2009 Tony nominees announced

Billy Elliot, The Musical ties the record with 15 Tony nominations, announced this morning in New York. It’s great to see Karen Olivo, who was so spectacular in In the Heights, get a nod for West Side Story. And Constantine Maroulis is proving American Idol wrong every time he walks on stage in Rock of Ages. But how did Daniel Breaker get overlooked for his turn as Donkey in Shrek The Musical?

The nominees in the top categories for the 2009 Tony Awards come after the jump:Best Play
Dividing the Estate:  Horton Foote
God of Carnage, Yasmina Reza
Reasons to Be Pretty,    Neil LaBute
33 Variations, Moisés Kaufman

Best Musical
Billy Elliot, The Musical
Next to Normal
Rock of Ages
Shrek The Musical

Best Book of a Musical
Billy Elliot, The Musical: Lee Hall
Next to Normal: Brian Yorkey
Shrek The Musical: David Lindsay-Abaire
[Title of Show]: Hunter Bell

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Billy Elliot, The Musical
Music: Elton John Lyrics: Lee Hall
Next to Normal
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Brian Yorkey
9 to 5: The Musical
Music & Lyrics: Dolly Parton
Shrek The Musical

Best Revival of a Play
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Mary Stuart New Version: Peter Oswald
The Norman Conquests
Waiting for Godot

Best Revival of a Musical
Guys and Dolls
Hair
Pal Joey
West Side Story

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
Raúl Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
James Gandolfini, God of Carnage
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Thomas Sadoski, Reasons to Be PrettyBest

Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Hope Davis, God of Carnage
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gavin Creel, Hair
Brian d’Arcy James, Shrek The Musical
Constantine Maroulis, Rock of Ages
J. Robert Spencer, Next to Normal

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Stockard Channing, Pal Joey
Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5: The Musical
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
John Glover, Waiting for Godot
Zach Grenier, 33 Variations
Stephen Mangan, The Norman Conquests
Paul Ritter, The Norman Conquests
Roger Robinson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate
Jessica Hynes, The Norman Conquests
Marin Ireland, Reasons to Be Pretty
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit
Amanda Root, The Norman Conquests

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
David Bologna, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Marc Kudisch, 9 to 5: The Musical
Christopher Sieber, Shrek The Musical
Will Swenson, Hair

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Carole Shelley, Billy Elliot, The Musical

For more details and a complete list of nominees, check out the official Tony Awards website.

The Tony Awards will be announced on June 7 stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The three-hour ceremony will be broadcast live on CBS, starting  at 8 p.m. ET.