With such a rich, varied, and pretty accomplished season now behind us, it's time to crown the winners and finish the season. We can't remember a recent season with so many viable choices in every Tony Awards category. The nominating committee must have faced several difficult choices - not to fill thin categories, but rather to narrow down so many excellent candidates! I know that Mike and I both thought long and hard about our predictions. When the list is announced tomorrow, there are bound to be surprise inclusions, shocking omissions, and lots of debate. Why should this year be any different than the rest, right?
Below, we predict who the Tony committee will nominate tomorrow with an "x," and indicate those who we hope will make the cut with an "o." If only there were more slots in many of the categories... At the bottom there are totals and some notes about the two plays we saw, Leopoldstadt and Life of Pi.
Jeff and Mike's
2023 Tony Awards Nominations Predictions
Outstanding Acting
| LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL | J | M | LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL | J | M |
| Andrew Burnap - Camelot | x | x | Annaleigh Ashford - Sweeney Todd | x | x |
| J. Harrison Ghee - Some Like It Hot | x | x | Sara Bareilles - Into the Woods | x | x |
| Josh Groban - Sweeney Todd | x | x | Victoria Clark - Kimberly Akimbo | x | x |
| Brian D'Arcy James - Into the Woods | -- | x | Lorna Courtney - & Juliet | x | -- |
| Casey Likes - Almost Famous | x | o | Micaela Diamond - Parade | x | x |
| Ben Platt - Parade | x | x | Caroline Innerbichler - Shucked | o | -- |
| Colton Ryan - New York, New York | o | -- | Philippa Soo - Camelot | -- | x |
| FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL | J | M | FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL | J | M |
| Kevin Cahoon - Shucked | x | x | Carolee Carmello - Bad Cinderella | x | x |
| Justin Cooley - Kimberly Akimbo | x | x | Elizabeth A. Davis - 1776 | -- | o |
| Kevin Del Aguila - Some Like It Hot | x | x | Melanie La Barrie - & Juliet | o | -- |
| Jordan Dobson - Bad Cinderella | o | o | Julia Lester - Into the Woods | x | x |
| Andrew Durand - Shucked | o | -- | Alli Mauzey - Kimberly Akimbo | x | -- |
| Joshua Henry - Into the Woods | -- | o | Ruthie Ann Miles - Sweeney Todd | o | x |
| Mark Jacoby - A Beautiful Noise | o | -- | Patina Miller - Into the Woods | -- | o |
| Gaten Matarazzo - Sweeney Todd | x | x | Bonnie Milligan - Kimberly Akimbo | x | x |
| Alex Newell - Shucked | x | x | Solea Pfeiffer - Almost Famous | o | -- |
| Taylor Trensch - Camelot | o | -- | Betsy Wolfe - & Juliet | x | x |
| Ben Jackson Walker - & Juliet | -- | o | | |
Outstanding Direction
| DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL | J | M | CHOREOGRAPHY | J | M |
| Michael Arden - Parade | x | x | Steven Hoggett - A Beautiful Noise | o | -- |
| Lear DeBessonet - Into the Woods | -- | o | Steven Hoggett - Sweeney Todd | o | x |
| Thomas Kail - Sweeney Todd | x | x | JoAnn M. Hunter - Bad Cinderella | x | -- |
| Casey Nicholaw - Some Like It Hot | x | x | Casey Nicholaw - Some Like It Hot | x | x |
| Jack O'Brien - Shucked | x | x | Sarah O'Gleby - Shucked | x | x |
| Luke Sheppard - & Juliet | o | -- | Susan Stroman - New York, New York | x | x |
| Bartlett Sher - Camelot | -- | x | Jennifer Weber - & Juliet | x | x |
| Jessica Stone - Kimberly Akimbo | x | o | Jennifer Weber - KPOP | o | -- |
Outstanding Design
| LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL | J | M | SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL | J | M |
| Ken Billington - New York, New York | x | x | Kai Harada - New York, New York | -- | x |
| Jiyoun Chang - KPOP | o | o | Peter Hylenski - Almost Famous | x | -- |
| Lap Chi Chu - Camelot | -- | x | S. Lehrer & A. Neumann - Into the Woods | -- | x |
| Howard Hudson - & Juliet | x | x | Gareth Owen - & Juliet | x | x |
| Natasha Katz - Sweeney Todd | x | x | Brian Ronan - Some Like It Hot | x | x |
| Bruno Poet - Bad Cinderella | x | -- | John Shivers - Shucked | x | x |
| Japhy Weideman - Shucked | x | x | Nevin Steinberg - Sweeney Todd | x | -- |
| SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL | J | M | COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL | J | M |
| Beowulf Boritt - New York, New York | x | x | Gregg Barnes - Some Like It Hot | x | x |
| S.Gilmour & A. Goulding - & Juliet | o | x | Tilly Grimes - Shucked | -- | x |
| Mimi Lien - Sweeney Todd | x | x | Andrea Hood - Into the Woods | -- | x |
| Scott Pask - Shucked | x | x | Jennifer Moeller - Camelot | -- | x |
| Scott Pask - Some Like It Hot | x | x | Emilio Sosa - Sweeney Todd | x | x |
| Gabriela Tylescova - Bad Cinderella | x | o | Gabriela Tylescova - Bad Cinderella | x | -- |
| | | Paloma Young - & Juliet | x | o |
| | | Donna Zakowska - New York, New York | x | -- |
| | | David Zinn - Almost Famous | o | o |
Outstanding Writing
| BOOK OF A MUSICAL | J | M | ORCHESTRATIONS | J | M |
| David West Read - & Juliet | x | x | Bill Sherman - & Juliet | x | x |
| Cameron Crowe - Almost Famous | o | o | Tom Kitt - Almost Famous | o | x |
| Emerald Fennell - Bad Cinderella | x | o | Andrew Lloyd Webber - Bad Cinderella | o | o |
| Aaron Sorkin - Camelot | -- | x | John Clancy - Kimberly Akimbo | x | x |
| David Lindsay-Abaire - Kimberly Akimbo | x | x | D. Waters & S. Davis - New York, New York | x | -- |
| Robert Horn - Shucked | x | x | Jason Howland - Shucked | x | x |
| M. Lopez & A. Ruffin - Some Like It Hot | x | x | C. Rosen & B. Clark - Some Like It Hot | x | x |
| SCORE FOR THE THEATER | J | M | | | |
| M: Tom Kitt; L: C. Crowe & T.Kitt - Almost Famous | o | o | | | |
| M: A. Lloyd Webber, L: D. Zippel - Bad Cinderella | x | x | | | |
| M: J. Tesori; L: D. Lindsay-Abaire: Kimberly Akimbo | x | x | | | |
| M&L: Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally - Shucked | x | x | | | |
| M: M. Shaiman; L: S. Wittman, M. Shaiman - Some Like It Hot | x | x | | | |
| Andrew T. Mackay - Life of Pi | x | x | | |
Outstanding Production
| REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL | J | M | MUSICAL | J | M |
| Bob Fosse's Dancin' | x | o | & Juliet | x | x |
| Camelot | -- | x | Almost Famous | o | o |
| Into the Woods | x | x | A Beautiful Noise | -- | x |
| Parade | x | x | Kimberly Akimbo | x | x |
| Sweeney Todd | x | x | New York, New York | x | -- |
| | | Shucked | x | x |
| | | Some Like It Hot | x | x |
Predicted Nomination Totals
| TONY NOMINATION TOTAL | J | M | TONY NOMINATION TOTAL | J | M |
| & Juliet | 10 | 8 | Kimberly Akimbo | 9 | 7 |
| Almost Famous | 2 | 1 | Life of Pi | 1 | 1 |
| Bad Cinderella | 7 | 2 | New York, New York | 6 | 4 |
| A Beautiful Noise | 0 | 1 | Parade | 4 | 4 |
| Bob Fosse's Dancin' | 1 | 0 | Shucked | 10 | 12 |
| Camelot | 1 | 7 | Some Like It Hot | 11 | 11 |
| Into the Woods | 3 | 6 | Sweeney Todd | 9 | 10 |
The two plays we saw, Leopoldstadt and Life of Pi are both superb and deserving of any and every accolade each will receive. We agree that both should get Best Play nods, and both could figure into the Best Score mix - you'll note that both of us figured that if there's a 5th nominee, we predict that Life of Pi could get it. We both agree that both should figure into the technical wards, particularly scenic, lighting and costume design. As far as the acting awards go, it will be a crime if Hiran Abeysekera is not recognized for his brilliant performance as Pi. And both productions further expose the need for a Best Ensemble Tony Award.
No matter how it all shakes out, congratulations to every single eligible person in every single production from the 2022-2023 season. Your work made us love live theater even more than ever. Thank you!
Natasha Yvette Williams wasn't even listed. Huh? Also, Patina Miller is entered in the category.
ReplyDeleteJeff here: We considered every possibility in each category. The lists above include only those we thought would be nominated & those we hoped would be. NYW was not chosen by either of us, and Mike hoped PM would make the cut. Thanks for commenting. We appreciate your reading!
ReplyDelete