Broadway just can’t get a break. Just two seasons into its reemergence from COVID, its slow recovery has been stymied again by recent events that hang a dark cloud over Sunday’s approaching Tony Awards – or perhaps an orange cloud. Between the ongoing Writer’s Guild of America strike and the current disastrous air quality affecting all local audiences and performers, the hits keep on coming. Sunday night’s Tony Awards ceremony will still include winners and performances, but based on some of the WGA specifications, the telecast may take on a different feel. For once, I’m not even sure how they will fill all of the time they have allotted!
However, one thing is for sure – awards will still be handed out. Here’s my annual list of predictions about who you can expect to see giving acceptance speeches:
BEST MUSICAL
& Juliet
Kimberly Akimbo
New York, New York
Shucked
Some Like It Hot
Will win: Kimberly Akimbo
Could win: Some Like It Hot
Should win: Kimberly Akimbo
BEST PLAY
Ain’t No Mo’ by Jordan E. Cooper
Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Cost of Living by Martyna Majok
Fat Ham by James Ijames
Leopoldstadt by Tom Stoppard
Will win: Leopoldstadt
Could win: Ain’t No Mo’ (though nothing seems to pose any threat)
Should win: Between Riverside and Crazy (this has been a real dry spell for great, deeply written plays, though)
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Camelot
Into the Woods
Parade
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Will win: Parade
Could win: Into the Woods
Should win: Parade
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
A Doll’s House
The Piano Lesson
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Topdog/Underdog
Will win: The Piano Lesson
Could win: A Doll’s House
Should win: Topdog/Underdog
BEST SCORE
Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, Shucked
Tom Kitt and Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous
David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori, Kimberly Akimbo
Helen Park and Max Vernon, KPOP
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Some Like It Hot
Will win: Kimberly Akimbo
Could win: Some Like It Hot
Should win: Kimberly Akimbo
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Robert Horn, Shucked
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, Some Like It Hot
David West Read, & Juliet
David Thompson and Sharon Washington, New York, New York
Will win: Kimberly Akimbo
Could win: Shucked
Should win: Kimberly Akimbo
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sara Bareilles, Into the Woods
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo
Lorna Courtney, & Juliet
Micaela Diamond, Parade
Will win: Clark
Could win: Ashford
Should win: Clark (though Diamond sure does shine)
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Christian Borle, Some Like It Hot
- Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot
Josh Groban, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Brian d’Arcy James, Into the Woods
Ben Platt, Parade
Colton Ryan, New York, New York
Will win: Ghee
Could win: Groban or Platt, though it is highly unlikely
Should win: James (though overall, no one in this category hits superlative heights – no one)
BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Jessica Chastain, A Doll’s House
Jodie Comer, Prima Facie
Jessica Hecht, Summer, 1976
Audra McDonald, Ohio State Murders
Will win: Chastain
Could win: Comer
Should win: Comer, I suppose, who gives it her all – but again, none of these performances (from excellent performers) is truly award-worthy
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Topdog/Underdog
Corey Hawkins, Topdog/Underdog
Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy
Wendell Pierce, Death of a Salesman
Will win: Hayes
Could win: Henderson
Should win: Henderson or Pierce
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Julia Lester, Into the Woods
Ruthie Ann Miles, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo
NaTasha Yvette Williams, Some Like It Hot
Betsy Wolfe, & Juliet
Will win: Milligan
Could win: Wolfe
Should win: Milligan
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Kevin Cahoon, Shucked
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo
Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like It Hot
Jordan Donica, Camelot
Alex Newell, Shucked
Will win: Newell
Could win: Cooley
Should win: Cooley
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Nikki Crawford, Fat Ham
Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ain’t No Mo’
Miriam Silverman, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living
Kara Young, Cost of Living
Will win: Silverman
Could win: Sullivan or Young
Should win: Silverman
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Jordan E. Cooper, Ain’t No Mo’
Samuel L. Jackson, The Piano Lesson
Arian Moayed, A Doll’s House
Brandon Uranowitz, Leopoldstadt
David Zayas, Cost of Living
Will win: Jackson
Could win: Uranowitz
Should win: Uranowitz
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Michael Arden, Parade
Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Jack O’Brien, Shucked
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo
The race: Stone’s direction of the tonally tricky Kimberly Akimbo is top-notch, but it’s a small show compared with most of the others. We favor Arden, who also directed this season’s delightful iteration of A Christmas Carol.
Will win: Arden
Could win: deBessonet
Should win: Stone
BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Saheem Ali, Fat Ham
Jo Bonney, Cost of Living
Jamie Lloyd, A Doll’s House
Patrick Marber, Leopoldstadt
Stevie Walker-Webb, Ain’t No Mo’
Max Webster, Life of Pi
Will win: Marber
Could win: Lloyd
Should win: Ali
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Steven Hoggett, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Susan Stroman, New York, New York
Jennifer Weber, & Juliet
Jennifer Weber, KPOP
Will win: Some Like It Hot
Could win: New York, New York
Should win: New York, New York
BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York
Mimi Lien, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Michael Yeargan and 59 Productions, Camelot
Scott Pask, Shucked
Scott Pask, Some Like It Hot
Will win: New York, New York
Could win: Some Like It Hot
Should win: New York, New York
BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
Miriam Buether, Prima Facie
Tim Hatley and Andrzej Goulding, Life of Pi
Rachel Hauck, Good Night, Oscar
Richard Hudson, Leopoldstadt
Dane Laffrey and Lucy Mackinnon, A Christmas Carol
Will win: Life of Pi
Could win: A Christmas Carol
Should win: A Christmas Carol
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Gregg Barnes, Some Like It Hot
Susan Hilferty, Parade
Jennifer Moeller, Camelot
Clint Ramos and Sophia Choi, KPOP
Paloma Young, & Juliet
Donna Zakowska, New York, New York
The race: We love Young’s transhistorical constructions in & Juliet, but this race is Barnes’s to lose, and he won’t.
Will win: Some Like It Hot
Could win: & Juliet
Should win: & Juliet
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, Life of Pi
Dominique Fawn Hill, Fat Ham
Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Leopoldstadt
Emilio Sosa, Ain’t No Mo’
Emilio Sosa, Good Night, Oscar
Will win: Life of Pi
Could win: Leopoldstadt
Should win: Life of Pi
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Ken Billington, New York, New York
Lap Chi Chu, Camelot
Heather Gilbert, Parade
Howard Hudson, & Juliet
Natasha Katz, Some Like It Hot
Natasha Katz, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Will win: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Could win: New York, New York
Should win: Some Like It Hot
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Neil Austin, Leopoldstadt
Natasha Chivers, Prima Facie
Jon Clark, A Doll’s House
Bradley King, Fat Ham
Tim Lutkin, Life of Pi
Jen Schriever, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Ben Stanton, A Christmas Carol
Will win: Life of Pi
Could win: Prima Facie
Should win: Life of Pi
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Kai Harada, New York, New York
John Shivers, Shucked
Scott Lehrer and Alex Neumann, Into the Woods
Gareth Owen, & Juliet
Nevin Steinberg, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Will win: Into the Woods
Could win: & Juliet or Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Should win: & Juliet
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Jonathan Deans and Taylor Williams, Ain’t No Mo’
Carolyn Downing, Life of Pi
Joshua D. Reid, A Christmas Carol
Ben & Max Ringham, A Doll’s House
Ben & Max Ringham, Prima Facie
Will win: Life of Pi
Could win: A Christmas Carol
Should win: A Christmas Carol
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
John Clancy, Kimberly Akimbo
Jason Howland, Shucked
Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter, Some Like It Hot
Bill Sherman, & Juliet
Daryl Waters and Sam Davis, New York, New York
Will win: Some Like It Hot
Could win: New York, New York
Should win: Kimberly Akimbo
Tune in on Sunday night, and let’s see how we do!
