Tony Nominations for 2009 Announced

Count me out; too expensive

Tony Award nominations for 2009, which I list later in this post, were released today. Like many other entertainment award ceremonies, the Tonys are a high-profile, high-class, high-price event.

I checked out ticket prices today. If you want to attend the award show in person, the cheapest ticket costs $154. If that’s not expensive enough for you, other tickets cost up to $404.

Additional expenses

Clearly, the ticket prices are aimed at allowing only affluent attendees. You’ve got to consider the dress code, which means you’ll need to purchase formal wear as well, unless you have some lying around.

I definitely would not recommend getting a payday loan to cover the cost of attending the Tony Awards. I don’t even think you should put it on your credit card. I recommend staying home at watching it on TV. You don’t even need to pay for cable. The award show will air on CBS on June 7.

The envelopes, please

Without further ado, here is a partial list of Tony Award nominees this year. You can view the entire list at The Tony Awards official site.

Best Play

• Dividing the Estate
• God of Carnage
• Reasons to be Pretty
• 33 Variations

Best Musical

• Billy Elliot, The Musical
• Nest to Normal
• Rock of Ages
• Shrek the Musical

Best Book of a Musical

• Billy Elliot
• Next to Normal
• Shrek the Musical
• Title of Show

Best Original Score

• Billy Elliot
• Next to Normal
• 9 to 5: The Musical
• Shrek the Musical

Best Revival of a Play

• Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
• Mary Stuart
• The Norman Conquests
• Waiting for Godot

Best Revival of a Musical

• Guys and Dolls
  Hair
• Pal Joey
• West Side Story

Best Performance by  a Leading Actor in a Play

• Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
• Raul Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
• James Gandolfini, God of Carnage
• Geoffry Rush, Exit the King
• Thomas Sadoski, Reasons to be Pretty

Best Performance by a 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

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

• David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot
• Gavin Creel, Hair
• Brian d’Arcy James, Shrek the Musical
• Constantine Maroulis, Rock of Ages
• J. Robert Spencer, Next to Normal

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

• Stockard Channing, Pal Joey
• Sutton Foster, Shrek the Musical
• Allison Janney, 9 to 5: The Musical
• Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
• Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story

Best Direction of a Play

• Phyllida Lloyd, Mary Stuart
• Bartlett Sher, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
• Matthew Warchus, God of Carnage
• Matthew Warchus, The Norman Chronicles

Best Direction of a Musical

• Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot
• Michael Greif, Next to Normal
• Kristin Hanggi, Rock of Ages
• Diane Paulus, Hair

Best Choreography

• Karole Armitage, Hair
• Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 to 5: The Musical
• Peter Darling, Billy Elliot
• Randy Skinner, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas