The 2002 National Broadway Theatre Awards Finalists were announced May 6.

Created by the League of American Theatres and Producers to honor performances and productions on the road, the voting for the NBTAs is audience-oriented and done by theatregoers via the internet or by mailing in ballots distributed in the lobbies of participating theatres around the country. Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida leads the pack this year with nine nominations, including those for Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (nominations for both its leading ladies), Best Song in a Musical, Best Score, Best Direction, Best Visual Presentation and Best Costumes.

Louise Pitre, who earned a Tony nomination for her role in the Broadway production of Mamma Mia!, won last year's National Broadway Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in the tour of the ABBA musical. Her replacement in the tour, former Footloose star Dee Hoty, is nominated this season.

The awards will be announced at a soon-to-be-named New York City venue on May 20. The complete list of winners will also be available on that date on the NBTA website at www.nationalbroadwayawards.com.

In related news: The Actors' Equity Council has passed a resolution asking its union's members to boycott the National Broadway Touring Awards. A spokesman for Equity said the boycott is a reaction to producers' increasing use of non-union personnel in national tours of Equity Broadway shows. The complete list of nominees for the National Broadway Theatre Awards follows:

Best Musical
Blast!
Aida
Kiss Me, Kate
Les Misérables
Mamma Mia!
The Phantom of the Opera

Best Play
Copenhagen
The Odd Couple (Female Version)
Stones in His Pockets

Best Actor in a Musical
Patrick Cassidy as "Radames" in Aida
Theodore Bikel as "Tevye" in Fiddler on the Roof
Rex Smith as "Fred Graham/Petruchio" in Kiss Me, Kate
Randal Keith as "Jean Valjean" in Les Misérables
Ted Keegan as "The Phantom of the Opera" in The Phantom of the Opera

Best Actress in a Musical
Holly Cruikshank as "Girl in the Yellow Dress" in Contact
Simone as "Aida" in Aida
Kelli Fournier as "Amneris" in Aida
Rachel York as "Lilli Vanessi/Katharine" in Kiss Me, Kate
Dee Hoty as "Donna Sheridan" in Mamma Mia!

Best Actor in a Play
Len Cariou as "Niels Bohr" in Copenhagen
Hank Stratton as "Werner Heisenberg" in Copenhagen
Christopher Burns as "Jake Quinn" in Stones in His Pockets
Bronson Pinchot as "Charlie Conlon" in Stones in His Pockets

Best Actress in a Play
Mariette Hartley as "Margrethe Bohr" in Copenhagen
Barbara Eden as "Florence Unger" in The Odd Couple (Female Version)
Rita McKenzie as "Olive Madison" in The Odd Couple (Female Version)

Best Song in a Musical
"Be Our Guest" from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Music: Alan Menken, Lyrics: Howard Ashman)
"I Know The Truth" from Aida (Music: Elton John, Lyrics: Tim Rice)
"Big Spender" from Fosse (Music: Cy Coleman, Lyrics: Dorothy Fields)
"Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables (Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyrics: Alain Boublil, English Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer)
"Dancing Queen" from Mamma Mia! (Music and Lyrics: Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus)
"The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera (Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics: Charles Hart, Additional Lyrics: Richard Stilgoe)

Best Score
Aida (Music: Elton John, Lyrics: Tim Rice, Orchestrations: Steve Margoshes, Guy Babylon & Paul Bogaev)
Kiss Me, Kate (Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter, Orchestrations: Don Sebesky)
Les Misérables (Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyrics: Alain Boublil, English Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer, Orchestrations: John Cameron)
Mamma Mia! (Music and Lyrics: Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus)
The Phantom of the Opera (Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics: Charles Hart, Additional Lyrics: Richard Stilgoe, Orchestrations: David Cullen & Andrew Lloyd Webber)

Best Direction
Blast!, James Mason
Contact , Susan Stroman
Aida , Robert Falls
Fosse , Richard Maltby, Jr. & Ann Reinking
Kiss Me, Kate , Michael Blakemore
Les Misérables , John Caird & Trevor Nunn

Best Choreography
Blast!, Jim Moore, George Pinney & Jonathan Vanderkolff
Contact , Susan Stroman
Fosse , Bob Fosse
Mamma Mia!, Anthony Van Laast
Saturday Night Fever, Arlene Phillips

Best Visual Presentation (Scenic and Lighting Design)
Blast! (Scenic Design: Mark Thompson, Lighting Design: Hugh Vanstone)
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Scenic Design: Stanley A. Meyer, Lighting Design: Natasha Katz)
Aida (Scenic Design: Bob Crowley, Lighting Design: Natasha Katz)
Les Misérables (Scenic Design: John Napier, Lighting Design: David Hersey)
The Phantom of the Opera (Scenic Design: Maria Björnson, Lighting Design: Andrew Bridge)

Best Costumes
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Ann Hould-Ward
Aida, Bob Crowley
Kiss Me, Kate, Martin Pakledinaz
Les Misérables, Andreane Neofitou
The Phantom of the Opera, Maria Björnson