Kristin Chenoweth & Jim Parsons Handicap the Tonys and Offer Advice to Nominees

Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Parsons got up bright and early on May 1 to announce the 2012 Tony nominees, and after the big event, the TV and Broadway stars chatted with Broadway.com about this year’s race and offered advice to nominees and those who were snubbed.

“I’ve seen everything,” avid theatergoer Chenoweth said, dressed for the announcement ceremony in a white lace dress and sky-high red pumps. The Tony and Emmy winner offered her first congratulatory shout-out to Once, in which her BFF Anne L. Nathan stars as the mother of Tony nominee Cristin Milioti. “I’m going to have to root for that show,” she confessed. “I want to see it take a lot of awards. But I’m always going to be partial to [Nice Work If You Can Get It stars] Matthew [Broderick, who was not nominated] and Kelli [O’Hara, who was].”

The Broadway revival of Evita, directed and choreographed by Chenoweth’s Promises, Promises helmer Rob Ashford, also earned her praise for its three Tony nods. “A lot of my friends are in the show, and I thought it was a gorgeous production,” Chenoweth said. “I don’t think it deserved the lashing it got, so I’m really happy today for my friends.”

As for Tony snubs, Chenoweth said, “I did expect to see [Follies star] Bernadette Peters’ name there today. I was very disappointed by that.” Having experienced her own ups and downs with the Tonys, the GCB star offered a simple piece of advice for those who didn’t receive a coveted nomination: “I would say to remember why you do it in the first place, and remember that there are hungry people and people at war. Just put it in perspective.”

Broadway-bound Harvey star Jim Parsons, a two-time Emmy winner for The Big Bang Theory, advised newly minted Tony nominees to “try to ignore it and embrace it at the same time. It’s only as important as you make it, but at the same time, these things are so elusive, you should embrace it from now until June 10 because it’s such a celebration.” Parsons, who confessed that he has only seen two current Broadway shows, Other Desert Cities and Don't Dress for Dinner, sent a congrats to Featured Actress nominee Spencer Kayden for the Roundabout production, raving, "She is hysterical."

Chenoweth had the last word for nominees whose shows are still running, saying, "Just do your show. Don't let [the nomination] get into your brain. Go home, get excited and then forget it." Not that the bubbly star ever followed her own advice: "I did two shows the day I was nominated, but I had so much energy. You might as well celebrate!"