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'Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812' Leads Tony Award Nominations With 12 Nods

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812," a sung-through musical that dramatizes a 70-page melodrama at the center of Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace," earned a leading 12 Tony Award nominations on Tuesday.

FULL LIST: Nominations For The 2017 Tony Awards

The pop opera earned a nomination for the most coveted prize on Broadway -- best new musical. The other shows vying for the category are "Come From Away," ''Dear Evan Hansen" and "Groundhog Day."

Recording artist Josh Groban also earned a nod for portraying — in a fat suit — an unhappy husband in "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812." He will compete with Christian Borle of "Falsettos," Andy Karl of "Groundhog Day The Musical," David Hyde Pierce of "Hello, Dolly!" and Ben Platt of "Dear Evan Hansen."

The best play nominees are "Sweat," ''Oslo," ''Indecent" and "A Doll's House, Part 2." The best play revivals are "August Wilson's Jitney," ''Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes," ''Present Laughter" and "Six Degrees of Separation."

PHOTOS: 2017 Tony Award Nominations

The Midler-led revival of "Hello, Dolly!" was the second-highest nominated show this season with 10 nods. The quirky coming-of-age musical "Dear Evan Hansen" earned nine.

Midler will compete for lead actress in a musical with Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, both who star in "War Paint," Denée Benton, Natasha of "Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812" and Eva Noblezada of "Miss Saigon."

In a quirk, Midler actually earned her first Tony nomination but has already won one of the trophies — the 1974 Special Tony Award for "for adding luster to the Broadway season" during a concert stand the year before at the Palace Theatre.

Some big names in film, television and theater are nominated for leading actress in a play, including Cate Blanchett for "The Present," Jennifer Ehle for "Oslo," Sally Field for "The Glass Menagerie," Laura Linney for "Little Foxes," and Laurie Metcalf for "A Doll's House, Part 2."

Veteran film and TV star Danny Devito is also making his Broadway debut in Arthur Miller's "The Price." Devito is nominated in the featured actor category.

This year, there are 24 competitive Tony categories. Winners will be determined by some 850 industry insiders.

There were 37 eligible shows this year with buzz surrounding "Come From Away," "Dear Evan Hansen" and "Hello, Dolly." The question around this time in 2016 was just how many Tony nods the megahit "Hamilton'' would earn.

Kevin Spacey will host the awards show from Radio City Music Hall.

The show will be broadcast June 11 at 8 p.m. on CBS2.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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