Lion King, Ragtime Compete Again in June 14 FANY Awards | Playbill

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News Lion King, Ragtime Compete Again in June 14 FANY Awards Ragtime will get one more chance to beat The Lion King as Best Musical June 14 with the announcement of the annual FANY Awards -- Broadway's equivalent of "People's Choice."

Ragtime will get one more chance to beat The Lion King as Best Musical June 14 with the announcement of the annual FANY Awards -- Broadway's equivalent of "People's Choice."

Both the Livent and Disney musicals racked up 12 nominations each, while Golden Child and The Diary of Anne Frank tied for six in the play category.

Dubbed the "People's Choice Awards for Broadway Theatre," the FANYs were founded in 1990 to reward excellence on Broadway. (The acronym initially stood for "FAns of NY theatre" but the organization later changed its name to "Friends of NY Theatre.) FANY nominees are chosen by the membership (open to all) from all Broadway plays which opened May 1, 1997-Apr. 30, 1998. That said, both The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Judas Kiss aren't eligible this year, because members didn't have enough time to see them.

The FANY Award winners will be announced at a ceremony, June 14, 6:30 PM (EST) at the Broadway Grill Restaurant in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. For tickets ($35 members; $50 non-members) and information call (212) 974-0139 or email [email protected].

Reached June 10, FANY founder Steve Ridgeway told Playbill On-Line the voting deadline was June 6, meaning that the FANY's "aren't directly influenced by the Tony Awards" held the next night. "In fact," he said, "1990, our first year, was the last time we matched the Tonys." (City of Angels was the winner.) Expected at this year's FANYs are Natasha Richardson and Alan Cumming (Cabaret), Julyana Soelistyo (Golden Child) and Betty Buckley (Triumph of Love). Presenters will include the nominees Jan Maxwell, Emily Skinner & Alice Ripley, and Rob Marshall (a three-time FANY winner), as well as Robert Cuccioli, Lynn Thigpen, Ruben Santiago Hudson and Daniel McDonald.

Added Ridgeway, "Our niche is that the FANYs are very relaxed. It's the last award of the season, so it's more a celebration than anything else. It's our `thank you' back to the theatre community."

Here's the list of 1998 FANY nominees:
Outstanding Play:
Art by Yasmina Reza
Golden Child by David Henry Hwang;
Jackie, An American Life by Gig Hoppe;
Proposals by Neil Simon

Outstanding Musical:
High Society;
The Lion King;
Ragtime;
Side Show

Outstanding Revival of a Play:
Ah, Wilderness!;
The Diary of Anne Frank;
A View From the Bridge;
Wait Until Dark

Outstanding Revival of a Musical:
1776;
Cabaret;
The Sound of Music

Outstanding Book of a Musical:
The Lion King, (Roger Allers & Irene Mecchi)
Ragtime, (Terrence McNally)
The Scarlet Pimpernel, (Nan Knighton)
Side Show (Bill Russell)

Outstanding Score of a Musical:
The Lion King (Elton John & Tim Rice)
Ragtime (Stephen Flaherty & Lynn Ahrens)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (Frank Wildhorn & Nan Knighton)
Side Show (Henry Krieger & Bill Russell)

Outstanding Director of a Play:
James Lapine, (Golden Child)
Joe Mantello, (Proposals)
Daniel Sullivan, Ah, Wilderness!
Matthew Warchus, Art

Outstanding Director of a Musical:
Scott Ellis, 1776
Frank Galati, Ragtime
Sam Mendes & Rob Marshall, Cabaret
Julie Taymor, The Lion King

Outstanding Choreography:
Graciela Daniele, (Ragtime;)
Garth Fagan, (The Lion King)
Robert Longbottom, (Side Show)
Rob Marshall, (Cabaret)

Outstanding Scenic Design:
John Lee Beatty, (Proposals)
Richard Hudson, (The Lion King)
Andrew Jackness, (The Scarlet Pimpernel)
Adrienne Lobel, (The Diary of Anne Frank)
Tony Straiges, (Golden Child)

Outstanding Costume Design:
Jane Greenwood, (The Scarlet Pimpernel)
William Ivey Long, (1776)
Santo Loquasto, (Ragtime)
Julie Taymor, (The Lion King)

Outstanding Lighting Design:
Peggy Eisenhauer & Mike Baldassari, (Cabaret)
Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, (Ragtime)
Donald Holder, (The Lion King);
Brian MacDevitt (Proposals)

Outstanding Actor in a Play:
Kevin Kline, Ivanov;
Anthony LaPaglia, A View From the Bridge;
Alfred Molina, Art;
Craig T. Nelson, Ah, Wilderness!

Outstanding Actress in a Play:
L. Scott Caldwell, (Proposals)
Allison Janney, (A View From the Bridge)
Natalie Portman, (The Diary of Anne Frank)
Marisa Tomei (Wait Until Dark)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play:
Leo Burmester, Ah, Wilderness!;
George Hearn, The Diary of Anne Frank;
Randall Duk Kim, Golden Child;
Max Wright, Ivanov.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play:
Tsai Chin, (Golden Child)
Sophie Hayden, (The Diary of Anne Frank)
Linda Lavin, (The Diary of Anne Frank)
Julyana Soelistyo, (Golden Child)

Outstanding Actor in a Musical:
Alan Cumming, Cabaret;
Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ragtime
Douglas Sills, The Scarlet Pimpernel
Brent Spiner, 1776
John Vickery, The Lion King

Outstanding Actress in a Musical:
Betty Buckley, Triumph of Love
Marin Mazzie, Ragtime
Alice Ripley & Emily Skinner, Side Show;
Natasha Richards, Cabaret

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical:
Max Cassella, The Lion King;
John Benjamin Hickey, Cabaret;
Steven Sutcliffe, Ragtime
Samuel E. Wright, The Lion King.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical:
Judy Kaye, Ragtime;
Anna Kendrick, High Society
Audra MacDonald, Ragtime;
Michelle Pawk, Cabaret

Outstanding Broadway Debut:
Gregg Barnes, Costume Designer, Side Show
Margaret Colin as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in Jackie, An American Life
Scott Irby-Ranniar as Young Simba in The Lion King
Sam Trammell as Richard Miller in Ah, Wilderness!

Here's the run-down of shows and how they fared in nominations:
The Lion King...12
Ragtime...12
Cabaret ...8
The Diary of Anne Frank...6
Golden Child...6
Side Show...6
Ah, Wilderness!...5
Proposals...5
he Scarlet Pimpernel...5
1776...4
Art...3
A View From the Bridge...3
High Society...2
Ivanov...2
Jackie, An American Life...2
Wait Until Dark...2

Those interested in joining FANY just need to pay the annual membership fee and fill out an application. The annual fee is $25 basic membership with right to vote; $15 for seniors/students. Says spokesperson Steve Ridgeway, "There are also different levels of membership, the highest being $200, which gets you two free tickets to the FANY Awards, your name in the program, and sometimes a special reception with the presenters and nominees." Member tickets to the FANY awards are generally $35.

For a membership application, just call (212) 974-0139. "Anybody can become a member," says Ridgeway. "One restriction -- You're not allowed to cast a preliminary (nominations) ballot for a show if you're working on it, but you are allowed to vote."

Attending last year's FANY ceremony were Wendy Wasserstein, Julie Harris, eey, Al Hirschfeld, Karen Ziemba and Gregory Harrison (Steel Pier), Brian D'Arcy James, Victoria Clark and Jennifer Piech (Titanic), Chuck Cooper, David Newman & Ira Gasman (The Life), Robert Cuccioli & Christiane Noll (Jekyll & Hyde), Marcia Lewis, Steve Ross and Beth Fowler.

-- By David Lefkowitz

 
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