IN THE PLAY CATEGORY (NEW WORKS and REVIVALS)…
BEST [NEW] PLAY
Nominees: Act One, All the Way, Casa Valentina, Mothers and Sons, Outside Mullingar
SHOULD WIN: All the Way
WILL WIN: All the Way
Commentary: Not a loser in the bunch, with special kudos to Act One and Mothers and Sons (despite a poor match for child actor and role in the latter).
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Nominees: The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Glass Menagerie, A Raisin in the Sun, Twelfth Night
SHOULD WIN: Twelfth Night
WILL WIN: Twelfth Night
Commentary: While boasting flawless Denzel heading an equally flawless supporting cast, Raisin returned to Broadway too soon; the same goes for The Glass Menagerie (albeit my favorite mounting to date) which manages to hit the Broadway radar every few years. Producers, please give anticipation a chance.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Nominees: Samuel Barnett (Twelfth Night), Bryan Cranston (All the Way), Chris O’Dowd (Of Mice and Men), Mark Rylance (Richard III), Tony Shalhoub (Act One)
SHOULD WIN: Mark Rylance (in title role)
WILL WIN: Bryan Cranston (as President Lyndon B. Johnson)
Commentary: Rylance’s performance was a RIII redefined and perfect. That said, he already has a couple of Tonys on his mantelpiece and Cranston (in his Broadway debut, no less) offered a smashing (and yes, a little spooky) recreation of LBJ. Any other year, though, Tony Shalhoub in multiple roles, including George Kaufman, would have taken home the trophy.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Nominees: Tyne Daly (Mothers and Sons), LaTanya Richardson Jackson (A Raisin in the Sun),
Cherry Jones (The Glass Menagerie), Audra McDonald (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill), Estelle Parsons (The Velocity of Autumn)
SHOULD WIN: Cherry Jones (as Amanda)
WILL WIN: Audra McDonald (as Billie Holiday)
Commentary: Actually, Audra Cherry are neck-and-neck performance-wise this season. My only caveat with Audra is Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill is essentially a musical, and she should have been nominated in that category. Either way, Audra’s Tony #6 would be in the bag.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Nominees: Reed Birney (Casa Valentina), Paul Chahidi (Twelfth Night), Stephen Fry (Twelfth Night), Mark Rylance (Twelfth Night), Brian J. Smith (The Glass Menagerie)
SHOULD WIN: Mark Rylance (Olivia)
WILL WIN: Stephen Fry (Malvolio)
Commentary: Well it would be overkill to give Rylance two Tonys, despite his brilliance – and Fry was especially hilarious. Overall, though, in my opinion they could have opened the door to more non-Twelfth Night nominees – Zachary Quinto in The Glass Menagerie, for example?
BEST PERFORAMNCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Nominees: Sarah Greene (The Cripple of Inishmaan), Celia Keenan-Bolger (The Glass Menagerie), Sophie Okonedo (A Raisin in the Sun), Anika Noni Rose (A Raisin in the Sun), Mare Winningham (Casa Valentina)
SHOULD WIN: Celia Keenan-Bolger (Laura)
WILL WIN: Celia Keenan-Bolger
Commentary: So many one dimensional Laura’s… so pleased to a 3-D performance, and clearly I’m not the only one.
IN THE MUSICAL CATEGORY (NEW WORKS and REVIVALS)…
BEST [NEW] MUSICAL
Nominees: After Midnight, Aladdin, Beautiful:The Carole King Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
SHOULD WIN: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
WILL WIN: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Commentary: I’m guessing the Tony voters, like me, are suckers for new scores, so as wonderful as After Midnight and Beautiful may be, they are Juke Box in their own way. Plus,
A Gentleman’s Guide is fresh, imaginative and wonderfully fun – and deserves the mega box office boost a Tony win guarantees.
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Nominees: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Les Misérables, Violet
SHOULD WIN: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
WILL WIN: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Commentary: Technically speaking, of the trio of nominees only Les Miz should be eligible for this award as Hedwig and Violet are revivals from Off-Broadway. Coulda, shoulda, woulda not withstanding, Hedwig is killer on all levels, i.e., a well-earned shoe-in.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Nominees: Neil Patrick Harris (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Ramin Karimloo (Les Misérables), Andy Karl (Rocky), Jefferson Mays (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder).
SHOULD WIN: Neil Patrick Harris (title character)
WILL WIN: Neil Patrick Harris
Commentary: All contenders are worthy (Andy Karl gets extra points for abs and pecs), but like Rylance, Harris brings hurricane force to the stage and, lets face it, even when he’s not up for an award, he’s a Tony night favorite.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Nominees: Mary Bridget Davies (A Night with Janis Joplin), Sutton Foster (Violet), Idina Menzel (If/Then), Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Kelli O’Hara (The Bridges of Madison County)
SHOULD WIN: Kelli O’Hara (Francesca)
WILL WIN: Kelli O’Hara
Commentary: Transcendent always and long overdue for a Tony after several nominations, O’Hara gave a stunning performance that puts her on top of the competition.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Nominees: Danny Burstein (Cabaret), Nick Cordero (Bullets Over Broadway), Joshua Henry (Violet), James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin), Jarrod Spector (Beautiful:The Carole King Musical)
SHOULD WIN: James Monroe Iglehart (Genie)
WILL WIN: James Monroe Iglehart
Commentary: Iglehart is the combustion engine that jettisons the best showstopping number ever into the stratosphere. It had to be said.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Nominees: Linda Emond (Cabaret), Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Anika Larsen (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Adriane Lenox (After Midnight), Lauren Worsham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder)
SHOULD WIN: Adriane Lenox
WILL WIN: Adriane Lenox
Commentary: Lena Hall may give Lenox some hearty competition -- gender-bending is beyond big this year -- but I do think Lenox will triumph in the end.