Everyone knows the Tony Awards are the fanciest of fancy. In an industry known for extravagant spending and high-class affairs, the Tony Awards are the pinnacle of affluence.

The Tony Awards seem just a pinch more highbrow than other awards ceremonies. So you might think throwing a Tony Awards party at your home has to be a fancy, expensive affair.

Cheap yet classy

Of course, I am here to tell you that you don’t need a wad of cash, a no fax payday loan or credit cards to throw a classy Tony Awards party. Just tell your guests to dress up (in clothes they already own), grab some candles and a table cloth and follow one of these inexpensive recipes.

You can hold an elegant dinner party and then watch the ceremony with your guests. The whole affair could end up costing you less than $20, depending on the number of guests. These recipes from 5dollardinners.com are built for four people, so adjust accordingly.

Apple Walnut Pork with Green Beans and Wild Rice

Ingredients
1 lb pork roast
1 granny smith apple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup syrup or honey
1/2 bag green beans
1 box Uncle Ben’s wild rice and long grain rice
1 T olive oil
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Cook rice according to instructions on box. Leave out the seasoning packet! Add your own spices!
2. Cook green beans on stove top or microwave.
3. Thaw or cook pork roast…this would be a great way to use leftover pork! Dice apple, throw into skillet. Add apple juice, syrup and walnuts. Saute for 4-6 minutes until juice reduces down. Add pork roast, stir mixture through pork and let cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Serve pork with rice and green beans.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Ingredients
4 large green peppers
1/2 cup rice, uncooked
1/2 lb ground beef, cooked
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
1/2 cup frozen organic corn
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 medium sweet potatoes

Directions
1. Cook 1/2 cup rice in 1 1/4 cup of water. Bring water to boil. Add rice and return to boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes.
2. Add can of Rotel, frozen corn and cooked ground beef to the saucepan with the rice. Mix well.
3. Cut the tops off of each bell pepper and remove the seeds and stem.
4. Scoop rice and meat mixture into each bell pepper. Place bell peppers into the crockpot. Cook on low for 4 or 6 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, add shredded cheese to the tops of each pepper. Let cheese melt.
5. Slit sweet potatoes with knife or vent with fork. Bake sweet potatoes at 350 for 1 hour in baking dish with 1/4 inch water. Cover with foil. Remove and let cool about 10 minutes. Peel skins off of the potato and mash. Serve with cinnamon and butter if you like. We eat them “plain”.
6. Serve stuffed bell peppers with a side of mashed sweet potatoes.

Lime Chicken, Potatoes, Broccoli and Pear Sauce

Ingredients
6 organic drumsticks
1 cup lime marinade
6 potatoes
2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
Garlic and Sea Salt
1 head broccoli
Pear Sauce

Directions
1. Place chicken and marinade in crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours.
2. Just before dinner, dice and saute potatoes in EVOO (I usually add about 1/4 cup of water to help them cook faster).
3. Steam broccoli in steamer for 3-4 minutes, or microwave for 3 minutes.
4. Serve chicken, potatoes, broccoli and pear sauce.

Billy Elliot, The Musical was nominated for a total of 15 Tony Awards for 2009.

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