
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 11, 1993                   TAG: 9305110533
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MICHAEL KUCHWARA ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

`TOMMY,' `SPIDER WOMAN' TOP TONY AWARD NOMINEES

"The Who's Tommy" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman," two splashy big-budget musicals, each received 11 Tony Award nominations Monday to top the shows nominated as the best of a lackluster Broadway season.

"Angels in America: Millennium Approaches," the first half of Tony Kushner's epic 7 1/2-hour AIDS drama, took nine nominations, including best play.

Besides "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches," the best-play nominees were "The Sisters Rosensweig," Wendy Wasserstein's comedy about the London reunion of three American sisters; "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me," Frank McGinness' drama about foreign hostages in a Middle Eastern prison, and "The Song of Jacob Zulu" by Tug Yourgrau, the story of a young black man accused of bombing a South African shopping center.

Besides "Tommy" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman," nominations for best musical went to "Blood Brothers," Willy Russell's tale of twin brothers separated at birth and "The Goodbye Girl," Neil Simon's musical romance about a single mother and an unemployed actor.

Best actor-play nods were given to Ron Leibman "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches," K. Todd Freeman "The Song of Jacob Zulu," Liam Neeson "Anna Christie" and Stephen Rea "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me."

Nominated for best actress in a play were Jane Alexander "The Sisters Rosensweig," Madeline Kahn "The Sisters Rosensweig," Lynn Redgrave "Shakespeare for My Father" and Natasha Richardson "Anna Christie."

The Tonys are presented by the American Theater Wing and the League of American Theaters and Producers. The winners are to be announced June 6 at the Gershwin Theater. The award ceremonies are to be broadcast that night on WDBJ (Channel 7) at 9 p.m. with Liza Minnelli as host.

by CNB