Earlier this week, the Tony nominations landed on the internet’s doorstop. We learned that this year’s hosts, Alan Cumming and Kristen Chenowith, have some surprises planned. As predicted, Bradley Cooper nabbed a best male performance nod. BCoop has said that starring in The Elephant Man was his lifelong dream. He was inspired to become an actor, in fact, by watching one of the production’s prior revivals. Coop is a classically trained actor, but his stint on Broadway this season wasn’t a coincidence. This was a way for him to put a different spin on his third Oscar nomination while his friends did the handshaking for him. Coop lost the Oscar, but he’ll probably win the Tony. A nice trade-off.

It never dawned on me until now that Harvey Weinstein co-produced The Elephant Man, which is how Coop got the gig. Harvey had his hands all over Broadway this season, especially with his $20 million investment in Finding Neverland (starring Matthew Morrison). That play came up empty-handed for noms, and everyone figures Harvey is secretly fuming. The NY Post had a great time trashing this production, noting how critics described the play as “empty calories” and “fatally ersatz.” The production has been plagued by drama. A publicist walked out, but analysts think the bad publicity may help ticket sales. No matter. The focus with Harvey is usually on awards. The NY Post says Broadway wants Harvey to take his ball and go home to Hollywood:

The Tony nominators gave Harvey Weinstein the hook, the Captain Hook!

Weinstein’s $20 million Peter Pan musical Finding Neverland — his first foray onto Broadway — failed to receive a single Tony nomination Tuesday.

This is Broadway telling Harvey to go away, to take his bulldozing tactics back to Hollywood and leave the business of theater to theater people.

Well, I exaggerate. That overrated camp fest Something Rotten! received 10 nominations, including Best Musical, which means the Tony nominators aren’t immune to a lapse of taste.

For the record, they also ignored Larry David and his Fish in the Dark, which can lick its wounds all the way to the bank, since it’s one of the most successful nonmusical shows in history.

But the snubbing of Weinstein and his show is the headline today, and the question is, what’s he going to do about it?

Weinstein responded. “With 27 nominations today for ‘Fun Home,’ The Elephant Man, The Audience and Wolf Hall, shows that we either co-invested or co-produced, we couldn’t be more thrilled. As as for Finding Neverland, our passion for it remains unwavering. I could not be more proud of the magic created on our stage by Diane Paulus and the entire Neverland team night after night, which has made this show a smash hit.”

That said, I still think Harvey’s plotting something.

[From NY Post]

This is deliciously catty gossip and high drama on Broadway. Harvey has reportedly assured his cast and crew that the lack of Finding Neverland nods “was a missile, squarely aimed at me.” This is probably true. I’ve always wondered how theater actors feel when Hollywood stars swoop in and gather up the plum roles. Broadway producers have always embraced big movie star names because they translate into ticket sales. But when it comes to Harvey Weinstein, Broadway seems to have drawn a line. Harvey’s influence goes far and wide at the Oscars, but Broadway isn’t impressed. He’s surely kicking a wall right now.

Photos courtesy of WENN