The Syracuse Area Live Theater Awards are being billed as the Tony Awards for the Salt City and the awards ceremony at 7 p.m. on May 3 promises to be tony as well. Art Zimmer, driving force behind the awards and New Times publisher (full disclosure: my boss), has released more details, including the list of nominees to fuel the anticipation.

Awards, 18 in total, will be presented in three categories: professional theater, community theater and road show plays, with people's choice awards to keep the crowd happy. Note that there is only one professional theater company in the area, Syracuse Stage, and only one company that mounts touring road shows, Famous Artists. Here are the nominees:

Professional Theater

Play of the Year: Amadeus, Constant Star, Nobody Don't Like Yogi and The Wizard of Oz
Director of the Year: Michael Donald Edwards (Copenhagen, Amadeus), Timothy Douglas (The Crucible), Robert Moss (Backsliding in the Promised Land, Such Small Hands, The Wizard of Oz), Tazewell Thompson (Constant Star)

Community Theater

Musical Play of the Year: Copacabana (The Talent Company), Into the Woods (Wit's End Players), Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical (Theatre '90), The Secret Garden (Salt City Center for the Performing Arts), West Side Story (The Talent Company)
Non-Musical Play of the Year: A Shayna Maidel (Appleseed Productions), The Dining Room (Appleseed), The Foreigner (Appleseed), Lend Me a Tenor (Opening Night Productions)
Actress of the Year: Becky Botrill (Always. . . Patsy Cline), Susan Basile (Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical), Dani Gottuso (Into the Woods), Ann Marie Grathwol (Copacabana)
Actor of the Year: Bob Brown (The Fantasticks, A Dickens of a Christmas), Kevin McNamara (Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical), Bill Molesky (Love Letters, Jesus Christ Superstar), John Smitherman (The Secret Garden)
Director of the Year: Bob Brown (Lend Me a Tenor, Cruizin' Thru the 50's), Sharee Lemos (Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical), John Smitherman (The Secret Garden), Kevin Surrette (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead), Daniel Tursi (West Side Story), Jon Wilson (The Foreigner)
Best Original New Production: Die Another Death (Acme Mystery Company); Faith, Hope and Charity (Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company); Fish Talk (Got Theater? Project); My Dead Lady (Acme Mystery Company); Smile Frozen on Face (Armory Square Players); The Way It Is (The Media Unit)
Touring Road Shows: Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Chicago, Starlight Express
Lifetime Achievement Award (three given): Rose and Murray Bernthal, Bob Brown, Christine Lightcap, Joe Lotito, Pat Lotito, Bill Molesky, Robert Moss
Hall of Fame Award (three given): Bob Brown, Frank Fiumano, Christine Lightcap, Robert Moss, Marshall Nye

People's Choice Awards

Play of the Year: Always. . .Patsy Cline (Salt City Center for the Performing Arts), Copenhagen (Syracuse Stage), Cruizin' Thru the '50's (Art Zimmer Productions), Hello, Dolly! (Theatre '90), Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical (Theatre '90)
Actress of the Year: Susan Basile (Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical), Becky Bottrill (Always. . . Patsy Cline), Moe Harrington (Pete'n'Keely)), Christine Lightcap (Copacabana), Tammy Lee Sutton (Copacabana)
Actor of the Year: Bob Brown (The Fantasticks, A Dickens of a Christmas), Rodney S. Hudson (The Wizard of Oz), Bill Molesky (Love Letters), Joey Panek (Copacabana), John Smitherman (The Secret Garden)
Winners are selected by the SALT Awards Academy, which remains anonymous to prevent lobbying and is made up of community members, theater people and avid theatergoers. Results were officially tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young.

All ticket sales for the awards festivities are available at the door of the New Times Theater inside the Art & Home Building on the New York State Fairgrounds so consider being fashionably early to guarantee a seat. The Media Unit will be filming the entire affair, including red carpet arrivals, for eventual broadcast on public access television (Time Warner Cable's channel 98) and regional stations in Rochester and Ithaca. A video will also be made available as a souvenir. Admission is $5.