- Published on
It feels like Christmas Eve! The Tony Award nominations are being announced in approximately seven hours and I feel the desire to share my predictions.
I am delighted to say that I have seen two-thirds of this year’s potential nominees (and I worked on one! Even if it was in front of house, it's so thrilling to be a part of this crazy, awesome world). Huge improvement on two years ago when I had seen precisely ZERO shows!
Below are my predictions for the 2017 Tony Awards in all the musical categories. It’s not that I don’t love plays, I just don’t see enough of them to make an informed decision, because time and money. A theatre junkie living in New York needs to have some kind of limits. My predicted winner is in bold.
Best Actor in a Featured Role
Andrew Rannells - Falsettos
Lucas Steele - Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
Gavin Creele - Hello, Dolly!
Best Actor in a Musical
Josh Groban - Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
Ben Platt - Dear Evan Hansen
Christian Borle - Falsettos
Andy Karl - Groundhog Day
David Hyde Pierce - Hello, Dolly!
Best Actress in a Featured Role
Jen Colella - Come From Away
Caroline O’Connor - Anastasia
Rachel Bay Jones - Dear Evan Hansen
Jackie Hoffman - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Best Actress in a Musical
Patti LuPone - War Paint
Christine Ebersole - War Paint
Bette Midler - Hello, Dolly
Denée Benton - Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
(For this category alone, I do not envy the Tony voters their job… HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?!)
Best Book of a Musical
Dear Evan Hansen
Come from Away
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Best Choreography
Come from Away
Anastasia
Hello, Dolly!
Holiday Inn
Groundhog Day
(Again, how do you choose?!)
Best Conductor/Musical Director
Sunset Boulevard
In Transit
Come From Away
Bandstand
(I'm sad that In Transit is unlikely to get much love here. It was conducted entirely by SOUND, with MD Rick Hip-Flores giving cues via a microphone backstage. The logistics of that blows my mind.)
Best Costume Design
Hello, Dolly!
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
War Paint
Best Lighting Design
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Dear Evan Hansen
War Paint
Best Scenic Design
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Groundhog Day
War Paint
Hello, Dolly!
Best Orchestrations
In Transit
Come from Away
Hello, Dolly!
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Best Score
Anastasia
Come from Away
Dear Evan Hansen
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Best Direction
Come From Away
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
War Paint
Dear Evan Hansen
Best Revival
Hello, Dolly!
Falsettos
Miss Saigon
Best Musical
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Dear Evan Hansen
Come from Away
Anastasia
War Paint
WHAT A SEASON!!! I genuinely loved the vast majority of what I saw this year. I think Come from Away will nab a good number of the awards simply because it opened later and is fresher in voters’ minds. Producer Ken Davenport did a blog a while ago on the fact that shows that open in the fall do not fare as well as shows that open in the spring come awards season.
But honestly, how do you compare all these wonderful pieces of art? Natasha, Pierre is immersive and scintillating while Come from Away is moving and heart-warming. War Paint and Hello, Dolly! tell the stories of powerful, wonderful, complex women. Anastasia shows us that “children’s” movies do not have to be light and fluffy. Dear Evan Hansen is tapping into the psyches of anguished teens. And all of these shows are using different styles of music, story-telling devices, and conventions of musical theatre. They all sing and dance and tell powerful stories. I feel so very lucky to have been witness to it all.
I am delighted to say that I have seen two-thirds of this year’s potential nominees (and I worked on one! Even if it was in front of house, it's so thrilling to be a part of this crazy, awesome world). Huge improvement on two years ago when I had seen precisely ZERO shows!
Below are my predictions for the 2017 Tony Awards in all the musical categories. It’s not that I don’t love plays, I just don’t see enough of them to make an informed decision, because time and money. A theatre junkie living in New York needs to have some kind of limits. My predicted winner is in bold.
Best Actor in a Featured Role
Andrew Rannells - Falsettos
Lucas Steele - Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
Gavin Creele - Hello, Dolly!
Best Actor in a Musical
Josh Groban - Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
Ben Platt - Dear Evan Hansen
Christian Borle - Falsettos
Andy Karl - Groundhog Day
David Hyde Pierce - Hello, Dolly!
Best Actress in a Featured Role
Jen Colella - Come From Away
Caroline O’Connor - Anastasia
Rachel Bay Jones - Dear Evan Hansen
Jackie Hoffman - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Best Actress in a Musical
Patti LuPone - War Paint
Christine Ebersole - War Paint
Bette Midler - Hello, Dolly
Denée Benton - Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
(For this category alone, I do not envy the Tony voters their job… HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?!)
Best Book of a Musical
Dear Evan Hansen
Come from Away
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Best Choreography
Come from Away
Anastasia
Hello, Dolly!
Holiday Inn
Groundhog Day
(Again, how do you choose?!)
Best Conductor/Musical Director
Sunset Boulevard
In Transit
Come From Away
Bandstand
(I'm sad that In Transit is unlikely to get much love here. It was conducted entirely by SOUND, with MD Rick Hip-Flores giving cues via a microphone backstage. The logistics of that blows my mind.)
Best Costume Design
Hello, Dolly!
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
War Paint
Best Lighting Design
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Dear Evan Hansen
War Paint
Best Scenic Design
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Groundhog Day
War Paint
Hello, Dolly!
Best Orchestrations
In Transit
Come from Away
Hello, Dolly!
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Best Score
Anastasia
Come from Away
Dear Evan Hansen
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Best Direction
Come From Away
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
War Paint
Dear Evan Hansen
Best Revival
Hello, Dolly!
Falsettos
Miss Saigon
Best Musical
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Dear Evan Hansen
Come from Away
Anastasia
War Paint
WHAT A SEASON!!! I genuinely loved the vast majority of what I saw this year. I think Come from Away will nab a good number of the awards simply because it opened later and is fresher in voters’ minds. Producer Ken Davenport did a blog a while ago on the fact that shows that open in the fall do not fare as well as shows that open in the spring come awards season.
But honestly, how do you compare all these wonderful pieces of art? Natasha, Pierre is immersive and scintillating while Come from Away is moving and heart-warming. War Paint and Hello, Dolly! tell the stories of powerful, wonderful, complex women. Anastasia shows us that “children’s” movies do not have to be light and fluffy. Dear Evan Hansen is tapping into the psyches of anguished teens. And all of these shows are using different styles of music, story-telling devices, and conventions of musical theatre. They all sing and dance and tell powerful stories. I feel so very lucky to have been witness to it all.
0 Comments