It’s that time of year again. The Tony Awards are nearly upon the Broadway community, although this time they moved a bit uptown, to the Beacon Theatre. While the ceremony won’t be in the grand Radio City Music Hall, the statuettes hold the same value. I’ve decided to weigh in with my picks for a majority of the categories. All in all, it has been a fantastic season on Broadway. Strong plays, great performances, and a few celebrities thrown into the mix, although star power meant nothing when it came to the Tony nominators… whew!
Musical: The Book of Mormon is the clear winner, with The Scottsboro Boys being a clear winner had Mormon not landed big with voters.
Musical Revival: With such a limited season for musical revivals, Anything Goes is a sure winner, as the Harry Potter star power of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying carried no weight with voters this season.
Actor in a Musical: Norbert Leo Butz busts his hump every night in Catch Me If You Can, although he has a close battle with fellow nominee Tony Sheldon from Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It could go either way on Tony night, but my vote is for Norbert.
Actress in a Musical: Sutton Foster is the darling of Broadway, and works her butt off in a role that I still can’t understand who first thought she would make a great Reno Sweeney. The gamble paid off.
Featured Actor in a Musical: Give this one to Rory O’Malley for his turn in The Book of Mormon. But great to see two actors from The Scottsboro Boys, Colman Domingo and Forrest McClendon. The sweat alone that poured off of these two boys each night during the brief Broadway run deserves some sort of accolade… or at least a Gatorade endorsement deal.
Featured Actress in a Musical: Laura Benanti took on the likes of Patti LuPone in that disastrous effort known as Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and she stole the show… which isn’t saying much. Give this girl a Tony, just for making the show halfway bearable.
Play: Between Jerusalem, Good People, The Motherfucker With the Hat and War Horse, it was a tremendous season for plays on Broadway. Strong work from all nominees, but Jerusalem left me with more chills than most.
Play Revival: The Normal Heart tore my heart out, and I’m sure it did the same for a lot of the Tony voters. While Merchant of Venice was another powerful play, it suffers from closing earlier in the season, meaning out of sight, out of mind. Give this one to RENT without music.