Perched upon his seat and poised near his record player, The Man in the Chair introduces the audience to his favorite musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. The Broadway musical itself introduces audiences to Bob Martin — nominated for his performance and for his book to the musical. (A note of trivia: Martin is also the namesake for the groom character in the work, Robert Martin, as the show originated as a wedding gift for he and his wife Janet Van De Graaff, who lends her name to the eponymous bride-to-be in the show.)

Kathleen Marshall may have experienced deja vu when the double nominee — who was nominated in 2004 for her directing and choreographing duties on Wonderful Town (she won for Best Choreography) — was nominated again in those categories for her work on this season's The Pajama Game. (Marshall outdoes her brother, Rob Marshall, who was nominated for directing and choreographing Cabaret in 1998.)

Last season Casey Nicholaw was nominated for his choreography in the Best Musical champion Monty Python's Spamalot. The one-time Broadway performer now doubles his chances, taking nods for Best Direction and Best Choreography of the musical The Drowsy Chaperone.

Chad Beguelin provided the Tony-nominated new musical The Wedding Singer with its lyrics and book. In his Broadway debut, the lyricist-librettist earns a nod for his work on both contributions. He shares the honor in the Best Original Score category with his collaborator Matthew Sklar and the nomination for Best Book with Tim Herlihy, the screenwriter for the film on which the musical is based.

The 2005 Tony Award winner for Best Costume Design of a Musical Catherine Zuber looks to complement her prize with a possible win in the Best Costume Design of a Play category. Honored last season for her work on The Light in the Piazza, she received two nods this year in the category for Awake and Sing! and Seacape. Mark Henderson has been nominated three times for Best Lighting before this year's nominations — for Indiscretions in 1995, The Iceman Cometh in 1999 and last year's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The designer enjoys two more nods this season, both in the Best Lighting Design of a Play category, for Faith Healer and The History Boys.

Unlike his fellow design double nominees, Santo Loquasto takes two Tony nominations for his work this season in two different design categories. He is up for Best Scenic Design for Three Days of Rain and Best Costume Design for A Touch of the Poet. He had previously been nominated 12 times with wins for The Cherry Orchard, Cafe Crown and Grand Hotel, The Musical.

Bartlett Sher — a nominee last season for The Light in the Piazza — was nominated for his direction of this year's revival Awake and Sing!. Sher also serves as artistic director for the 2006 Regional Theatre Tony Award winner — Seattle, Washington's Intiman Theatre.