Scott Ellis, who directed the new Broadway musical Curtains, received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Director for a Comedy Series for an episode of "30 Rock" entitled "The Breakup." His competitors include Julian Farino ("Entourage"), Ricky Gervais ("Extras"), Will Mackenzie ("Scrubs"), Ken Kwapis ("The Office") and Richard Shepard ("Ugly Betty"). Broadway and film director Rob Marshall — of "Chicago" fame — was nominated in the Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for his work on "Tony Bennett: An American Classic."

Stage veteran Sir Ian McKellen picked up a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance on "Extras." Others in that category include Stanley Tucci ("Monk"), Martin Landau ("Entourage"), Beau Bridges ("My Name Is Earl") and Giovanni Ribisi ("My Name Is Earl"). Another stage veteran, Eli Wallach, was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series category for his performance on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." He will vie for the Emmy in a field that includes Christian Clemenson ("Boston Legal"), Forest Whitaker ("ER"), David Morse ("House"), John Goodman ("Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip") and Tim Daly ("The Sopranos").

The Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category features several actresses familiar to theatregoers, including Tony Award winner Elaine Stritch ("30 Rock"), Dixie Carter ("Desperate Housewives"), Laurie Metcalf ("Desperate Housewives") and Judith Light ("Ugly Betty") as well as Salma Hayek ("Ugly Betty"). Kate Burton, who has received three Tony nominations, is nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Emmy for her performance as Ellis Grey on "Grey's Anatomy." Her competition includes Jean Smart ("24"), Elizabeth Reaser ("Grey's Anatomy"), Leslie Caron ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") and Academy Award winner Marcia Gay Harden ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit").

Stage performers Alec Baldwin and Tony Shalhoub were both nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category for their performances in, respectively, "30 Rock" and "Monk." Others in that field include Ricky Gervais ("Extras"), Steve Carell ("The Office") and Charlie Sheen ("Two and a Half Men"). Among the nominees in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie category are Jim Broadbent ("Longford") and William H. Macy ("Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King") as well as Robert Duvall ("Broken Trail"), Tom Selleck ("Jessica Stone: Sea Change") and Matthew Perry ("The Ron Clark Story").

Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives") and Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds") picked up nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Also nominated: Tina Fey ("30 Rock"), Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") and America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty"). The Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nominees include Edie Falco ("The Sopranos") and Sally Field ("Brothers & Sisters") as well as Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"), Patricia Arquette ("Medium"), Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer") and Minnie Driver ("The Riches"). Queen Latifah, who can be seen on screens around the country in the new movie musical "Hairspray," was nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie field for her work on "Life Support." Stage and screen star Helen Mirren was also nominated in that category for her performance in "Prime Suspect: The Final Act"; others in that field include Mary-Louise Parker ("The Robber Bride"), Debra Messing ("The Starter Wife") and Gena Rowlands ("What If God Were the Sun").

Harold Wheeler and Elliot Lawrence were both nominated in the Outstanding Music Direction field: Wheeler for "Dancing with the Stars" and Lawrence for "The 60th Annual Tony Awards." The latter was also nominated in the Outstanding Special Class Program category.

Neil Patrick Harris, seen on Broadway in Assassins and Proof, was nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series field for his performance on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother." Others in that category include Kevin Dillon ("Entourage"), Jeremy Piven ("Entourage"), Rainn Wilson ("The Office") and Jon Cryer ("Two and a Half Men"). Nominees in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series field include William Shatner ("Boston Legal"), T. R. Knight ("Grey's Anatomy"), Masi Oka ("Heroes"), Terry O'Quinn ("Lost"), Michael Emerson ("Lost") and Michael Imperioli ("The Sopranos").

Other nominees of interest to theatre fans: Joe Mantegna (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for "The Starter Wife"), Vanessa Williams (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for "Ugly Betty"), Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh (both for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for "Grey's Anatomy") and Toni Collette (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for "Tsunami, the Aftermath").

Also, the musical episode of "Scrubs," which was simply titled "My Musical" and featured Avenue Q's Stephanie D'Abruzzo, picked up five nominations: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series (Joe Foglia), Directing for a Comedy Series (Will Mackenzie), Outstanding Music and Lyrics (Debra Fordham and Paul F. Perry for the song "Guy Love"), Outstanding Music and Lyrics (Fordham, Bobby Lopez and Jeff Marx for the song "Everything Comes Down to Poo") and Outstanding Music Direction (Jan Stevens).

Nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series include "30 Rock," "Entourage," "The Office," "Two And a Half Men" and "Ugly Betty." Nominees in the Outstanding Drama Series category include "Boston Legal," "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes," "House" and "The Sopranos."

The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on FOX-TV Sept. 16 live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA.

For a complete list of nominations visit www.emmys.tv.