It's the most exciting day of the year, people. The Tony Award nominations came out for the 2013-2014 theater season and it's a great mix. After what I linked/briefly discussed yesterday, I am happy to announce that A Night with Janis Joplin star Mary Bridget Davies is nominated for Leading Actress in a Musical. It's no consolation for losing out on a "guaranteed" off-Broadway transfer of the musical due to producer ineptitude, but it is a tremendous honor. There's obviously more to a performance than just vocal impersonation, but Davies NAILS that Janis Joplin style in every video I've seen from the show.

I also told you guys earlier this year that Mark Rylance was a lock for Leading Actor in a Play for Richard III. That was not a common prediction considering the furor over the Twelfth Night production in rep at the same theater. Well, I was right. The most stunning Richard III I've ever seen live (the performer, not necessarily the production) is nominated over Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart also performing leading roles in rep (Waiting for Godot/No Man's Land).

Audra McDonald is now on track to win in each competitive acting category with her nomination in Leading Actress in a Play for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. This production is a revival of the play that brings Billie Holiday to life onstage in front of an audience. Audra is stunning and the rave reviews for her performance almost guarantee another Tony Award for her mantle.

It was actually a great day for this kind of show within a show conceit. Hedwig and the Angry Inch received eight nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, Director (Michael Mayer), Leading Actor (Neil Patrick Harris), and Featured Actress (Lena Hall). The show is the story of rocker Hedwig's transition from a young man in Eastern Germany to a bitter female rocker with her life's work stolen by rocker Tommy Gnosis.

Here's a video of the preview Harris and Hall did with the cast at a bar before the show opened.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical received seven nominations, including Best Musical, Leading Actress (Jessie Mueller as Carole King), Featured Actress (Anika Larsen as Cynthia Weil), and Featured Actor (Jarrod Spector as Barry Mann). Beautiful is the story of singer/songwriter Carole King told through the music of Carole King.

I have to post it again. Here's Carole King surprising the cast at Beautiful to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

After Midnight also swung in with seven nominations, including Best Musical, Director (Warren Carlyle), and Featured Actress (Adriane Lenox). This musical reimagines the world of the Cotton Club on Broadway with a very interesting conceit. Since that night club didn't keep the same billing each night, the runs of the featured stars of the show will all be limited. Guests have included Fantasia Barrino, Vanessa Williams, and K.D. Lang. Each singer performs the same set, although the style of the songs can change to suit the needs of the performers.

Cabaret received two nominations for Featured Actor (Danny Burstein) and Featured Actress (Linda Emond). The production, a return engagement of the 1998 Roundabout Revival, was only eligible for brand new elements. Michelle Williams in Leading Actress is the only missed nomination. And, yes, it's the musical taking place in the Kit Kat Club about cabaret performers during WWII as the Nazis rise to power.

The most successful nominee, both in the show within a show conceit and the actual awards themselves, is A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. It received 10 nominations, including Best Musical, Director (Darko Tresnjak), Leading Actor (both Jefferson Mays and Bryce Pinkham), and Featured Actress (Lauren Worshman). The musical is a farce in the old British music hall style.

This video is from the original production at the Old Globe Theatre and not the current Broadway run.

The biggest shock, to me, is the inclusion of Aladdin in original score. Most of the music was written for the original film and discarded. Only the brand new songs are eligible and, technically, none of them are new. Very strange ruling there that prevented a solo nomination for Big Fish in the only category it had any real shot at.

Here's the complete list of nominations.

Best Play

Act One All the Way Casa Valentina Mothers and Sons Outside Mullingar

Best Musical After Midnight Aladdin Beautiful A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Best Revival of a Play The Cripple of Inishmaan The Glass Menagerie A Raisin in the Sun Twelfth Night

Best Revival of a Musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Les Miserables Violet

Best Book of a Musical Aladdin- Chad Beguelin Beautiful- The Carole King Musical - Douglas McGrath Bullets Over Broadway- Woody Allen A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Robert L. Freedman

Best Direction of a Play Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night Michael Grandage, The Cripple of Inishmaan Kenny Leon, A Raisin in the Sun John Tiffany, The Glass Menagerie

Best Direction of a Musical Warren Carlyle, After Midnight Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Leigh Silverman, Violet Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre Aladdin- Music: Alan Menken, Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin The Bridges of Madison County- Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder- Music: Steven Lutvak, Lyrics: Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak If/Then- Music: Tom Kitt, Lyrics: Brian Yorkey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play Samuel Barnett, Twelfth Night Bryan Cranston, All The Way Chris O'Dowd, Of Mice and Men Mark Rylance, Richard III Tony Shalhoub, Act One

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Ramin Karimloo, LES MISERABLES Andy Karl, Rocky Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical Mary Bridget Davies, A Night with Janis Joplin Sutton Foster, Violet Idina Menzel, If/Then Jessie Mueller, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Kelli O'Hara, The Bridges of Madison County

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play Reed Birney, Casa Valentina Paul Chahidi, Twelfth Night Stephen Fry, Twelfth Night Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play Sarah Greene, The Cripple of Inishmaan Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun Anika Noni Rose, A Raisin in the Sun Mare Winningham, Casa Valentina

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Danny Burstein, Cabaret Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway Joshua Henry, Violet James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin Jarrod Spector, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical Linda Emond, Cabaret Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Anika Larsen, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Adriane Lenox, After Midnight Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

Best Scenic Design of a Play Beowulf Boritt, Act One Bob Crowley, The Glass Menagerie Es Devlin, Machinal Christopher Oram, The Cripple of Inishmaan

Best Scenic Design of a Musical Christopher Barreca, Rocky Julian Crouch, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Alexander Dodge, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway

Best Costume Design of a Play Jane Greenwood, Act One Michael Krass, Machinal Rita Ryack, Casa Valentina Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night

Best Costume Design of a Musical Linda Cho, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway Arianne Phillips, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Isabel Toledo, After Midnight

Best Lighting Design of a Play Paule Constable, The Cripple of Inishmaan Jane Cox, Machinal Natasha Katz, The Glass Menagerie Japhy Weideman, Of Mice and Men

Best Lighting Design of a Musical Kevin Adams, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Christopher Akerlind, Rocky Howell Binkley, After Midnight Donald Holder, The Bridges of Madison County

Best Sound Design of a Play Alex Baranowski, The Cripple of Inishmaan Steve Canyon Kennedy, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill Dan Moses Schreier, Act One Matt Tierney, Machinal

Best Sound Design of a Musical Peter Hylenski, After Midnight Tim O'Heir, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Mick Potter, LES MISERABLES Brian Ronan, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

Best Direction of a Play Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night Michael Grandage, The Cripple of Inishmaan Kenny Leon, A Raisin in the Sun John Tiffany, The Glass Menagerie

Best Direction of a Musical Warren Carlyle, After Midnight Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Leigh Silverman, Violet Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

Best Choreography Warren Carlyle, After Midnight Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine, Rocky Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway

Best Orchestrations

Doug Besterman, Bullets Over Broadway Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County Steve Sidwell, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Jonathan Tunick, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder

Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre - Jane Greenwood Regional Theatre Award - Signature Theatre, New York, N.Y. Isabelle Stevenson Award - Rosie O'Donnell Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre - Joseph P. Benincasa, Joan Marcus, Charlotte Wilcox

Tony Nominations by Production A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - 10 Hedwig and the Angry Inch - 8 After Midnight - 7 Beautiful - The Carole King Musical - 7 The Glass Menagerie - 7 Twelfth Night - 7 Bullets Over Broadway - 6 The Cripple of Inishmaan - 6 Act One - 5 Aladdin - 5 A Raisin in the Sun - 5 The Bridges of Madison County - 4 Casa Valentina - 4 Machinal - 4 Rocky - 4 Violet - 4 LES MISERABLES - 3 All The Way - 2 Cabaret - 2 If/Then - 2 Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill - 2 Mothers and Sons - 2 Of Mice and Men - 2 A Night with Janis Joplin - 1 Outside Mullingar - 1 Richard III - 1 The Velocity of Autumn - 1