Scott Wintrow/Getty ImagesKatie Holmes was robbed. So was Daniel Radcliffe (and the object of his equine affection). Frank Langella and John Lithgow were similarly snubbed, as were Nathan Lane and Kristin Scott Thomas. And, alas, Jeremy Piven was not representing.
But while the Mercury Man was MIA, the Rocket Man was BMOC at this morning's Tony Award nominations.
Billy Elliot, the stage adaptation of the Oscar-nominated film, scored by Elton John, bounced away with a leading 15 nods.
John competes in the Best Original Score category, going up against fellow musical legend Dolly Parton for 9 to 5. Billy Elliot will vie with Next to Normal, Rock of Ages and fellow film adaptee Shrek the Musical for the Best Musical prize.
Among the other name-brand stars nominated: Jeff Daniels, James Gandolfini, Raúl Esparza, Geoffrey Rush, Allison Janney, Stockard Channing, Angela Lansbury, Martha Plimpton, former American Idol finalist Constantine Maroulis, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis and Jane Fonda.
Up for Best Musical Revival are Hair, the bilingual production of West Side Story, Guys and Dolls and Pal Joey. God of Carnage, Dividing the Estate, 33 Variations and Reasons to Be Pretty will compete for Best Play.
Former West Wingers Janney and Channing will compete against each other as Leading Actress in a Musical, for 9 to 5 and Pal Joey, respectively.
Davis, Fonda and Harden, meanwhile, compete for Leading Actress in a Play—Davis and Harden for their roles in God of Carnage and Fonda for 33 Variations.
Daniels, Esparza, Gandolfini and Rush stack the deck for Leading Actor in a Play, with Daniels and Gandolfini up for God of Carnage, Esparza for Speed-the-Plow (aka the play that Piven left), and Rush for Exit the King.
In the Featured Actress in a Play category, Blithe Spirit's Lansbury competes against Shaun of the Dead and former Spaced star Jessica Hynes, nominated for The Norman Conquests.
Plimpton is up for Featured Actress in a Musical for her part in Pal Joey.
Meanwhile, Leading Actor in a Musical is a slightly longer list than usual this year, thanks to the triple nomination—albeit as one entity—for the stars of Billy Elliot. David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish, the three boys who rotate the title role, are all nominated. They compete against Idol's Maroulis, who is up for Rock of Ages.
The 63rd Annual Tony Awards will be handed out June 7 in New York. The complete list of nominees is available at TonyAwards.com.
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