Let's get this straight. The Broadway musicals nominated for Tony Awards this year are Ragtime, The Lion King, Side Show and The Scarlet Pimpernel. They're not "Homecoming" or "One Small Step."

If you were fooled by seeing segments from the latter two "shows" on "The Late Show With David Letterman," well, that was the point. As a gag, the variety program staged vignettes from two authentic-seeming "musicals." Two weeks ago, the troupe did "Homecoming," featuring the song "Jimmy's Coming Home" (composed by Paul Shaffer). Then May 18, Letterman showcased the men-on-the-moon saga, "One Small Step," including the Shaffer ditty of the same name.

Lending realism to the sketches were the casts, with a number of Broadway performers featured. In "Homecoming" were Leigh Zimmerman (Chicago), Sarah Uriarte Berry (Les Miz), Jonathan Dokuchitz (Tommy, Dream), Judith Moore, Marc Kudisch (Beauty and the Beast), Pamela Everett (Crazy For You), Andy Taylor and Jennifer Rosin.

Taking "One Small Step" were Alice Ripley (Side Show), Rebecca Luker (The Sound of Music), Daniel McDonald (Steel Pier), Kudisch and Dokuchitz.

According to a Letterman spokesperson, the sketches are penned by the Letterman writing staff, who may do another bit when the show comes back June 1 from a week's vacation. (The Tony Awards are Sunday, June 7, also on CBS-TV). -- By David Lefkowitz