The Tonys 2016

Every once in a while, a cultural phenomenon takes Broadway by storm. Hamilton follows in the footsteps of The Book of Mormon and The Producers and Rent, though I'm not sure if those are even proper comparisons for the groundbreaking musical. Already with a Pulitzer, the hip hop history play is the hottest ticket in town. Just how many awards will it win? The record of 12 was set by the Producers. Out of 16 nominations, Hamilton is up for 13 unique awards, all of the awards for which it was eligible. Many are predicting that Hamilton is a lock in 7 categories. Personally, I think Hamilton will tie the record, losing just the Lead Actress in a Musical Tony. James Corden, a Tony winner himself for One Man, Two Guvnors, is hosting. He did a Carpool Karaoke segment with Lin Manuel Miranda, Audra MacDonald, Jane Krakowski and Jesse Tyler Ferguson already for his own show. I think he will do a Crosswalk the Musical segment for the Tonys (I'm hoping for In the Heights on an actual street in Washington Heights). Full disclosure, the only eligible show I have seen is On Your Feet, which is up for 1 Tony for choreography.

Best Play
Will win: The Humans
Watch out for: Eclipsed

Best Musical
Will win: Hamilton

Best Book of a Musical
Will win: Lin Manuel Miranda (Hamilton)

Best Musical Score
Will win: Lin Manuel Miranda (Hamilton)

Best Revival of a Play
Will win: A View From the Bridge
Watch out for: Long Day's Journey into Night

Best Revival of a Musical
Will win: She Loves Me
Watch out for: The Color Purple

Best Actor in a Play
Will win: Frank Langella (The Father)
Watch out for: Mark Strong (A View from the Bridge)

Best Actress in a Play
Will win: Jessica Lange (Long Day's Journey into Night)
Watch out for: Michelle Williams (Blackbird)

Best Actor in a Musical
Will win: Leslie Odom Jr (Hamilton)
Watch out for: Lin Manuel Miranda (Hamilton)
Unless they split: Danny Burstein (Fiddler on the Roof)

Best Actress in a Musical-- Hamilton's Loss
Will win: Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple)
Watch out for: Phillipa Soo (Hamilton)

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Will win: Michael Shannon (Long Day's Journey into Night)
Watch out for: Reed Birney (The Humans)

Best Featured Actress in a Play
Will win: Jayne Houdyshell (The Humans)
Watch out for: Andrea Martin (Noises Off)

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Will win: Daveed Diggs (Hamilton)
Watch out for: Jonathan Groff (Hamilton)

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Will win: Renee Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton)
Watch out for: Jane Krakowski (She Loves Me)

Best Director of a Play
Will win: Ivo van Hove (A View from the Bridge)
Watch out for: Joe Mantello (The Humans)

Best Director of a Musical
Will win: Thomas Kail (Hamilton)

Best Choreography
Will win: Hamilton
Watch out for: Shuffle Along

Best Orchestrations
Will win: Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton)

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Will win: The Humans
Watch out for: Therese Raquin

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Will win: Hamilton
Watch out for: She Loves Me

Best Costume Design of a Play
Will win: King Charles III
Watch out for: Eclipsed

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Will win: Hamilton
Watch out for: Shuffle Along

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Will win: The Humans
Watch out for: The Crucible

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Will win: Hamilton
Watch out for: American Psycho

Update: 19/24 categories. Hamilton came away with eleven awards, falling just short of the record 12 set by the Producers. But to be fair, the Producers won a sound award that no longer exists. Hamilton lost just two races, one to The Color Purple and one to She Loves Me. 

The Tonys 2015

This is an exciting year for the Tonys with some close races.   Fun Home and An American in Paris lead with twelve nominations each.  Finding Neverland, the Harvey Weinstein backed production, received no love from voters (Weinstein isn't used to that).  Alan Cumming, fresh off of his Tony-winning run in Cabaret, is sharing hosting duties with Kristen Chenoweth, who is nominated for her role in On the Twentieth Century. The two of them will surely have a fun show.  I have only seen one of the nominees so far, On the Town, but here goes nothing:

Best Play
Will win: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch out for: Wolf Hall Parts I & II

Best Musical
Will win: Fun Home
Watch out for: An American in Paris

Best Book of a Musical
Will win: Fun Home
Watch out for: Something Rotten

Best Musical Score
Will win: Fun Home
Watch out for: The Last Ship

Best Revival of a Play
Will win: The Elephant Man
Watch out for: Skylight

Best Revival of a Musical
Will win: The King and I
Watch out for: On the Town

Best Actor in a Play
Will win: Alex Sharp (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch out for: Bradley Cooper (The Elephant Man)

Best Actress in a Play
Will win: Helen Mirren (The Audience)
Watch out for: Ruth Wilson (Constellations)

Best Actor in a Musical
Will win: Michael Cerveris (Fun Home)
Watch out for: Biran d'Arcy James (Something Rotten!)

Best Actress in a Musical-- the closest race
Will win: Kelli O'Hara (The King and I)
Watch out for: Kristen Chenoweth (On the Twentieth Century)
Also watch out for: Chita Rivera (The Visit)

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Will win: Nathaniel Parker (Wolf Hall: Parts I & II)
Watch out for: Micah Stock (It's Only a Play)

Best Featured Actress in a Play
Will win: Patricia Clarkson (The Elephant Man)
Watch out for: Sarah Stiles (Hand to God)

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Will win: Andy Karl (On the Twentieth Century)
Watch out for: Christian Borle (Something Rotten!)

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Will win: Judy Kuhn (Fun Home)
Watch out for: Sydney Lucas (Fun Home)-- she's only 11!

Best Director of a Play
Will win: Marianne Elliott (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
Watch out for: Jeremy Herrin (Wolf Hall: Parts I & II)

Best Director of a Musical
Will win: Sam Gold (Fun Home)
Watch out for: Bartlett Sher (The King and I)

Best Choreography
Will win: Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris)
Watch out for: Joshua Bergasse (On the Town)

Best Orchestrations
Will win: An American in Paris
Watch out for: Fun Home

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Will win: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch out for: Wolf Hall: Parts I & II

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Will win: The King and I
Watch out for: An American in Paris

Best Costume Design of a Play
Will win: Wolf Hall: Parts I & II
Watch out for: The Audience

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Will win: The King and I
Watch out for: An American in Paris

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Will win: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Watch out for: Wolf Hall: Parts I & II

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Will win: An American in Paris
Watch out for: Fun Home


Update: I scored 18/24.  I went 0 for 4 in the featured acting categories, but to be fair they were all toss ups.  Fun Home and Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time were the big winners with five wins each, including the top prizes.