Ched Bernstein: To announce the nominations today, we are delighted to have two great friends of the theatre, two great friends of New York: Kelsey Grammer, who is in rehearsal now for "The Scottish Play"--I will not risk the curse--and will be opening next month. It is wonderful to have him home here at Sardi's. And the incandescent, the beautiful, the stunning, two time Tony winner, the fabulous Bebe Neuwirth. Kelsey Grammer and Bebe Neuwirth.
(applause)
KG: Thank you.
BN: Thank you. I'm the pretty one. (laughs)
KG: Good morning.
BN: Good morning. Oh, before we start, can I say something?
KG: Please do.
BN: In front of everybody? Welcome home to the theatre.
KG: Awww. Thank you. That's very sweet.
(kiss)
Bernstein: Shall we just jump right into this?
KG: All right. The nominations for Best Play: Copenhagen, author Michael Frain, producer Michael Codron...Elizabeth I. McCann, good God, Ray Larsen...Scott Nederlander,--oh, that's it--Scott Nederlander. Dirty Blonde, author Claudia Shear, producer The Schubert Organization...The Ride down Mount Morgan, author Arthur Miller, producer The Schubert Organization...TrueWest, author Sam Shepard, producer Ron Kastner.
BN: Now me.
KG: Is that you now?
BN: The nominations for best performance by a leading actor in a play: Gabriel Byrne, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Stephen Dillane, The Real Thing, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, True West, John C. Reilly, True West, David Suchet, Amadeus.
KG: The nominations for Best Musical: Contact....James Joyce's The Dead--that was the dead coming back, wasn't it?--Producer Gregory Mosher....Swing, producer Marc Routh...Tom Vier..tel--was that right?--OK...Lorie Cowen Levy/Stanley Shopkorn--there's another one--Jujamcyn Theatres...SFX--whew--OK.
BN: No, I think you're supposed to go.
KG: Oh, am I supposed to keep going? Oh, sorry.
BN: I made a mistake.
KG: The nominations for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical: ...OK. Now it's you.
BN: Now it's me.
KG: There we go.
BN: The nominations for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical: ...ehh, the nominations for the Best Revival of a Musical:? ...thank you very much.
KG: Very good.
BN: (laughs) And, uh, Best Revival of a Play: ...
KG: The nominations for Best Lighting Design: ...the nominations for Best Costume Design...William Ivy Long, Meredith Wilth...Meredith Willson's The Music Man, I didn't know they spelled that with two L's, (laughs) Meredith Willson's The Music Man, ...Pagla--Pakledinaz, Kiss Me Kate...
BN: He went to Juilliard.
KG: Yes, I know.
BN: (laughs)
KG: (laughs) They threw me out, so it's not a reflection on them. The nominations for Best Scenic Design: ...Nominations for Best Book of a Musical: ...book by Michael John Lashusa
BN: LaChiusa
KG: LaChiusa. Thank you very much. Ah, yes, like school. Nominees for Best Original Score...Marie Christine, music lyrics again Michael John LaChiusa, thank you very much...
BN: Aren't you glad I told you this?
KG: The Wild Party, music lyrics Michael John LaChiusa, he is really, really prolific these days...
BN: (laughs)
KG: Fabulous...I'm still going, aren't I? Good Lord. Nominations for Best Choreography:...Still going?
BN: Still you, honey.
KG: Good God. Nominations for Best Orchestrations: ...
BN: OK, you just rest for a minute now.
KG: Thank God. (laughs) Over to you.
BN: Nominations for Best Direction of a Play: ...For Best Direction of a Musical: ...Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play:?Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical:...Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play:...Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical:...
KG: For a complete list of the Tony nominations and other Tony Awards news, trivia, and information, sign online to the Tony website which is sponsored by IBM: www.tonys.org.
BN: Uhhh...
KG: Is this you?
BN: Uhh...OK...Oh, pay attention! Not finished yet! (laughs)
KG: Special Tony awards! Right!
BN: Special Tonys! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Shush now! OK. A special Tony award--this is very important!--a special Tony award for Lifetime Achievement in the theatre will be given to the distinguished producer T. Edward Hambleton, founder of the Phoenix Theatre. A special Tony award for a live theatrical event will be given to "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour," which is currently (laughs) which is currently being performed at the Booth Theatre. Tony honors for excellence in the theatre will be given to the actress Eileen Heckert who has been nominated for two Tony awards and is currently starring in The Waverly Gallery at the Promenade Theatre, the esteemed theatrical agent and manager Sylvia Hershir, and Encore's Great American Musicals in Concert seven year old series performed at City Center. Based on a recommendation by the American Theatre Critics Association, the Tony award for Regional Theatre will be given to the Utah Shakespearean Festival of Cedar City, Utah. This award is given to a regional theatre company that has displayed a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theatre nationally. A twenty-five thousand dollar grant will be made by Clairol's Nice N'Easy to the not for profit Utah Shakespearean Festival which was founded in 1961. Thank you for paying attention to that.
KG: Very nice. Finally, once again, any information on the Tonys, www.tonys.org, and, uh, due to the seating capacity of Radio City Music Hall, a limited number of tickets will be sold to the public at one hundred and two hundred dollars. Just oddly random prices, has nothing to do with where the seats are. Beginning today, Monday, May 8th, at ten am, tickets can be purchased through the Ticketmaster Tony hotline by calling 213-307-4544, oh, 212, sorry, that's LA, sorry, 212-307-4544, I say once again, 212-307-4544. Visa, now I'm doing a plug for Visa...
BN: (laughs)
KG: ...Visa is the exclusive card accepted at the Tonys.
BN: That's why. We thank you.
KG: Thank you very much.
BN: Watch the Tonys.
Together: On June 4th.
BN: (laughs)
KG: (laughs) Together with Bebe.
KG: Thank you.
BN: Thank you.
?: You two are so good...
