**Tony awards night update – actual winners are bolded**

Hello, theatre friends.

Every year the Tony Awards roll around, and every year no one wants to watch them with me. People watch the Oscars even if they’re not particularly interested in cinema because of the superstar appearances, but Broadway celebrities are only celebrities to theatre people. So, it’s a tough sell. This music video summarizes the plight of theatre fans (heads up, the video is not kid-friendly).

This year, I’m watching the show with morbid curiosity, because due to the writers’ strike, the show is completely unscripted. This means no Lin-Manuel Miranda opening number, no long witty banter, and lots of people – namely writers – have been asked by their unions to boycott the event. Obviously I want the show to go off without a hitch, but just like when I went to see a brilliantly terrible children’s production of Hair (you read that correctly), I don’t mind the chaos.

Many major critics put out Tony Award predictions/commentary, so, as your trusted theatre friend, I thought I’d summarize them for you, along with my thoughts. My “vote” is half-prediction, half desired outcome.

Before we dive into the predictions, let’s take a look at the shows leading the nomination count this year:

13 – Some Like it Hot

9 – & Juliet; New York, New York; Shucked

8 – Kimberly Akimbo; Sweeney Todd

6 – Ain’t No Mo’; A Doll’s House; Into the Woods; Leopoldstadt; Parade

5 – Cost of Living; Fat Ham; Camelot; Life of Pi

4 – Prima Facie

3 – A Christmas Carol; Good Night, Oscar; KPOP; Topdog/Underdog

2 – Death of a Salesman; The Piano Lesson; Between Riverside and Crazy; The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window

1 – Almost Famous; Ohio State Murders; Summer, 1976

Winning Tony Awards can really help boost ticket sales, but many of the shows nominated have already closed (whomp whomp). Some shows were only open for a short amount of time – e.g. KPOP closed after 17 regular performances; Ain’t No Mo’ closed after 28. With such a short timeframe, perhaps some Tony voters were not able to see these shows, which is why it’s particularly impressive that Ain’t No Mo’ was nominated for 6 shows.

There were a few snubs (e.g. the PR dumpster fire that was Bad Cinderella, Life of Pi’s Olivier Award winning lead actor Hiran Abeysekera…), but overall the noms are pretty comprehensive.

Now, let’s get into the predictions. Let me know in the comments what you think!

The Big Ones – Best Musical, Best Play, & Best Revivals

Best Musical

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
& Juliet
Kimberly Akimbo	X		X
New York, New York
Shucked
Some Like it Hot		X		X

Best Play

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Ain’t No Mo’
Between Riverside and Crazy
Cost of Living
Fam Ham
Leopoldstadt	X	X	X	X

Best Revival of a Musical

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Into the Woods
Camelot
Parade		X	X
Sweeney Todd	X			X

Best Revival of a Play

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
The Piano Lesson
A Doll’s House	X	X	X	X
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Topdog/Underdog		X

The Acting Categories

Best Leading Actor in a Musical

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Christian Borle, Some Like it Hot
J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like it Hot		X	X	X
Josh Groban, Sweeney Todd	X
Brian D’Arcy James, Into the Woods
Ben Platt, Parade
Colton Ryan, New York, New York

Best Leading Actress in a Musical

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd		X		X
Sara Bareilles, Into the Woods
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo	X	X	X
Lorna Courtney, & Juliet
Micaela Diamond, Parade

Best Leading Actor in a Play

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Topdog/Underdog
Corey Hawkins, Topdog/Underdog
Sean Hayes, Good Night, Oscar		X	X
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Between Riverside and Crazy				X
Wendell Pierce, Death of a Salesman	X

Best Leading Actress in a Play

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Jessica Chastain, A Doll’s House
Jodie Comer, Prima Facie	X	X	X	X
Jessica Hecht, Summer, 1976
Audra McDonald, Ohio State Murders

Best Featured Actor in a Musical

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Kevin Cahoon, Shucked
Justin Coolen, Kimberly Akimbo
Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like it Hot
Jordan Donica, Camelot
Alex Newell, Shucked	X	X	X	X

Best Featured Actress in a Musical

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Julia Lester, Into the Woods				X
Ruthie Ann Miles, Sweeney Todd
Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo	X	X	X
NaTasha Yvette Williams, Some Like it Hot
Betsy Wolfe, & Juliet

Best Featured Actor in a Play

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Jordan E. Cooper, Ain’t No Mo’
Samuel L. Jackson, The Piano Lesson	X
Arian Moayed, A Doll’s House
Brandon Uranowitz, Leopoldstadt		X		X
David Zayas, Cost of Living			X

Best Featured Actress in a Play

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Nikki Crawford, Fat Ham
Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ain’t No Mo’
Miriam Silverman, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window	X	X	X	X
Katy Sullivan, Cost of Living			X
Kara Young, Cost of Living

Best Direction

Best Direction of a Musical

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Michael Arden, Parade		X	X	X
Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like it Hot	X
Jack O’Brien, Shucked
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo

Best Direction of a Play

	NYTimes Jesse Green	TheaterMania	Yahoo Robert Hofler	Lori
Saheem Ali, Fat Ham
Jo Bonney, Cost of Living
Jamie Lloyd, A Doll’s House
Patrick Marber, Leopoldstadt	X	X	X
Stevie Walker-Webb, Ain’t No Mo’
Max Webster, Life of Pi				X