warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

THEATER TALK: Tony Award Nomination Predictions

Katie Buenneke |
April 30, 2012 | 8:12 p.m. PDT

Theater Editor

 Deen Van Meer)
Deen Van Meer)

UPDATE: Read our recap of who was nominated here.

Disclaimer: I have not seen all of the eligible shows this season, but I've seen most of the the musicals, and a few of the plays. As always, though, I keep my ear to the grapevine for theater buzz, and as such, these are the shows I think should be nominated.

Also, since I've barely seen any plays this season ("Seminar," "Peter and the Starcatcher," "Death of a Salesman," and "Clybourne Park," when it was at the Taper), I'll gloss over those categories, as I can't really speak to them. I wouldn't be surprised to see "Starcatcher" and "Salesman" both do quite well though!

Best Musical

Best Book of a Musical

Yup. I did it. I put "Spider-Man" for best book. Could be my contrary streak, I don't know. Not a great year for books (then  again, is it ever? I'm so often underwhelmed by libretti), so I might as well put "Spider-Man." Besides, I enjoyed the show, and the book did keep it moving along.

Best Original Score

A surprisingly lackluster year for new scores… so much so that I predict "Starcatcher" will be nominated over one of the new musicals. The last slot was a tough one, and I'm reluctant to say "Bonnie & Clyde" will be nominated, but I think its strong moments are better than the totalities of the other shows.

Best Revival of a Musical

Godspell's a dark horse, too, and I didn't love it, but I'm just going to be contrary and say it will be nominated over "Evita." Plus I'd rather Andrew Lloyd Weber didn't have two nominations...

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical

I didn't just nominate Mr. Jordan twice to be difficult, I think he did a tremendous job in both shows.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical

This one's a bit of a head-scratcher category. Like I mentioned last week, there aren't a ton of female roles on Broadway, and I've been a bit underwhelmed by what I've seen so far. Hopefully that opinion will change after I see "Follies" for myself next week. [Editor's note: after having seen more shows on Broadway, I now classify this category a whole other kind of head-scratcher!]

Other standout potential nominees include:
Best Revival of a Play

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Direction of a Musical

Direction of a Play

Best Choreography

  • Christopher Gattelli, "Newsies"
  • Dan Knechtges, "Lysistrata Jones"
  • Sergio Trujillo, "Leap of Faith" (presuming it has not changed considerably since I saw it at the Ahmanson last fall)

Best Orchestrations

  • Danny Troob, "Newsies"
  • Martin Lowe, "Once"
  • Michael Holland, "Godspell" (if eligible, and I couldn't find anything saying it's not)

Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Best Scenic Design of a Play

The nominations will be announced at 8:30 Eastern/5:30 Pacific tomorrow morning. I should be seeing more of the nominees before the ceremony, on June 10, so check back to see what I have to say!

Reach Katie here, or follow her on Twitter @kelisabethb.

For more Tony Awards coverage, click here.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.