2009 Tony Award Nominees: 'Best Play'

 

33 Variations
Eugene O'Neill Theatre. First Preview: 02/09/2009, Opened: 03/09/2009, Closes: 05/21/2009.
Written by Moisés Kaufman.

Drama, memory and music combine to transport you from present-day New York to 19th-century Austria, in this extraordinary new American play about passion, parenthood and the moments of beauty that can transform a life. A mother coming to terms with her daughter. A composer coming to terms with his genius. And, even though they're separated by 200 years, these two people share an obsession that might, even just for a moment, make time stand still.

33 Variations is produced by David Binder, Ruth Hendel, Goldberg/Mills, Latitude Link, Arielle Tepper Madover, Bill Resnick, Eric Schnall, Jayne Baron Sherman, Willis/True Love Productions, Tectonic Theater Project, Greg Reiner, Dominick Balletta, and Jeffrey LaHoste.

 

Dividing the Estate
Booth Theatre. First Preview: 10/23/2008, Opened: 11/20/2008, Closed: 01/04/2009.
Written by Horton Foote.

Dividing the Estate is a human comedy about a family that must confront its past as it prepares for its future. The show opened to critical acclaim last fall at Primary Stages.

Dividing the Estate was produced by Lincoln Center Theater, Bernard Gersten, André Bishop, and Primary Stages.

 

God of Carnage
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. First Preview: 02/28/2009, Opened: 03/22/2009, Closes: 08/02/2009.
Written by Yasmina Reza. Translation by Christopher Hampton.

God of Carnage is a comedy of manners without the manners. The play deals with the aftermath of a playground altercation between two boys and what happens when their parents meet to talk about it.

God of Carnage is produced by Robert Fox, David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, Stuart Thompson, The Shubert Organization, Scott Rudin, Jon B. Platt and The Weinstein Company.

 

reasons to be pretty
Lyceum Theatre. First Preview: 03/13/2009, Opened: 04/02/2009, Currently Running.
Written by Neil LaBute.

America's obsession with physical beauty is confronted headlong in this brutal and exhilarating new play. In reasons to be pretty, Greg's tight-knit social circle is thrown into turmoil when his offhanded remarks about a female coworker's pretty face (and his girlfriend's lack thereof) get back to said girlfriend. But that's just the beginning. Greg's best buddy Kent, and Kent's wife Carly also enter into the picture and the emotional equation becomes exponentially more complicated. As their relationships crumble, the four friends are forced to confront a sea of deceit, infidelity and betrayed trust in their journey to answer that oh-so-American question: How much is pretty worth?

reasons to be pretty is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, MCC Theater, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Ted Snowdon, Doug Nevin/Erica Lynn Schwartz, Ronald Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions, Kathleen Seidel, Kelpie Arts, Jam Theatricals and Rachel Helson/Heather Provost.