Reactions to the 2009 Tony Award nominations
By The Associated Press – 33 minutes ago
Reactions to the 2009 Tony Award nominations, announced Tuesday in New York:
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"This is the culmination of so many years work and it's a fantastic day for everyone involved." — Elton John, nominated for original score for the musical "Billy Elliot."
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"I'm just stunned — stunned. ... I'm telling you, you go into these things and you can't hope, you can't lean towards it, you can't assume it ... you just kind of got to go, `Well, who've they decided on? Oh, it's me? Start the party.' If not, then celebrate those who are (nominated). I learned that a while ago with the Oscars and stuff." — Jeff Daniels, on the Tony nominations for "God of Carnage." Daniels received a lead actor nomination along with cast mate James Gandolfini; cast members, Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis were both nominated for lead actress.
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"I tend to play rat bags at the fringe of society. So it's really wonderful to have found a play where I get to be the king who's still a rat bag." — Geoffrey Rush, referring to his Tony-nominated role as the dying monarch in "Exit the King."
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"I didn't think that they would get past some of the obvious ... obstacles that are there. There's a bit of a stigma that's involved with my relationship with the biggest television show in the history of the world! So I didn't know if that would be a positive or a negative thing, and I just tried not to really get too invested in it." — Constantine Maroulis, an "American Idol" alum, on his surprise at receiving a nod for his lead role in the musical "Rock of Ages."
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"He'd say, `Who woke me up so early?' Then he'd go take a mud bath. ... And maybe he'd take Donkey out for a night out on the town, too." — Brian d'Arcy James, on what Shrek might say upon learning that James received an acting nomination for playing the irascible green ogre in the popular musical.
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"It would have been impossible to sort of separate the boys out. That would have been hideous." — Haydn Gwynne, who portrays a dance instructor in "Billy Elliot," on the shared Tony nomination for the three young actors who portray the titular dance prodigy. Gwynne was nominated in the category of best featured actress in a musical.
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"It's an honor. It's a big joy. I was sleeping. ... I am with my best friend from Argentina and she woke me up screaming. It was wonderful." — Josefina Scaglione, nominated for lead actress musical for her role of Maria in "West Side Story."
"I think you have to be crazy to expect something like this. You hope for it. ... It's always just a dream and it turned out in my favor. It's really cool." _ Karen Olivo, nominated for featured actress in a musical for her role of Anita in "West Side Story."
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WILLIAM PETERSEN: Well, this is a shock. The only explanation for this is that somehow in the last year, every one of you tried to act with rubber gloves and tweezers.
