Who's who and what's what at the Tony's

So as we all know it is Tony Season and there's a lot of hub bub in the city. After Jesse Green's unnecessarily bitchy column in this weeks New York Magazine I thought it would be important to emphasize how great this season has been. I'm so proud of everyone doing their thing in such a moment of economic woe and creative spirit. This should be an incredible night and I will be there, tweeting and sharing my experiences on examiner.com and on this fine site. 

But just so ya know, this year’s award ceremony will air live on CBS at 8:00 EST from Radio City Music Hall and will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. Billy Elliot leads the pack with the most nominations, 15 to be exact.

Some of the nominees include,

Best Musical: Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, Rock of Ages, Shrek The Musical.

Best Play: God of Carnage, 33 Variations, Reasons to be Pretty, and Dividing the Estate.

Best Book of a Musical: Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, Rock of Ages, and Shrek The Musical

Best Score: Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, 9 to 5: The musical, and Shrek The Musical.

Best Revival of a Musical: Guys and Dolls, Hair, Pal Joey, and West Side Story.

Best Leading Actor in a Musical: David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish (Billy Elliot), Gavin Creel (Hair), Brian d’Arcy James (Shrek), Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages), J. Robert Spencer (Next to Normal).

Best Leading Actor in a Play: Jeff Daniels (God of Carnage), Raúl Esparza (Speed-the-Plow), James Gandolfini (God of Carnage), Geoffrey Rush (Exit the King), and Thomas Saoski (Reasons to Be Pretty).

Best Leading Actress in a Musical: Alice Ripley (Next to Normal), Stockard Channing (Pal Joey), Sutton Foster (Shrek The Musical), Allison Janney (9 to 5: The Musical), and Josefina Scaglione (West Side Story).

Best Leading Actress in a Play: Hope Davis (God of Carnage), Jane Fonda (33 Variations),  Marcia Gay Harden (God of Carnage), Janet McTeer (Mary Stuart), Harriet Walter (Mary Stuart).

The nominees for best musical and best revival of a musical will perform at the live telecast. According to Playbill.com, “the cast of Next to Normal, led by Tony nominee Alice Ripley, will perform ‘You Don't Know,’ while the Billy Elliot performance will feature all three Tony-nominated Billys: Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish and David Alvarez. The Shrek cast will also perform ‘What's Up, Duloc?’”

Some of the presenters include Anne Hathaway, Will Ferrel, Lauren Graham, Oliver Platt, Susan Sarandon, Kevin Spacey, Kristen Chenoweth, Nicole Kidman, and Frank Langella.

The Tony Awards will also air on the Clear Channel Spectacolor Screen in Times Square from 7-11 PM with seating in Duffy Square. The 2009 Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway league and the American Theatre Wing. 

So here's to the all the nominees and I'll see you there!