1994: Dee Hoty reunited with Tommy Tune, unfortunately for the misbegotten sequel to The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Judy Kuhn in She Loves Me wasn't recorded. WINNER: Donna Murphy, Passion.

1996: Julie Andrews had another chance at a win with this (admittedly uninspired) stage version of her movie hit. But when everyone else who worked on her show (including husband-director Blake Edwards) was egregiously snubbed by the nominators, she boycotted, even though she remained on the ballot. She lost the award and sadly, her voice from the run's rigors and a botched surgery.

1996: Daphne Rubin-Vega was a sensual (if also rather nasal) Mimi in Jonathan Larson's smash update of La Boheme. WINNER: Donna Murphy, The King and I.

1997: 1992 featured winner Tonya Pinkins got to try her hand at Shakespeare via Duke Ellington in this update of Twelfth Night filled with Cotton Club-era musical gems.

1998: 1983 featured winner Betty Buckley tried French comedy in this musicalization of Marivaux's play, in which she always stopped the show with "Serenity," even though there were few performances to stop.

1998: Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner were locked together in theatregoers' minds for years after they thrillingly portrayed Siamese twins in this cult flop. Alice would win a solo Tony in 2009; Emily may well have her shot in a few years, too. WINNER: Natasha Richardson, Cabaret.

1999: Dee Hoty was unlucky again, stuck in this trashy (though popular) staging of the 80s film hit.

2000: In a year of strong performances by established leading ladies, Oscar-nominated (and later Emmy-winning) actress Toni Colette made an incredible Broadway debut to stand with the best of them, as the dangerously hedonistic chorine Queenie.

2000: Marin Mazzie and Best Actor Brian Stokes Mitchell did a 180 from their Ragtime turns with their inspired comic battle of the sexes in this revival of the first Tony winner for Best Musical.

2001: 1990 featured winner Randy Graff lent her talents to this biomusical about Chorus Line lyricist Ed Kleban's prolific but uncelebrated other output.

2001: Marla Schaffel poigniantly brought Charlotte Bronte's love-haunted governess to life and gave the evening's winner solid competition. Blythe Danner's Phyllis in a controversial Follies revival wasn't recorded. WINNER: Christine Ebersole, 42nd Street.

2002: Nancy Opel, as embittered restroom toll collector Pennywise, and Jennifer Laura Thompson, as daffy ingenue (What other kind?) Hope, enlivened this inspired spoof of the musical form. Louise Pitre in Mamma Mia! wasn't recorded. WINNER: Sutton Foster, Thoroughly Modern Millie.

2003: Joan Diener had not made it on the ballot for her Aldonza in 1966, but when the "Impossible Dream" show was revived this season, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, a movie actress who had started in musicals, did.

2004: 1999 featured winner Kristin Chenoweth cemented her diva status as G(a)linda the not-always-so Good. It may not have been too surprising that she lost to her costar, who after all, really carried the show. What was surprising was that Kristin wasn't nominated for recreating Barbara Harris' mammoth role(s) in The Apple Tree 3 years later.

2004: Two-time winner Donna Murphy dazzled again in a good old-fashioned musical comedy this time, repeating the role that had won Rosalind Russell the award in 1953. Unfortunately, her terrific performance was overshadowed by illness and frequent missed performances.

2005: Christina Applegate overcame a broken foot to try her hand at everyone's favorite dime-a-dance gal.

2005: The wonderful Sherie Rene Scott nicely balanced the polish of John Lithgow and the crazy energy and vocal talent of Best Actor (and her frequent costar) Norbert Leo Butz. Erin Dilly in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang wasn't recorded. WINNER: Victoria Clark, The Light in the Piazza.

2006: After a long absence, Patti LuPone came back to the Broadway musical with a Louise Brooks bob, a shaky Cockney accent, a tuba, and all her talent intact, completely redefining Mrs. Lovett and giving the evening's winner a sure run for her money.