Nominees:
Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Beth Leavel, Baby It's You!
Patina Miller, Sister Act
Donna Murphy, The People in the Picture
Pick: Sutton Foster
Another tricky category, especially since a number of the nominees already have Tonys. Sutton Foster is a Broadway favorite, though, and Reno in the classic Anything Goes is an excellent role to showcase her considerable talents. Though she began her career being known primarily as a dancer—and she’s a spectacular one at that—she has proved herself over the years to be quite the triple threat.
Nominees:
Brian Bedford, The Importance of Being Earnest
Bobby Cannavale, The Motherf**ker with the Hat
Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart
Al Pacino, The Merchant of Venice
Mark Rylance, Jerusalem
Pick: Al Pacino
I’ve noted before that this year’s Tony nominations had surprisingly few big-name movie stars, but Pacino made waves for his portrayal of Shylock, so I’m not that surprised to find him here. I’ll admit that I actually hated Pacino in this production. I hated him in the 2004 film, too, and most of it has to do with the fact that he has a tendency to play his own unique Pacino rhythm, rather than the rhythm of the speech (and in Shakespeare, even with the prose characters, the rhythm of the speech is super important). However, I suspect that he’ll win this one anyway—it was a pretty big risk for him to take on the role, and there’s always politics to consider and whatnot.
Nominees:
Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday
Frances McDormand, Good People
Lily Rabe, The Merchant of Venice
Vanessa Redgrave, Driving Miss Daisy
Hannah Yelland, Brief Encounter
Pick: Lily Rabe
All of these performances are Tony worthy, but I suspect Lily Rabe will be the one to take the award. Her work as Portia in Merchant surprised everyone, and for that reason, she may well be the favorite. Though it's possible that Francis McDormand may take it instead, so we'll see...
Nominees:
Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
Joshua Henry, The Scottsboro Boys
Andrew Rannells, The Book of Mormon
Tony Sheldon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Pick: Josh Gad
Norbert Leo Butz is one of my favorite working actors—he’s always great, and I’ve been following his career since he played the MC in the road show of Cabaret way back in the late 90s—but I suspect Josh Gad will win for Mormon. Not undeservedly so, but perhaps against my (and some other people’s) better judgment.
Nominees:
Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Beth Leavel, Baby It's You!
Patina Miller, Sister Act
Donna Murphy, The People in the Picture
Pick: Sutton Foster
Another tricky category, especially since a number of the nominees already have Tonys. Sutton Foster is a Broadway favorite, though, and Reno in the classic Anything Goes is an excellent role to showcase her considerable talents. Though she began her career being known primarily as a dancer—and she’s a spectacular one at that—she has proved herself over the years to be quite the triple threat.
Nominees:
Mackenzie Crook, Jerusalem
Billy Crudup, Arcadia
John Benjamin Hickey, The Normal Heart
Arian Moayed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Yul Vázquez, The Motherf**ker with the Hat
Pick: John Benjamin Hickey
I love all these guys, so it’s tough to narrow it to one. Joe Mantello may not win Best Actor for The Normal Heart since he’s up against Pacino, but John Benjamin Hickey may well take Best Featured.
Nominees:
Ellen Barkin, The Normal Heart
Edie Falco, The House of Blue Leaves
Judith Light, Lombardi
Joanna Lumley, La Bête
Elizabeth Rodriguez, The Motherf**ker with the Hat
Pick: Ellen Barkin
Come to think of it, I’m pretty certain that The Normal Heart is going to sweep most of the acting awards for straight plays.
Nominees:
Colman Domingo, The Scottsboro Boys
Adam Godley, Anything Goes
John Larroquette, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Forrest McClendon, The Scottsboro Boys
Rory O'Malley, The Book of Mormon
Pick: John Larroquette
It’s possible that How to Succeed won’t take home many awards this year, but John Larroquette might at least snag Best Featured Actor in a Musical. I’m really glad that Rory O’Malley was nominated, though—he was the most surprising performance in Book of Mormon—so I’ll admit that I’m kind of pulling for him over Larroquette.
Nominees:
Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Tammy Blanchard, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Victoria Clark, Sister Act
Nikki M. James, The Book of Mormon
Patti LuPone, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Pick: Laura Benanti
Laura Benanti is only 31, but she’s had a long and successful career on Broadway, beginning with when she was cast as Maria’s understudy in The Sound of Music when she was 18 (she took over the role full-time a year later). She’s also won both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, so it’s likely that she’ll take the Tony as well.
Nominees:
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer
Pick: The Normal Heart
This one is going to be a tough call this year. Personally, I’d like Arcadia to win—it’s a beautiful, lucid production of a difficult and wonderful play—but I know it’s unlikely to. All of these productions were wonderful, though, so it’s going to be a close race. I’m think I’m going to pin my prediction on The Normal Heart, though. It’s got a lot going for it: It’s a well-done revival of an important play, it was directed by Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, and it’s got a star-studded cast.
Nominees:
Anything Goes
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Pick: Anything Goes
I was surprised by the fact that there were only two nominees in this category this year; I guess it wasn’t a great year for revivals. As much as I’m pulling for How to Succeed, my bet’s on Anything Goes, which has seen nothing but good reviews since opening night.
Nominees:
Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire
Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth
The Motherf**ker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis
War Horse by Nick Stafford
Pick: Jerusalem
I’m actually really pulling for the World War I epic War Horse. I have never felt so strongly for a set of puppets before in my life, but I was a train wreck by the end of that one. However, puppets are not something regularly seen on Broadway, and for that reason, I suspect it won’t win. I feel okay about Jerusalem, though; Jez Butterworth is a phenomenal playwright, and the production, which features Mark Rylance and Mackenzie Crook (a.k.a. the pirate with the wooden eye from Pirates of the Caribbean), is brilliant.
Nominees:
Catch Me If You Can
The Scottsboro Boys
Sister Act
The Book of Mormon
Pick: The Book of Mormon
I will be very, VERY surprised if anything other than The Book of Mormon wins Best Musical. It is both popular and good (two things which often don’t go together), and it’s definitely made the biggest splash out of all the nominees this year. Also, I really, really want to see the South Park guys win a Tony.
