Hey, you too could snag a Tony nomination

This year's Tony Award nominations were like a children's T-ball league. If you played, you got a prize — 30 of 37 shows this season got at least one nomination.

"Once," the musical based on the low-budget 2006 film about an unlikely romance between a Czech flower seller and an Irish street musician in Dublin, earned a leading 11 nominations, including nods for best musical, for both its lead actors, its book, lighting, sound, choreography and its set, which offers the audience real drinks before the show in a replica pub.

Two other big winners were Disney and the Gershwin estate: Two musicals using George and Ira Gershwin songs — "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" and "Nice Work If You Can Get It" — each got 10 nominations. "Peter and the Starcatcher," a play about the origins of Peter Pan co-produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, earned nine nominations, while Disney's energetic song-and-dance musical "Newsies" got eight nods.

"Ghost the Musical," an import from London with songs by mega producers Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard, failed to get nominated as best musical.

Broadway's $75 million "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," got only two nods, for best scenic design and costume. The show's spokesman shrugged off the snub.

"Even without a nomination for best musical, we can assure you that the audiences this week will love the show just as much as they did last week," Rick Miramontez said.

The Tonys will be broadcast on CBS on June 10. Neil Patrick Harris, the star of "How I Met Your Mother," will be the host.

TATTBITS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has rebuffed advances from the Nokia Theater and has signed a 20-year lease for the Oscars to stay in the formerly-named Kodak Theater, which will now be named after Dolby Laboratories.

"Crocodile Dundee" star Paul Hogan has resolved his seven-year battle with Australian tax authorities over alleged unpaid taxes dating back to the 1980s.

Hogan and his friend and producer John Cornell said through their lawyer, Andrew Robinson, that the pair had reached a settlement with tax authorities to resolve more than $156 million in alleged unpaid taxes and penalties.

That convertible that Guy Fieri drives around in on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" is cool, but Guy's real car is a Lamborghini that was stolen last year from an exotic car dealership in San Francisco.

It was recently recovered from a teenager's storage container while police were looking into the teen's connection to a shooting.

It seemed like she was pregnant for years, but Jessica Simpson finally gave birth yesterday to a daughter named Maxwell Drew Johnson. Maxwell weighed in at a hefty 9 lbs. 13 ounces. She is the first child for Jessica and her fiance, Eric Johnson, a former NFL player.

In other baby-related news, "Octomom" Nadya Suleman has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, saying in a court filing that she has as much as $1 million in debt. According to TMZ.com, Nadya hopes to make some extra cash by making a video in which she pleasures herself.

Just wait until those 14 kids want to go to college. n

— Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

Email gensleh@phillynews.com