Actor Cynthia Nixon and composer/lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda announced the 2009 Tony Award nominations on May 5, 2009.
Nominated Broadway Musicals and Plays
Nominations for Best Musical are Billy Elliot (15 total nominations), Next to Normal (11 total), Rock of Ages (5), and Shrek the Musical (8). Nominations for Best Play are 33 Variations by Moises Kaufman (5), Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote (2), God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza (6), and reasons to be pretty by Neil LaBute (3).
Nominations for Best Book of a Musical include Lee Hall for Billy Elliot, Brian Yorkey for Next to Normal, David Lindsay-Abaire for Shrek the Musical, and Hunter Bell for [title of show]. Nominees for Best Original Score are Elton John and Lee Hall for Billy Elliot, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey for Next to Normal, Dolly Parton for 9 to 5, Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire for Shrek the Musical.
In the revival arena, Best Revival of a Musical includes Guys and Dolls (2 total nominations), Hair (8), Pal Joey (4), and West Side Story (4). Best Revival of a Play includes Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson (6), Mary Stuart by Friederich Schiller (7), The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn (7), and Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (3).
Lead Nominated Actors
Nominees for Leading Actor in a Play are Jeff Daniels in God of Carnage, Raul Esparza in Speed-the-Plow, James Gandolfini in God of Carnage, Geoffrey Rush in Exit the King, and Thomas Sadoski in reasons to be pretty.
Nominees for Leading Actress in a Play are Hope Davis in God of Carnage, Marcia Gay Harden in God of Carnage, Janet McTeer in Mary Stuart, Harriet Walter in Mary Stuart, and Jane Fonda in 33 Variations.
Nominations for Leading Actor in a Musical include an unusual nomination for Billy Elliot. Three young men who alternate performances for the title role have all been nominated as a team. The Billy Elliots are David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Dulish. Remaining nominations include Gavin Creel for Hair, Brian d'Arcy James for Shrek the Musical, Constantine Maroulis for Rock of Ages, and J. Robert Spencer for Next to Normal.
Nominations forLeading Actress in a Musical went to Stockard Channing in Pal Joey, Sutton Foster in Shrek the Musical, Allison Janney in 9 to 5, Alice Ripley in Next to Normal, and Josefina Seaglione in West Side Story.
Most Nominated Broadway Shows for 2008-2009
The Broadway shows receiving the most nominations are:
- Billy Elliot - 15 nominations, including Best Musical
- Next to Normal - 11 nominations, including Best Musical
- Hair - 8 nominations, including Best Musical Revival
- Shrek the Musical - 8 nominations, including Best Musical
- Mary Stuart - 7 nominations, including Best Revival of a Play
- Norman Conquests - 7 nominations, including Best Revival of a Play
Special Theatrical Events
There are four shows nominated for the Special Theatrical Event Tony Award. The shows are:
- Liza's at the Palace... starring Liza Minnelli
- Slava's Snowshow created by the clown Slava Polunin
- Soul of Shaolin, a kung fu spectacle
- You're Welcome America, A Final Night With George W. Bush starring Will Ferrell.
Special Tony Awards
A Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre will go to American composer Jerry Herman. Herman composed Hello Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles, among many other musicals.
For her philanthropic work, actor Phyllis Newman will receive the Isabelle Stevenson Award, which is being presented for the first time. Newman founded the Women's Health Initiative of the Actors Fund of America in 1995. (Isabelle Stevenson served as President of the American Theatre Wing for 33 years, and passed away in 2003.)
Tony Award Administrative Facts
Approximately 750 people vote for the Tony Awards. The voters are expected to see all nominated shows, or to refrain from voting in categories that have shows the voters have not seen.
The Tony Awards are administered jointly by two organizations. The American Theatre Wing, an organization whose mission statement states it exists "to promote excellence and education in theatre," originated the Tony Award in 1947. The ATW joined forces with The Broadway League, a theatre trade association, in 1967.
The "Wing" of ATW originally stood as shorthand for "World War II Allied Relief Fund." During World War II, the ATW founded the Stage Door Canteen a program that entertained American servicemen. Currently, among the wealth of its activities, the ATW holds seminars about the workings of theatre, hosts interviews with playwrights, producers, actors and other theatre professionals, and provides other educational workshops.
The Tony Award is named after Antoinette Perry, a co-founder of the American Theatre Wing.
The Tony Awards show will be held in New York's Radio City Musical Hall. There are a limited number of tickets for the show available to the public.
The CBS television network has broadcast the Tony Awards since 1978, and will broadcast the 63rd Tony Awards show at 8pm EDT on June 7, 2009.
Sources:
- Tony Awards Official Website
- American Theatre Wing
 |
