Nominees for leading actress in a play

Julie Harris
"Gin Game"

Harris plays Fonsia Dorsey, a senior citizen with a streak of beginner's luck a mile wide. Harris has won five Tony Awards, more than any other performer; her first for the 1952 "I Am a Camera," and her most recent in 1977, as Emily Dickinson in William Luce's play "The Belle of Amherst." Harris has also received more Tony Award nominations than any other actor. Her television appearances have also garnered her nine Emmy nominations.

Shirley Knight
"Young Man from Atlanta"

Knight plays wife Lily Dale to Rip Torn's devastated Will Kidder in this play about a family that tasted the American Dream, then lost it. Knight won a Featured Actress Tony in 1976 for her work in "Kennedy's Children."

Janet McTeer
"Doll's House"

McTeer, who plays Nora in this revival of the Henrik Ibsen play, is considered the favorite for the Featured Actress Tony this season. Already, she has won the London Olivier award and London Critics Circle Award for her work in the London version of this drama.

Lia Williams
"Skylight"

Williams takes her role of schoolteacher and abandoned mistress, sharing the stage with Michael Gambon as she did in the London production of "Skylight." For her work in the London version, she was nominated for an Olivier Award.

Nominees for supporting actress in a play

Helen Carey
"London Assurance"

Carey plays Lady Gay, who turns the play's father-son-heiress love triangle into a neat and tidy rectangle. She comes to Broadway from Washington, D.C., where she enjoyed several acclaimed roles at the Shakespeare Theater.

Dana Ivey
"Last night of Ballyhoo"

Ivey, who plays Boo Levy in "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," appeared in the Atlanta premiere of this play. Before "Ballyhoo," she worked with playwright Alfred Levy to create the role of Daisy Wertham for his play, "Driving Miss Daisy." She won both Obie and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her work in that play; among her other laurels are Tony nominations for "Heartbreak House" and "Sunday in the Park with George."

Lynne Thigpen
"An American Daughter"

Thigpen, who plays the best friend of a woman nominated for U.S. Surgeon General, was the only person involved in this Wasserstein work to be nominated. She previously appeared in the plays "Fences," "Working" and "The Magic Show."

Celia Weston
"Last night of Ballyhoo"

Weston, playing Reba Freitag in "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," has appeared in a number of Broadway productions, including "Suddenly Last Summer." She was nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in "Dead Man Walking."

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