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Griffin's Tony Predictions, 2014 Edition: Shows & Actors

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.

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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