Tony Award Predictions

by Lauren Harrington

This Sunday, the 63rd annual Tony Awards will celebrate another year in Broadway theatre. This year's show is hosted by none other than Neil Patrick Harris (an actor famous for being awesome on the TV show How I Met Your Mother) who was last on Broadway when he starred in the revival of Assassins in 2006. The show will be worth watching for that alone in my opinion. But the Tony Awards are always a great event anyway- showcasing the best of the best in theatre. As far as nominations go this year, Billy Elliot earned the most, being nominated for 15 awards. So who's going to win each award? Here are my predictions.

Best Play:

Nominees- Dividing the Estate (Horton Foote), God of Carnage (Yasmina Reza), Reasons to Be Pretty (Neil LaBute), and 33 Variations (Moises Kaufman)

Who Will Win- God of Carnage written by Yasmine Reza. Though I haven't seen this play yet, the reviews have been absolutely stellar. The cast is phenomenal and has been described as tense and explosive. Sounds great.


Best Musical:

Nominees- Billy Elliot: The Musical, Next to Normal, Rock of Ages, and Shrek the Musical

Who Will Win- Billy Elliot: The Musical. This show was a smash hit on the West End in London and has been just as successful here. The choreography alone makes this show worthy of the Best Musical award.


Best Revival of a Play:

Nominees- Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Mary Stuart, the Norman Conquests, and Waiting for Godot

Who Will Win- The Norman Conquests. An epic play that must be viewed in three parts, The Norman Consquests is a comedy about family dynamics. It's hilarious, well-directed, and well-acted. Perfect recipe for a Tony win.


Best Revival of a Musical:

Nominees- Guys and Dolls, Hair, Pal Joey, and West Side Story

Who Will Win- Hair. This classic hippie-generation musical has been given new life, bringing the audience back to the turbulence of the 60's while still remaining accessible to those who don't remember that era.


Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play:

Nominees- Jeff Daniels (God of Carnage), Raul Esparza (Speed-the-Plow), James Gandolfini (God of Carnage), Geoffrey Rush (Exit the King), and Thomas Sadoski (Reasons to Be Pretty)

Who Will Win- Geoffrey Rush. Rush plays King Berenger in this play, being funny while reminding the audience constantly and consistently of death. Not an easy feat and surely worthy of a Tony.


Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play:

Nominees- Hope Davis (God of Carnage), Jane Fonda (33 Variations), Marcia Gay Harden (God of Carnage), Janet McTeer (Mary Stuart), and Harriet Walter (Mary Stuart)

Who Will Win- Marcia Gay Harden. God of Carnage's chances for scoring a Tony look pretty good but it's most likely to go to Marcia Gay Harden for playing the high-minded writer.


Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical:

Nominees-David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish (Billy Elliot: The Musical, in which they shared the role of Billy), Gavin Creel (Hair), Brian d'Arcy James (Shrek The Musical), Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages), and J. Robert Spencer (Next to Normal)

Who Will Win- David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish. These three young boys each shine in the role of Billy, performing incredible feats of dancing that seem way beyond their years.


Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical:

Nominees- Stockard Channing (Pal Joey), Sutton Foster (Shrek the Musical), Allison Janney (9 to 5: The Musical), Alice Ripley (Next to Normal), and Josefina Scaglione (West Side Story)

Who Will Win- Alice Ripley. Ms. Ripley plays a manic-depressive housewife in this new musical and is at the heart of the show's compassion and intensity.


Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play:

Nominees- John Glover (Waiting for Godot), Zach Grenier (33 Variations), Stephen Mangan (The Norman Conquests), Paul Ritter (The Norman Conquests), and Roger Robinson (Joe Turner's Come and Gone)

Who Will Win- Roger Robinson. Mr. Robinson was a strong presence in the main role of this play about a generation of African-Americans trying to move past slavery 50 years after their emancipation.


Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play:

Nominees- Hallie Foote (Dividing the Estate), Jessica Hynes (The Norman Conquests), Marin Ireland (Reasons to be Pretty), Angela Lansbury (Blithe Spirit), and Amanda Root (The Norman Conquests)

Who Will Win- Angela Lansbury. Lansbury was an absolutley ridiculous ball of energy, dancing around the stage with reckless abandon. When Lansbury is on the stage it's almost impossible to watch anyone else.


Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical:

Nominees- David Bologna (Billy Elliot: The Musical), Gregory Jbara (Billy Elliot: The Musical), Marc Kudisch (9 to 5: The Musical), Christopher Sieber (Shrek The Musical), and Will Swenson (Hair)

Who Will Win- Gregory Jbara. Jbara took on the role of the reluctant father of Billy. He showed the many struggles (both internal and external) the father was experiencing with great skill and was positively charming when he finally came over to Billy's side.


Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical:

Nominees- Jennifer Damiano (Next to Normal), Haydn Gwynne (Billy Elliot: The Musical), Karen Olivo (West Side Story), Marth Plimpton (Pal Joey), and Carole Shelley (Billy Elliot: The Musical)

Who Will Win- Karen Olivo. In the role of Anita, Olivo delivers a fiery and powerful performance.


Best Direction of a Play:

Nominees- Phyllida Lloyd (Mary Stuart), Bartlett Sher (Joe Turner's Come and Gone), Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage), and Matthew Warchus (The Norman Conquests)

Who Will Win- Matthew Warchus for The Norman Conquests. If you're going to direct a three-part comedy with each part over two hours, you better know what you're doing. Mr. Warchus certainly does and deserves the Tony for this monster of a play.


Best Direction of a Musical:

Nominees- Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot: The Musical), Michael Greif (Next to Normal), Kristin Hanggi (Rock of Ages), and Diane Paulus (Hair)

Who Will Win- Stephen Daldry. As often happens with movies and the Oscars, it is common for Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical to go hand in hand. This makes perfect sense considering that the success of a show relies heavily on who is directing it. Looks like a win-win for Billy Elliot.