Not even a wizard can best Tina Fey — or triumph over a not-so-simple sponge.
Fey’s first Broadway musical, “Mean Girls,” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” squeezed out 12 Tony Award nominations apiece Tuesday morning, besting even “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” That British import, considered a shoo-in for Best Play, conjured up 10.
All told, the Tony selection committee had a few surprises up its sleeve, including a Best Actress nod for Amy Schumer, the bright light of Steve Martin’s (now-defunct) dark comedy “Meteor Shower.”
Less surprising was a nomination for Denzel Washington, up for his work in “The Iceman Cometh,” and a Special Tony for Bruce Springsteen, because who doesn’t want him to spice up an awards show? And while Jimmy Buffett’s “Escape to Margaritaville” came up empty-handed, the widely derided “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” managed to net nods for two of its three Donnas, LaChanze and Ariana DeBose.
“The Band’s Visit,” widely considered the strongest new musical of the season, racked up 11 nominations, including those for stars Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub as a sultry Israeli cafe owner and the Egyptian band leader she takes in for the night.
Also nominated was composer David Yazbek, a “three-time Tony loser” (“The Full Monty,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”) who just might nail it this time.
Rounding out the category was Disney’s “Frozen,” which opened to lukewarm reviews.
Then again, the notices for “Mean Girls” — or “Meh Girls,” as The Post’s Sara Stewart put it — weren’t so hot either. Surprisingly, neither Caissie Levy nor Patti Murin, the powerhouse stars of “Frozen,” received a nod.
One of the most heated races is for Best Revival of a Musical, in which “My Fair Lady” and “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel” are going head to head. “Carousel,” which brings “Beautiful” Tony winner Jessie Mueller back to Broadway, netted 11 nominations, one more than its rival.
“Angels in America,” the return of Tony Kushner’s epic meditation on the age of AIDS, led the field for Best Revival of a Play, with two of its 11 nominations going to Andrew Garfield, as a dying drag queen, and Nathan Lane, as a vicious Roy Cohn. Lane is in the supporting-actor category, leaving Garfield to duke it out with Washington, Mark Rylance (“Farinelli and the King”), Tom Hollander (“Travesties”) and Jamie Parker (“Harry Potter”).
Also in the running for best revival are Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women” — along with stars Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf — and Kenneth Lonergan’s “Lobby Hero.” That show, now playing a newly renovated Hayes Theater, won nods for Michael Cera and “Atlanta” star Brian Tyree Henry.
Naturally, everyone was thrilled to hear their names announced. Jack Thorne, nominated for his book for “Harry Potter,” says J.K. Rowling had yet to check in. “She’s hard at work on another Strike book [her mystery series],” he tells The Post from London, where he tried and failed to get the Tony live feed working on his computer. “My wife basically sat there telling me I’m an idiot,” he says. He learned the good news on Twitter.
Lauren Ridloff, a former Miss Deaf America, made her Broadway debut in “Children of a Lesser God” opposite “The Affair” star Joshua Jackson. She’d forgotten all about the Tonys, and booked a massage Tuesday morning. Her husband, Doug, came in to give her updates while she lay on the table.
Several nominees were taking their children to school at the time, including Lauren Ambrose, the Cockney flower girl of Lincoln Center’s “My Fair Lady,” and Gavin Lee, who plays the curmudgeonly pal of Ethan Slater’s SpongeBob SquarePants. (Slater, the musical’s funsize, 25-year-old star, is up for Best Actor.)
“Taking my 7-year-old daughter to school was a lot less stressful than sitting in front of a computer,” Lee, the father of three, tells The Post from Maplewood, NJ, all the while drilling holes in his garage for his son’s climbing wall.
The Tony Awards will take place at Radio City on June 10, and telecast on CBS. Here’s hoping someone seats Glenda Jackson and Amy Schumer together — and lets us eavesdrop.