Who Is the Broadway.com Star of the Year for 2009? Vote Here!

It was a year of star power on Broadway, but some points of light burned brighter than others—and the best performers made us thankful we’ve got a way to honor them as 2009 winds down: Broadway.com’s Star of the Year. As usual, our editorial staff carefully considered dozens of candidates before narrowing the list to eight names. While all the nominees possess that rare combination of talent, personality and stage presence, just one can take the title. You get to pick the winner, so vote today for the 2009 Star of the Year!

The nominees, in alphabetical order, are:

Daniel Craig
For daring to leave his dashing James Bond persona behind and tap into his inner pushover in his Broadway debut performance in A Steady Rain—and giving the shirt off his back to raise $1.5 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Gavin Creel
For embodying the peaceful, loving message of hit revival Hair both onstage (in a Tony-nominated performance as Claude) and off (as a galvanizing new voice in the fight for marriage equality with his Broadway Impact organization).

Will Ferrell
For waking up the sleepy winter season on Broadway with his smash-hit send-off (and send-up) of President George W. Bush, his hilarious stage debut-turned-HBO comedy special You’re Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush.

Hugh Jackman
For shedding both his nice-guy image and musical comfort zone to play a Chicago beat cop with a dark side in hot ticket A Steady Rain—and joining Daniel Craig to coax the audience into $1.5 million in donations for BC/EFA.

Angela Lansbury
For topping off an already brilliant career with two more star turns in A Little Night Music and Blithe Spirit, the latter of which won Lansbury her fifthTony Award and gave audiences the most delightfully kooky dance break of the season.

Constantine Maroulis
For taking Rock of Ages’ potentially shrill collection of 80s hair-band hits out of the karaoke zone and rocking them to a Tony Award nomination, a move which officially moved him from “American Idol cast-off” to “leading man.”

Alice Ripley
For triumphantly returning to Broadway—and devotedly doting on her fans—after an almost-decade-long hiatus with an electrifying, Tony Award-winning performance as mentally ill mom Diana in the musical Next to Normal.

Geoffrey Rush
For ruling Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist Exit the King with hilarious, compelling and critically acclaimed aplomb—and for giving one of the best Tony acceptance speeches of 2009 when his regal performance paid off with a Best Actor win.

Click here to see who was named the Broadway.com Star of the Year for 2009