Tonys -- a few shows that were here first

Catch the Tony Award nominations? OK, so you had to be in New York to See most of the nominated plays -- notably the Duncan Sheik musical "Spring Awakening" (which led the field with 11 nominations) and Tom Stoppard's "The Coast of Utopia."

A couple of the multiple awardees, however, began life out here on the West Coast before they went to east.

"Curtains" (8 noms)-- the last Kander and Ebb musical (with help from Rupert Homes) at the Ahmanson last summer.
"Radio Golf" (4 noms)-- August Wilson's last play, which played the Mark Taper Forum way back in 2005.

Congrats to acting nominees David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk (of "Curtains) and John Earl Jelks and Anthony Chisholm (of "Radio Golf"), all four of whom were seen on our stages.

"Jay Johnson- The Two and Only," which played the Brentwood Theatre and the Colony, took a nomination for Best Theatrical Event.

We can't really claim it, but the musical of "Legally Blonde" bowed out of town in San Francisco.

You'll perhaps be wondering _ or at least I will _ when we might get a look at "Spring Awakening," "The Coast of Utopia" and the other big hits (and likely winners).

"Spring Awakening" -- concerning hot and bothered young Germans based on the Frank Wendekin play _ won't launch its national tour till fall of 2008, and who knows what stop L.A. will be.

"The Coast of Utopia?" Again, don't hold your breath. The man who directed the Broadway production, Jack O'Brien, happens to run the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. Except you risk bankrupting your theater if you book an eight hour, three play cycle about Russian intellectuals. Even if the playwright is Tom Stoppard.

"Utopia" might have been the kind of thing Center Theatre Group would attempt back in the day when big event pieces like "Angels and America," "The Cider House Rules" and "The Kentucky Cycle" passed through the Taper.

Times have changed. The Taper is undergoing renovation from summer's end until the end of the year, and the Ahmanson is booked with musicals through 07-08.

Utopia, alas, figures to be a long way off.