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The Broadway community is abuzz with the announcement of nominees for the 66th annual Tony Awards.

Broadway vets Kristen Chenoweth and Jim Parsons spread the good news.

Leading the pack are "Once" with 11 nominations, "Porgy and Bess" with 10 and the play "Peter and the Starcatcher" with nine nods.

Five of the nominations for "Porgy and Bess" are in the acting categories, with four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis, Phillip Boykin and David Alan Grier all being recognized.

Bringing some of Hollywood's limelight to Tony's are the best actor noms.

Two-time winner James Earl Jones earns his fourth nomination for "The Best Man".

He will compete against John Lithgow for "The Columnist", British comedian and actor James Corden for "One Man, Two Guvnors", Philip Seymour Hoffman, in the revival of "Death of a Salesman" and Frank Langella for "Man and Boy".

Nominations for best actress in a play went to Nina Arianda for "Venus in Fur", Stockard Channing for "Other Desert Cities", Tracie Bennett for "End of the Rainbow", Linda Lavin for "The Lyons" and Cynthia Nixon for "Wit".

The Tony Awards, which honors Broadway's best musicals and plays will be broadcast live from New York on June 10th with Neil Patrick Harris returning to host for the third time.

Alicia Powell, Reuters.