Featured Actor in a Musical

Christian Borle, of Something Rotten!, and Andy Karl, of On the Twentieth Century,  are most likely to take home the Tony.  Borle, who won a Tony in 2012 for playing Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher, plays Something Rotten!’s antagonist, The Bard (a.k.a. William Shakespeare).  He isn’t your 7th grade English teacher’s Shakespeare.  The Bard instead takes the form of an 80s rockstar, giving concerts of soliloquies and signing fan’s manuscripts.  Karl’s role as Bruce Granit in On the Twentieth Century, is a similarly hilarious macho, self-absorbed character, this time a hollywood movie star.  Both Borle and Karl are featured as comedic antagonists in their respective shows.

At the bottom of the pack are Brad Oscar (Something Rotten!), Brandon Uranowitz (An American in Paris), and Max von Essen (An American in Paris).  Oscar is sensational, and his performance of “A Musical,” the show stopping number in Act 1 of Something Rotten!, will, on its own, win him the votes of some Tony voters.  As of right now, we don’t think it will be enough votes to beat out Karl or Borle, but it’s not impossible.  

Featured Actress in a Musical

Three of the five nominees for Best Featured Actress in a Musical are nominated for their performances in Fun Home.  They are: Judy Kuhn (Helen Bechdel), Sydney Lucas (Small Alison), and Emily Skeggs (Medium Alison).  The other two nominees are actresses in musical revivals, Victoria Clark of Gigi, and Ruthie Ann Miles of The King and I.  

Kuhn and Lucas have the lead right now.  We would love to see four time nominee Kuhn walk away with her first win.  At the same time, we would also love to see 11-year-old Lucas be rewarded for what is by far the best performance by an 11-year-old ever to grace the Broadway stage.  Plus, Lucas already won an Obie for playing Small Alison at the Public last year  

If neither of these Fun Home actresses takes home the Tony, it will likely go to Miles, who trails them by a slight margin.  Clark and Skeggs are the long shots, with Clark ahead of Skeggs.

Featured Actor in a Play

Featured Actor in a Play is the largest category of the year with six nominees.  While there is no clear frontrunner, Richard McCabe (The Audience), Alessandro Nivola (The Elephant Man), and Nathaniel Parker (Wolf Hall) definitely have the upper hand.  Any of the other three is capable of pulling off the upset win.  They are, Matthew Beard (Skylight), K. Todd Freeman (Airline Highway), and Micah Stock (It’s Only a Play).

Featured Actress in a Play

Annaleigh Ashford (You Can’t Take It with You) has been holding onto the lead in this category since the Fall.  Her performance as Essie Carmichael had everyone in the theater cracking up.

In the middle of the race are Julie White (Airline Highway) and Lydia Leonard (Wolf Hall).  Patricia Clarkson (The Elephant Man) and Sarah Stiles (Hand to God) are the dark horses.

Direction of a Musical

It’s too early to say much of anything in the Best Direction category. In general, the new musical directors – Sam Gold (Fun Home), Casey Nicholaw (Something Rotten!), and Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris) – have a slight lead over the nominees who directed revivals – Bartlett Sher (The King and I), and John Rando (On the Town). Gold and Nicholaw seem like particularly viable candidates for the win, with Rando being the dark horse.

Direction of a Play

Sorry America, the British are killing us in the Direction of a Play category.  Up front we have Marianne Elliot (Curious Incident) and Jeremy Herrin (Wolf Hall), with Stephen Daldry (Skylight) hot on their tracks.  Scott Ellis (You Can’t Take It with You) trails as 4th in the category.  Followed by Hand to God director, Moritz von Stuelpnagel, as the long shot.

Choreographer

The Nominating Committee put a weird twist in the race for Best Choreography by nominating the choreographers of a straight play, Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  While the nomination is deserved, it makes the category difficult to figure out.  Up against the choreographers of Curious Incident are the ballet-heavy choreography of Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris), tap-dancing madness of Casey Nicholaw (Something Rotten!), re-imagined Jerome Robbins choreography of Christopher Gattelli (The King and I), and classic broadway choreography of Joshua Bergasse (On the Town).

Of the choreographers for a Musical, we are giving Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris) the edge with Joshua Bergasse (On the Town) just inches behind.  Throwing in the wrench of Curious Incident complicates things, and while we are pretty sure the voters will give the Tony to a choreographer of a musical, we aren’t yet ready to write the straight play off.

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