The 2008 Tony Award Nominees

The nominations for this year's Tony Awards have been announced, and the producers at CBS are probably furious.

The show is never a ratings winner, but the performances that are the most accessible to mainstream audiences - like Young Frankenstein and The Little Mermaid - didn't get nominated for best musical. The broadcast loves to kick things off with a big number from a show like that, but instead the only known shows are Xanadu (which is reportedly lots of fun but was largely panned by the critics) and Cry-Baby (the latest John Waters adaptation).

Still, I'm sure the show will be fun for the theatre fans out there, and (having apparently not learned my lesson last time around), I plan to live-blog the Tonys for your entertainment.

Anyway, here are the nominees for the 2008 American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards, which will be presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing:

Best Play

August: Osage County
Rock 'n' Roll
The Seafarer
The 39 Steps

Best Musical

Cry-Baby
In The Heights
Passing Strange
Xanadu

Best Book of a Musical

Cry-Baby
In The Heights
Passing Strange
Xanadu

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Cry-Baby
In The Heights
The Little Mermaid
Passing Strange

Best Revival of a Play

Boeing-Boeing
The Homecoming
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Macbeth

Best Revival of a Musical

Grease
Gypsy
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Sunday in the Park with George

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Ben Daniels, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
Rufus Sewell, Rock 'n' Roll
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Eve Best, The Homecoming
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County
Kate Fleetwood, Macbeth
S. Epatha Merkerson, Come Back, Little Sheba
Amy Morton, August: Osage County

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George
Lin-Manuel Miranda, In The Heights
Stew, Passing Strange
Paulo Szot, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Kerry Butler, Xanadu
Patti LuPone, Gypsy
Kelli O'Hara, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Faith Prince, A Catered Affair
Jenna Russell, Sunday in the Park with George

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Bobby Cannavale, Mauritius
Raul Esparza, The Homecoming
Conleth Hill, The Seafarer
Jim Norton, The Seafarer
David Pittu, Is He Dead?

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Sinead Cusack, Rock 'n' Roll
Mary McCormack, Boeing-Boeing
Laurie Metcalf, November
Martha Plimpton, Top Girls
Rondi Reed, August: Osage County

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange
Danny Burstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Robin De Jesus, In The Heights
Christopher Fitzgerald, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

de'Adre Aziza, Passing Strange
Laura Benanti, Gypsy
Andrea Martin, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Olga Merediz, In The Heights
Loretta Ables Sayre, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific

Best Scenic Design of a Play

The 39 Steps
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
August: Osage County
Macbeth

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Sunday in the Park with George
In The Heights
Young Frankenstein
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific

Best Costume Design of a Play

Cyrano de Bergerac
Boeing-Boeing
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
The 39 Steps

Best Costume Design of a Musical

Sunday in the Park with George
Gypsy
In The Heights
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific

Best Lighting Design of a Play

The 39 Steps
Macbeth
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
August: Osage County

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Sunday in the Park with George
In The Heights
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
The Little Mermaid

Best Sound Design of a Play

Boeing-Boeing
Macbeth
Rock 'n' Roll
The 39 Steps

Best Sound Design of a Musical

In The Heights
Sunday in the Park with George
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Gypsy

Best Direction of a Play

Maria Aitken, The 39 Steps
Conor McPherson, The Seafarer
Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County
Matthew Warchus, Boeing-Boeing

Best Direction of a Musical

Sam Buntrock, Sunday in the Park with George
Thomas Kail, In The Heights
Arthur Laurents, Gypsy
Bartlett Sher, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific

Best Choreography

Rob Ashford, Cry-Baby
Andy Blankenbuehler, In The Heights
Christopher Gattelli, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
Dan Knechtges, Xanadu

Best Orchestrations

Jason Carr, Sunday in the Park with George
Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman, In The Heights
Stew & Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange
Jonathan Tunick, A Catered Affair

Regional Theatre Tony Award

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Special Tony Award

Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981), in recognition of his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations.

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre

Stephen Sondheim


* * *


Tony Nomination totals by production:

In The Heights - 13
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific - 11
Sunday in the Park with George - 9
August: Osage County - 7
Gypsy - 7
Passing Strange - 7
Boeing-Boeing - 6
Macbeth - 6
The 39 Steps - 6
Les Liaisons Dangereuses - 5
Cry-Baby - 4
Rock 'n' Roll - 4
The Seafarer - 4
Xanadu - 4
A Catered Affair - 3
The Homecoming - 3
The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein - 3
The Little Mermaid - 2
Come Back, Little Sheba - 1
Cyrano de Bergerac - 1
Grease - 1
Is He Dead? - 1
Mauritius - 1
November - 1
Thurgood - 1
Top Girls - 1

For more information, visit The Tony Awards website right here.