News

Bette Midler is the toast of the just-released Tony nominations

May 03, 2017

Bette Midler's put in a powerhouse performance in Hello Dolly! Source: Instagram/hellodollybway

Bette Midler is the toast of the Tonys today, with her powerhouse performance in Hello Dolly! helping the musical to 10 nominations in the prestigious theatre awards.

Midler was one of a number of seasoned stars to be put forward for nods in the 71st Annual Tony Awards nominations revealed today, IndieWire reported.

Midler was nominated for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, and Hello Dolly! was also nominated for Best Revival of a Musical, as well as for best featured actor, best design, best lighting design, best direction and best orchestration, among other categories.

IndieWire says Midler’s nomination for her performance as matchmaker Dolly Levi, in her first Broadway appearance since 1979, was no surprise.

“In a battle of the divas you won’t see on VH1 anytime soon, she will compete with the reigning grande dame of Broadway, Patti LuPone,” the news site said. LuPone, 68, is already a two-time Tony Award winner, who is appearing in War Paint.

Congratulations to #HelloDolly!’s cast and crew on receiving 10 Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical.

A post shared by Hello, Dolly! (@hellodollybway) on May 2, 2017 at 6:32am PDT

Australia’s own Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading role in a Play for her role in The Present, an Chekov adaptation that was written by her husband Andrew Upton. She’ll go head to head with Hollywood veteran Sally Field, who’s appearing in class The Glass Menagerie.

Sex and the City favourite Cynthia Nixon, who played straight-laced Miranda, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for her work on Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes.

As for the men, Danny DeVito is up for best featured actor in a play for Arthur Miller’s The Price, Kevin Kline was nominated for best leading actor in a play for Present Laughter and James Earl Jones, best known as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars series, will receive the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.