The Drowsy Chaperone and The Color Purple Top 2006 Tony Nominations

The 2006 Tony Award nominations were announced on May 16 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center by Tony winners Phylicia Rashad, Natasha Richardson and Liev Schreiber. The Drowsy Chaperone led the pack with thirteen nominations. The Color Purple came in a close second with eleven nominations, and Awake and Sing!, with eight, racked up the most nominations of any play.

Some notes on this year's nominations:

—This year was the first year that anyone was eligible to receive a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Recreated Role, yet no one will receive one. The administration committee decided not to bestow the honor this year.

—Julia Roberts, the biggest star to hit Broadway in many years, was not nominated for her work in Three Days of Rain, despite the fact that only eight actresses were eligible. The revival only picked up nominations for Best Lighting Design of a Play Paul Gallo and Best Scenic Design of a Play Santo Loquasto.

—All five nominees for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Kate Burton, Judy Kaye, Lisa Kron, Cynthia Nixon and Lynn Redgrave were nominated for performances in shows that are no longer on the boards.

—Chita Rivera and Lisa Kron both received acting nominations for playing themselves.

—Thirteen Tony eligible productions did not receive any Tony nominations. They are After the Night and the Music, Primo, The Blonde in the Thunderbird, Lennon, A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, Latinologues, Absurd Person Singular, In My Life, The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park, Ring of Fire, Festen and Hot Feet.

—Two-time Tony winner Cherry Jones, thought a lock for a Featured Actress in a Play for her work in Faith Healer, was left out of the category.

—Gabriel Bryne, who just won an Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in A Touch of the Poet, did not pick up a Tony nomination.

—As previously announced, the Tony Administration Committee has voted a Special Tony Award to Sarah Jones for Bridge & Tunnel.

Here is a complete list of this year's nominees:

Best Play
The History Boys by Alan Bennett
The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh
Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire
Shining City by Conor McPherson

Best Musical
The Color Purple
The Drowsy Chaperone
Jersey Boys
The Wedding Singer

Best Revival of a Play
Awake and Sing!
The Constant Wife
Seascape
Faith Healer

Best Revival of a Musical
The Pajama Game
Sweeney Todd
The Threepenny Opera

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Ralph Fiennes, Faith Healer
Richard Griffiths, The History Boys
Željko Ivanek, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Oliver Platt, Shining City
David Wilmot, The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Kate Burton, The Constant Wife
Judy Kaye, Souvenir
Lisa Kron, Well
Cynthia Nixon, Rabbit Hole
Lynn Redgrave, The Constant Wife

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, Sweeney Todd
Harry Connick, Jr., The Pajama Game
Stephen Lynch, The Wedding Singer
Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone
John Lloyd Young, Jersey Boys

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone
LaChanze, The Color Purple
Patti LuPone, Sweeney Todd
Kelli O'Hara, The Pajama Game
Chita Rivera, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Samuel Barnett, The History Boys
Domhnall Gleeson, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Ian McDiarmid, Faith Healer
Mark Ruffalo, Awake and Sing!
Pablo Schreiber, Awake and Sing!

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Tyne Daly, Rabbit Hole
Frances de la Tour, The History Boys
Jayne Houdyshell, Well
Alison Pill, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Zoë Wanamaker, Awake and Sing!

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Danny Burstein, The Drowsy Chaperone
Jim Dale, The Threepenny Opera
Brandon Victor Dixon, The Color Purple
Manoel Felciano, Sweeney Todd
Christian Hoff, Jersey Boys

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Carolee Carmello, Lestat
Felicia P. Fields, The Color Purple
Megan Lawrence, The Pajama Game
Beth Leavel, The Drowsy Chaperone
Elisabeth Withers-Mendes, The Color Purple

Best Direction of a Play
Nicholas Hytner, The History Boys
Wilson Milam, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Bartlett Sher, Awake and Sing!
Daniel Sullivan, Rabbit Hole

Best Direction of a Musical
John Doyle, Sweeney Todd
Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game
Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, The Wedding Singer
Donald Byrd, The Color Purple
Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone

Best Book of a Musical
Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, The Wedding Singer
Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, Jersey Boys
Bob Martin and Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone
Marsha Norman, The Color Purple

Best Original Score Music and/or Lyrics Written for the Theatre
Music & Lyrics: Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, The Drowsy Chaperone
Music & Lyrics: Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray, The Color Purple
Music: Matthew Sklar; Lyrics: Chad Beguelin, The Wedding Singer
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics: David Zippel, The Woman in White

Best Orchestrations
Larry Blank, The Drowsy Chaperone
Dick Lieb and Danny Troob, The Pajama Game
Steve Orich, Jersey Boys
Sarah Travis, Sweeney Todd

Best Scenic Design of a Play
John Lee Beatty, Rabbit Hole
Bob Crowley, The History Boys
Santo Loquasto, Three Days of Rain
Michael Yeargan, Awake and Sing!

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
John Lee Beatty, The Color Purple
David Gallo, The Drowsy Chaperone
Derek McLane, The Pajama Game
Klara Zieglerova, Jersey Boys

Best Costume Design of a Play
Michael Krass, The Constant Wife
Santo Loquasto, A Touch of the Poet
Catherine Zuber, Awake and Sing!
Catherine Zuber, Seascape

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone
Susan Hilferty, Lestat
Martin Pakledinaz, The Pajama Game
Paul Tazewell, The Color Purple

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Christopher Akerlind, Awake and Sing!
Paul Gallo, Three Days of Rain
Mark Henderson, Faith Healer
Mark Henderson, The History Boys

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Ken Billington and Brian Monahan, The Drowsy Chaperone
Howell Binkley, Jersey Boys
Natasha Katz, Tarzan
Brian MacDevitt, The Color Purple

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Harold Prince

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Intiman Theatre, Seattle, WA

Special Tony Award
Sarah Jones

Total Nominations by Production
The Drowsy Chaperone - 13
The Color Purple - 11
The Pajama Game - 9
Awake and Sing! - 8
Jersey Boys - 8
The History Boys - 7
Sweeney Todd - 6
Rabbit Hole - 5
The Lieutenant of Inishmore - 5
The Wedding Singer - 5
The Constant Wife - 4
Faith Healer - 4
Seascape - 2
Lestat - 2
Shining City - 2
Three Days of Rain - 2
The Threepenny Opera - 2
Well - 2
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial - 1
Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life - 1
Souvenir - 1
Tarzan - 1
A Touch of the Poet - 1
The Woman in White - 1