Satirical 'Mormon' musical leads Drama Desk noms

A satirical Broadway show about Mormons by the creators of TV series South Park earned 12 nominations from the Drama Desk on Friday, as it announced its picks for the best plays and musicals of the year.

The Book of Mormon, which was seven years in the making for Trey Parker and Matt Stone, opened in March to glowing reviews. It was nominated for outstanding musical, best direction and best lyrics, as well as earning three acting nods.

Daniel Radcliffe, 21, of Harry Potter movie fame, was singled out for his role as the ambitious J Pierrepont Finch in a revival of the 1962 Pulitzer-Prize winning show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

It was the movie star's Broadway musical debut, three years after he hit Broadway as a disturbed stable boy in Equus in 2008.

The revival of the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes nabbed 10 nominations, including one for its Tony-award winning star Sutton Foster.

Al Pacino's performance as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice won rave reviews and helped bring the play's total tally of nominations to seven.

Geoffrey Rush and Frances McDormand were nominated for their performances in the plays The Diary of a Madman and Good People respectively.

Unlike the Tony Awards, the Drama Desk honours consider Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway equally in all categories. They will be handed out on May 23 in New York.