MAIN Theater Tony Awards 2008 Tony Nominees

What's the buzz on 2008 Tony Award nominee contenders?

Top picks for Best Musical look promising for "In The Heights", "Passing Strange" and "Xanadu." plus look for a nod to Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" despite all the bad press, (and the overpriced $400 orchestra seats - hey it's Mel Brooks!)

And although Broadway fans had high hopes for this season's musical version of "A Catered Affair" scathing opening night reviews may just have capped any chances for a Tony nod.

Best Revival of a Musical? We're betting on "Gypsy" only for a knockout performance by its star, Patti LuPone, who should also take home the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical,

Other choices in the category should include popular favorites such as South Pacific, Grease, and Sunday in the Park with George, which all enjoyed a revival this year. Joining them in the Best Revival of a Play category will most likely include Macbeth, The Homecoming, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Watch for this year's nominees to be officially announced on May 13, 2008, then see who wins at the awards ceremony on Sunday, June 15, 2008 airing on CBS at 8 PM ET from New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

This years host? Whoopi Goldberg!

Stay tuned...

Tony Awards 2007 Recap

Topping last year's list of nominees were Spring Awakening with a total of 11 Tony nods — followed by The Coast of Utopia and Grey Gardens with 10 nods, Curtains with 8, and Legally Blonde The Musical and Mary Poppins with 7 nominations each.

Also heading up the Hollywood-to-Broadway contigent this year were actors Billy Crudup and Ethen Hawke who were both nominated for Best Featured Actor for their roles in The Coast of Utopia.

Heavyweights Christopher Plummer and Frank Langella also were up for Best Actor for their respective starring roles in Inherit the Wind and Frost/Nixon.

The 61st annual Tony Awards presentation aired live on Sunday, June 10, 2007 on CBS from New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

2007 Tony Award Nominees & * Winners

Best Play

* The Coast of Utopia
Frost/Nixon
The Little Dog Laughed
Radio Golf

Best Musical

* Spring Awakening
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Mary Poppins

Best Book of a Musical

* Spring Awakening
Curtains
Grey Gardens
Legally Blonde The Musical

Best Original Score

* Spring Awakening
Music: Duncan Sheik
Lyrics: Steven Sater

Curtains
Music: John Kander
Lyrics: Fred Ebb, John Kander & Rupert Holmes

Grey Gardens
Music: Scott Frankel
Lyrics: Michael Korie

Legally Blonde The Musical
Music & Lyrics: Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin

Best Revival of a Play

* Journey's End
Inherit the Wind
Talk Radio
Translations

Best Revival of a Musical

* Company
The Apple Tree
A Chorus Line
110 in the Shade

Best Special Theatrical Event

* Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!
Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

* Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Boyd Gaines, Journey's End
Brían F. O'Byrne, The Coast of Utopia
Christopher Plummer, Inherit the Wind
Liev Schreiber, Talk Radio

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

* Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed
Eve Best, A Moon for the Misbegotten
Swoosie Kurtz, Heartbreak House
Angela Lansbury, Deuce
Vanessa Redgrave, The Year of Magical Thinking

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

* David Hyde Pierce, Curtains
Michael Cerveris, LoveMusik
Raúl Esparza, Company
Jonathan Groff, Spring Awakening
Gavin Lee, Mary Poppins

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

* Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens
Laura Bell Bundy, Legally Blonde The Musical
Audra McDonald, 110 in the Shade
Debra Monk, Curtains
Donna Murphy, LoveMusik

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

* Billy Crudup, The Coast of Utopia
Anthony Chisholm, Radio Golf
Ethan Hawke, The Coast of Utopia
John Earl Jelks, Radio Golf
Stark Sands, Journey's End

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

* Jennifer Ehle, The Coast of Utopia
Xanthe Elbrick, Coram Boy
Dana Ivey, Butley
Jan Maxwell, Coram Boy
Martha Plimpton, The Coast of Utopia

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

* John Gallagher, Jr., Spring Awakening
Brooks Ashmanskas, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
Christian Borle, Legally Blonde The Musical
John Cullum, 110 in the Shade
David Pittu, LoveMusik

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

* Mary Louise Wilson, Grey Gardens
Charlotte d'Amboise, A Chorus Line
Rebecca Luker, Mary Poppins
Orfeh, Legally Blonde The Musical
Karen Ziemba, Curtains

Best Scenic Design of a Play

* Bob Crowley & Scott Pask, The Coast of Utopia
Jonathan Fensom, Journey's End
David Gallo, Radio Golf
Ti Green and Melly Still, Coram Boy

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

* Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins
Christine Jones, Spring Awakening
Anna Louizos, High Fidelity
Allen Moyer, Grey Gardens

Best Costume Design of a Play

* Catherine Zuber, The Coast of Utopia
Ti Green and Melly Still, Coram Boy
Jane Greenwood, Heartbreak House
Santo Loquasto, Inherit the Wind

Best Costume Design of a Musical

* William Ivey Long, Grey Gardens
Gregg Barnes, Legally Blonde The Musical
Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins
Susan Hilferty, Spring Awakening

Best Lighting Design of a Play

* Brian MacDevitt, Kenneth Posner and Natasha Katz, The Coast of Utopia
Paule Constable, Coram Boy
Brian MacDevitt, Inherit the Wind
Jason Taylor, Journey's End

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

* Kevin Adams, Spring Awakening
Christopher Akerlind, 110 in the Shade
Howard Harrison, Mary Poppins
Peter Kaczorowski, Grey Gardens

Best Direction of a Play

* Jack O'Brien, The Coast of Utopia
Michael Grandage, Frost/Nixon
David Grindley, Journey's End
Melly Still, Coram Boy

Best Direction of a Musical

* Michael Mayer, Spring Awakening
John Doyle, Company
Scott Ellis, Curtains
Michael Greif, Grey Gardens

Best Choreography

* Bill T. Jones, Spring Awakening
Rob Ashford, Curtains
Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear, Mary Poppins
Jerry Mitchell, Legally Blonde The Musical

Best Orchestrations

* Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening
Bruce Coughlin, Grey Gardens
Jonathan Tunick, LoveMusik
Jonathan Tunick, 110 in the Shade