Tony’s Tony Nomination

 

Tony Sheldon has been nominated for a Tony Award, the highest honour awarded to Musical Theatre performers on Broadway. 

Tonight the 2011 nominations for the 65th Annual Tony Awards were announced in New York. 

Among the nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical is Australia’s own Tony Sheldon (pictured, centre), for his portrayal of Bernadette in Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical.

This nomination for Sheldon comes fresh off the back of a Drama Desk award nomination for Best Actor in April this year. 

Reviews of Sheldon’s performance on Broadway have been overwhelmingly positive since the show began previews on 28 February. The $US15 million production of the Australian musical didn’t win over the critics at first, but as co-producer Garry McQuinn has said, “Priscilla survived lukewarm reviews when it opened in Sydney and London, where it went on to play full houses. It is still playing in London.”

The New York Times reviewer Charles Isherwood lauded our Tony for a ”winning” performance as the jaded drag queen Bernadette, and Sheldon continues to wow audiences on Broadway. 

Sheldon’s competition for the best actor gong are: Norbert Leo Butz – Catch Me If You Can; Josh Gad – The Book of Mormon; Joshua Henry – The Scottsboro Boys; and Andrew Rannells – The Book of Mormon.

The Tonys will be presented June 12 at The Beacon Theatre in New York, televised on CBS.

The full list of Tony Award nominees can be seen here.