BY PAULA SCHWARTZ

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Tony Award-winning actress Sutton Foster announced the Tony nominations Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m.

“Kinky Boots” lead with 12 nominations and “Matilda The Musical,” followed with 12. “Pippin” was close behind with 10 nods, while “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella” came next with 9.

Broadway audiences love big Hollywood stars, but the Tony nomination committee not so much. Tom Hanks is an exception. Hanks, who has been getting raves in “Lucky Man,” received a Tony nod for his performance that most critics say outshines the play, by the late Nora Ephron. The play, however, did receive a nomination for best play.

Other nominees for best play are “The Testament of Mary (Colm Toibin), “The Assembled Parties” (Richard Greenberg) and “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (Christopher Durang).

In an upset, Bette Midler, who was back on Broadway for the first time in three decades, stars as ruthless Hollywood agent Sue Mengers in “I’ll Eat You Last," and who has gotten stellar reviews, was left off the Tony nomination list. This probably won’t make a dent in box office sales.

Movie stars Alec Baldwin and Ben Foster were also left out of Tony contention for their performances in the revival of Lyle Kessler’s “Orphans.” In the three-man play, only Tom Sturridge was nominated for best performance by an actor in a leading role, something Ben Brantley of the New York Times foretold when he wrote in his review: “Mr. Sturridge is playing the sort of role that comes with “Tony nominee” tattooed on its forehead, that of a mentally challenged, education-deprived person who learns to assert himself.” “Orphans” also received another nomination for best revival.

Besides Hanks and Sturridge, the other actors in the leading role category include Nathan Lane for his critically acclaimed performance in “The Nance,” Tracy Letts, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and David Hyde Pierce for “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”

Sigourney Weaver, who also stars in “Vanya and Sonia,” was passed over while her co-stars Kristine Nielsen received a nod for leading actress. Other actresses besides Nielsen nominated in this category are Laurie Metcalf, “The Other Place”; Amy Morton, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?;” Cicely Tyson, “The Trip to Bountiful,” and Holland Taylor, “Ann.”

Today’s nomination for Holland Taylor should give “Ann” a boost at the box office. The actress has been sweeping the award nominations with nods from the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and now the Tony’s.

Other movie stars overlooked, Paul Rudd and Michael Shannon, for “Grace,” Craig Wright’s tale of a Christian entrepreneur, which closed earlier in the season. Shannon, who has a whole slate of movies opening, including “The Iceman,” which is released Friday, and blockbuster “Man of Steel,” was particularly good as a broken man suffering from a crisis of faith in the Broadway play.

There was also no Tony love for Jessica Chastain, who starred in “The Heiress,” although her co-star, seasoned Broadway actress Judith Ivey, was nominated for best actress in a featured role in a play. Other nominees are Carrie Coon, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?;” Shalita Grant, “Vanya and Sonia…”; Judith Light, “The Assembled Parties,” and Condola Rashad for “The Trip to Bountiful.”

For best actor in a musical it will be a close contest between Bertie Carvel in “Matilda the Musical," and Billy Porter, who plays Lola in “Kinky Boots.” Also from "Kinky Boots," is Stark Sands. Other nominees in the category are Santino Fontana in “Cinderella” and Bob McClure for “Chaplin,” whose performance was singled out in the musical, which mostly received poor reviews.

The best actress in a musical category is wide open: The nominees are Stephanie J. Block “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”); Carolee Carmello (“Scandalous”), Valisia LeKae (Motown the Musical); Patina Miller (Pippin); Laura Osnes (“Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”).

The biggest winner today when the Tony nominations were announced is Cyndi Lauper, a rock star whose first Broadway venture, “Kinky Boots,” scored the most nominations, including for her music and lyrics.

And then there’s the astonishing Cicely Tyson, who is 88, and making her return to Broadway in “The Trip to Bountiful” after a 30-year. Who would deny her a Tony Award?

For a full list of nominees, please visit here.