Martin McDonagh's play The Lieutenant of Inishmoreand Brian Friel's The Faith Healerhave been shortlisted for this year's Tony awards on Broadway.
The Drowsy Chaperone, an affectionate parody of 1920s musicals, led the field with 13 nominations today, while Alan Bennett's The History Boyswas confirmed as the favourite for best new play with seven nominations.
The Drowsy Chaperonehas already won several awards and was the critics' favourite, along with Jersey Boys, a jukebox musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple, based on the Alice Walker novel, made a surprisingly strong showing with 11 nominations, more than Jersey Boys, which took eight. The Color Purplegot a lukewarm reception from critics but has been a box office hit.
The Wedding Singer, a 1980s romp adapted from the Adam Sandler movie, was the fourth nomination for best new musical, and The Pajama Gameled the list of revivals with nine nominations, including one for its star, Harry Connick Jr.
But the biggest star of the season on Broadway, Oscar-winner Julia Roberts, was not among those nominated as best actress in a play.
Her Broadway debut was panned by critics, but in a year with few outstanding female performances there was speculation she could make the grade, particularly if organisers had hoped to tempt her to be a presenter at the ceremony on June 11th.
The nominees for best actress in a play were Sex and the Citystar Cynthia Nixon for her role in Rabbit Hole, Kate Burton and Lynn Redgrave in the period comedy The Constant Wife, Judy Kaye in Souvenir, and Lisa Kron in Well.
Up for best actor are Oliver Platt for Shining City, Ralph Fiennes for Faith Healer, Richard Griffiths for The History Boys, Zeljko Ivanek for The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, and David Wilmot for The Lieutenant of Inishmore.