Among the Broadway heavy-hitters not nominated: Keith Huff's A Steady Rain, which starred Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig (the production did not earned a single nomination); Tony-winning musical veterans Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane of The Addams Family (the production was not named in the Best Musical category); Kristin Chenoweth for her more somber turn in Promises, Promises (which also didn't make the Best Musical Revival category); Lend Me A Tenor's starry trifecta Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia and Justin Bartha, as well as Stanley Tucci in his Broadway directorial debut.

A Behanding in Spokane is the first of Martin McDonagh's plays to be overlooked by the Tony Awards nominating committee; David Mamet's Race (which he also directed) was not recognized in both the Best Play and Best Direction categories; and Enron, which made a splash in London, didn't find a spot in the Best Play category.

American Idiot director Michael Mayer, who expanded the Green Day album of the same title into a theatrical rock event, didn't nab a nomination in the Best Direction of a Musical slot. Tony winner John Gallagher, Jr. (widely viewed as the stand-out star of the musical) also failed to garner a nomination.