Best Musical
The Color Purple
“The show leaves the impression that Celie’s redemption comes mainly from entrepreneurial zeal.”
The Drowsy Chaperone
“Comedy has a special theatricality…Delightfully, this show exploits every bit of it.”
Jersey Boys (Winner)
“After years as the butt of the nation’s jokes, the Garden State is getting a kiss from Broadway.”
The Wedding Singer
“Lovingly sends up the eighties and all but shivers with irony.”
Best Play
The History Boys (Winner)
“Though Bennett skimps on the story’s grief, the play is never less than smart and compelling.”
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
“A uniquely potent way to indict militancy, power, false patriotism.”
Rabbit Hole
“Belongs to a swollen class of plays that have all sorts of storytelling virtues but no particular theatrical virtues.”
Shining City
“A tiny panorama of lonely Dubliners, with the occasional burst of the supernatural.”
Best Musical (Revival)
The Pajama Game (Winner)
“A tuneful exploration of mid-century labor relations and interoffice romance.”
Sweeney Todd
“Stephen Sondheim’s bloody masterpiece, with just ten actors playing all the roles and musical instruments.”
The Threepenny Opera
“How seriously can you take a socioeconomic critique when a guy onstage is wearing purple hot pants and thigh-high boots?”
Best Play (Revival)
Awake and Sing! (Winner)
“An almost-great play that dared to end with a flicker of hope.”
The Constant Wife
“If you’ve been cheating on the missus, The Constant Wife is the show for you.”
Faith Healer
“Director Jonathan Kent succeeds in making a drab, tedious play as drab and tedious as possible.”
Seascape
“A long-married couple venture to the beach one day and unaccountably meet a pair of talking lizards.”
Best Book (Musical)
Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, The Wedding Singer
Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Jersey Boys
Bob Martin and Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone (Winner)
Marsha Norman, The Color Purple
Best Original Score
Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, The Drowsy Chaperone (Winner)
Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, The Color Purple
Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, The Wedding Singer
Andrew Lloyd Webber and 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 (Winner)
Best Scenic Design (Musical)
John Lee Beatty, The Color Purple
David Gallo, The Drowsy Chaperone (Winner)
Derek McLane, The Pajama Game
Klara Zieglerova, Jersey Boys
Best Scenic Design (Play)
John Lee Beatty, Rabbit Hole
Bob Crowley, The History Boys (Winner)
Santo Loquasto, Three Days of Rain
Michael Yeargan, Awake and Sing!
Best Costume Design (Musical)
Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone (Winner)
Susan Hilferty, Lestat
Martin Pakledinaz, The Pajama Game
Paul Tazewell, The Color Purple
Best Costume Design (Play)
Michael Krass, The Constant Wife
Santo Loquasto, A Touch of the Poet
Catherine Zuber, Awake and Sing! (Winner)
Catherine Zuber, Seascape
Best Lighting Design (Musical)
Ken Billington and Brian Monahan, The Drowsy Chaperone
Howell Binkley, Jersey Boys (Winner)
Natasha Katz, Tarzan
Brian MacDevitt, The Color Purple
Best Lighting Design (Play)
Christopher Akerlind, Awake and Sing!
Paul Gallo, Three Days of Rain
Mark Henderson, Faith Healer (Winner)
Mark Henderson, The History Boys
Best Actress (Musical)
Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone
LaChanze, The Color Purple (Winner)
Patti LuPone, Sweeney Todd
Kelli O’Hara, The Pajama Game
Chita Rivera, Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life
Best Actress (Play)
Kate Burton, The Constant Wife
Judy Kaye, Souvenir
Lisa Kron, Well
Cynthia Nixon, Rabbit Hole (Winner)
Lynn Redgrave, The Constant Wife
Best Actor (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 (Winner)
Best Actor (Play)
Ralph Fiennes, Faith Healer
Richard Griffiths, The History Boys (Winner)
Željko Ivanek, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial
Oliver Platt, Shining City
David Wilmot, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Featured Actress (Musical)
Carolee Carmello, Lestat
Felicia P. Fields, The Color Purple
Megan Lawrence, The Pajama Game
Beth Leavel, The Drowsy Chaperone (Winner)
Elisabeth Withers-Mendes, The Color Purple
Featured Actress (Play)
Tyne Daly, Rabbit Hole
Frances de la Tour, The History Boys (Winner)
Jayne Houdyshell, Well
Alison Pill, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Zoë Wanamaker, Awake and Sing!
Featured Actor (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 (Winner)
Featured Actor (Play)
Samuel Barnett, The History Boys
Domhnall Gleeson, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Ian McDiarmid, Faith Healer (Winner)
Mark Ruffalo, Awake and Sing!
Pablo Schreiber, Awake and Sing!
Director (Musical)
John Doyle, Sweeney Todd (Winner)
Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game
Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Director (Play)
Nicholas Hytner, The History Boys (Winner)
Wilson Milam, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Bartlett Sher, Awake and Sing!
Daniel Sullivan, Rabbit Hole
Best Choreographer
Rob Ashford, The Wedding Singer
Donald Byrd, The Color Purple
Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game (Winner)
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Special Theatrical EventSarah Jones, Bridge & Tunnel (Winner)
Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Harold Prince (Winner)
Regional Theatre
Intiman Theatre, Seattle, WA (Winner)