City Music Hall in New York at a gala ceremony hosted by pop star Josh Groban and singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, who wrote the hit musical "Waitress."