It's springtime for The Producers. When the 2001 Tony nominations were announced Monday morning, Broadway's biggest hit in years tied the all-time Tony record with 15 nominations, including a nod for best musical.

        North Avondale's Rick Steiner is among the producers of The Producers. This kind of thing “doesn't happen,” said a gleeful Mr. Steiner. Indeed, it's only happened once before, in 1971 with Stephen Sondheim's Company, and since then a category has been eliminated.

        Sweating out the three weeks until the winners are announced on June 3, Mr. Steiner is opting for caution. “We do have competition.”

        The Producers' two stars, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, were nominated as were three of its performers in the featured-actor category: Roger Bart, Gary Beach and Brad Oscar.

        The musical, based on the classic 1968 Mel Brooks film comedy, also received nods for book, score, direction-musical, feature-actress musical, choreography, sets, costumes, lighting and orchestrations. Mr. Brooks himself received three nominations — for book, score and for being a producer of The Producers.

        Its competition for the top musical award includes The Full Monty, an American version of the popular English film comedy; A Class Act, a celebration of the life of songwriter Ed Kleban, and Jane Eyre, a retelling of the Charlotte Bronte novel.

        University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music grad Faith Prince is among nominees for best actress in a musical for the revival of Bells Are Ringing. Her competition: Blythe Danner, Follies; Christine Ebersole, 42nd Street; Randy Graff, A Class Act; and Marla Schaffel, Jane Eyre.

        Besides Mr. Lane and Mr. Broderick, best-actor musical nominations went to Kevin Chamberlin, Seussical; Tom Hewitt, The Rocky Horror Show, and Patrick Wilson of The Full Monty.

        Nominated for best play were Proof, the 2001 Pulitzer Prize winner by David Auburn; The Invention of Love, Tom Stoppard's drama about English poet A.E. Housman; King Hedley II, the latest installment from August Wilson on the 20th century black experience in America, and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Charles Busch's comedy about an anxiety-riddled Manhattan matron.

        Nominated for best actor in a play were Brian Stokes Mitchell, the volcanic title character in King Hedley II; Richard Easton, who plays the older Housman in The Invention of Love; Gary Sinise, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and the two stars of the Irish comedy, Stones in His Pockets, Sean Campion and Conleth Hill.

        Actress nods went to Mary-Louise Parker, the tormented daughter in Proof; Linda Lavin, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Leslie Uggams, King Hedley II; Jean Smart, who played a tempestuous star in the revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner; and Juliette Binoche, Betrayal.

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