Merrily We Roll Along (c) Matthew Murphy
April is very busy for Broadway and those who cover it. There are Broadway show openings in the double digits in the next few weeks, all hoping to get some Tony Award nominations before the deadline. So, it’s sort of silly to predict who will get award nominations, since most of the shows are in previews right now. But what kind of awards prognosticator would I be if I didn’t try. So, based on reputation, out-of-town or off-Broadway reviews, here are Tony Award predictions, with most of the nominees being sight unseen.
Plus, the Tony Awards committee also has to make rulings on eligibility of some nominees as to who is a lead and supporting (How big a part is Jim Parson’s role in Mother Play? Could he be placed in the Lead Actor category?) or if productions are new or revivals (Is Mary Jane a new play or will it be deemed a revival like Appropriate, both premiered off-Broadway in the last ten years)? These are my best guesstimates.
The Tony Award nominations will be announced on April 30 and the statuettes will be handed out on June 16.
Enjoy!
The Interested Bystander’s 77th Tony Award Nomination Predictions
PLAYS
Prayer for the French Republic (c) Jeremy Daniel
Play
Mother Play by Paula Vogel
Patriots by Peter Morgan
Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon
Stereophonic by David Adjmi
(possibles)
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh
I Need That by Theresa Reback
Play Revival
Appropriate by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins
An Enemy of the People by Amy Herzog
Uncle Vanya by Heidi Schreck
Mary Jane by Amy Herzog
Doubt
Purlie Victorious
Appropriate (c) Joan Marcus
Lead Actress (Play)
Jessica Lange – Mother Play
Rachel McAdams – Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson – Appropriate
Amy Ryan – Doubt
Laurie Metcalf – Grey House
Anika Noni Rose – Uncle Vanya
Lead Actor (Play)
Leslie Odom Jr. – Purlie Victorious
Will Keen – Patriots
Jeremy Strong – An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg – Patriots
Steve Carell – Uncle Vanya
Liev Schreiber – Doubt
Purlie Victorious (c) Marc J. Franklin
Featured Actress (Play)
Francis Benhamou – Prayer for the French Republic
Quincy Tyler Bernstine – Doubt
Celia Keenan Bolger – Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon – Stereophonic
Kara Young – Purlie Victorious
Betsy Aidem – Prayer for the French Republic
Zenzi Williams – Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Featured Actor (Play)
Will Brill – Stereophonic
Eli Gelb – Stereophonic
Michael Imperioli – Enemy of the People
Alfred Molina – Uncle Vanya
Jim Parsons – Mother Play
Jay O. Sanders – Purlie Victorious
Aria Shahghasemi – Prayer for the French Republic
Director (Play)
Daniel Aukin – Stereophonic
David Cromer – Prayer for the French Republic
Rupert Goold – Patriots
Kenny Leon – Purlie Victorious
Lila Neugebauer – Appropriate
Sam Gold - An Enemy of the People
Lila Neugebauer – Uncle Vanya
MUSICALS
Back to the Future (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Musical
Back to the Future: The Musical
The Great Gatsby
Hell’s Kitchen
Illinoise
Suffs
Days of Wine and Roses
Here Lies Love
The Who's Tommy (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Musical Revival
Cabaret
Gutenberg! The Musical!
Merrily We Roll Along
The Who’s Tommy
Monty Python’s Spamalot
The Wiz
Book of a Musical
Back to the Future by Bob Gale
Days of Wine and Roses by Craig Lucas
Hell’s Kitchen by Kristoffer Diaz
The Outsiders by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine
Suffs by Shaina Taub
How to Dance in Ohio by Rebekah Greer Melocik
Lempicka by Matt Gould and Carson Kreitzer
Score of a Production
Back to the Future by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard
Days of Wine and Roses by Adam Guettel
Here Lies Love by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
Stereophonic by Will Butler
Suffs by Shaina Taub
Harmony by Barry Manilow
Lempicka by Matt Gould and Carson Kreitzer
Days of Wine and Roses (c) Joan Marcus
Lead Actress in a Musical
Eden Espinosa – Lempicka
Maleah Joi Moon – Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara – Days of Wine and Roses
Gayle Rankin – Cabaret
Eva Noblezada – The Great Gatsby
Nichelle Lewis – The Wiz
Shaina Taub – Suffs
Lead Actor in a Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui – The Who’s Tommy
Jonathan Groff – Merrily We Roll Along
Jeremy Jordan – The Great Gatsby
Casey Likes – Back to the Future: The Musical
Eddie Redmayne – Cabaret
Brian d’Arcy James – Days of Wine and Roses
Brody Grant – The Outsiders
The Notebook (c) Julieta Carvantes
Featured Actress in a Musical
Shoshana Bean – Hell’s Kitchen
Nikki M. James – Suffs
Lindsay Mendez – Merrily We Roll Along
Bebe Neuwirth – Cabaret
Maryann Plunkett – The Notebook
Beth Leavel – Lempicka
Kecia Lewis – Hell’s Kitchen
Featured Actor in a Musical
Roger Bart – Back to the Future: The Musical
Daniel Radcliffe – Merrily We Roll Along
Conrad Ricamora – Here Lies Love
Steven Skybell – Cabaret
Ricky Ubeda – Illinoise
Dorian Harewood – The Notebook
Paul Alexander Nolan – Water for Elephants
Here Lies Love (c) Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy, Evan Zimmerman
Director (Musical)
Rebecca Frecknall – Cabaret
Maria Friedman – Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif – Hell’s Kitchen
Leigh Silverman – Suffs
Alex Timbers – Here Lies Love
Rachel Chavkin – Lempicka
John Rando – Back to the Future: The Musical
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