THE ARTSWIRE WEEKLY PICK THE TONY NOMINEES!
BY MATEO MORENO BY RICKY JONES
It's Tony Nomination Time Again! Here at The ArtsWire Weekly, Ricky and I love to see if we can guess the winners (or push forth positive vibes for our favorites)! Because there are soooo many alternate choices, we've narrowed down our predictions to Best Musical, Play, Director, Choreography, & Actor/Actress. The supporting through lighting design will be in our Tony Win article next month. Now, without further ado...
BEST MUSICAL
Hamilton
Shuffle Along
Waitress
School of Rock
Wild Card: I think American Psycho could possibly nab either a fifth slot or the School of Rock slot. Ricky however, thinks Psycho is a lock for spot number four and his wild card is Waitress.
BEST PLAY
The Humans
Eclipsed
King Charles III
**We are split between the fourth nominee. Ricky thinks it'll be the newest adaptation of Therese Raquin whereas I think it'll be MTC's The Father (I'm right).
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
Fiddler On The Roof
The Color Purple
She Loves Me
Spring Awakening
**There's a weird rule that may affect this catagory this year. It states that "Where there are five or fewer eligible shows in a Best show catagory, at the Tony Nominating Meeting, the Nominating Committee will be instructed to cast one vote each for the three eligible shows as nominees on his/her secret ballot. The three eligible shows with the highest number of votes will automatically be designated as the nominees in such catagory. A fourth nominee shall be added to the catagory in the event that the Accounting Firm determines that the difference in votes between the third highest-ranked show and the fourth highest-ranked show is three votes or less." MEANING, we sadly may only see three noninated shows this year since there are only 5 possible nominees total. I hope this isn't the case. If it is, I think it'll be a battle between Spring & She Loves Me.
BEST PLAY REVIVIAL
A View From The Bridge
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Noises Off
**Here is where Ricky and I split. For the fourth nominee, Ricky is going with The Crucible where I am leaning towards Blackbird. To be fair, Blackbird is Ricky's Wild card choice and The Crucible is mine.
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Danny Burstein, Fiddler On The Roof
Benjamin Walker, American Psycho
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Ricky: Alex Brightman, School of Rock
Mateo: Zachary Levi, She Loves Me
Leslie Odom Jr, Hamilton
**We both agree on this list for Best Actor. This we feel is a pretty locked down one.
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
Gabriel Byrne, Long Day's Journey Into Night
Jeff Daniels, Blackbird
Mark Strong, A View From the Bridge
Tim Pigott-Smith, King Charles III
Ricky: Ben Whishaw, The Crucible
Mateo: Frank Langella, The Father
**There's NO WAY Frank is not getting a nod here. Sorry Ricky.
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Ricky: Audra McDonald, Shuffle Along
Mateo: Carmen Cusack, Bright Star
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
Jessie Mueller, Waitress
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton
Laura Benanti, She Loves Me
**This is a strong category, though I think the always amazing Audra will get switched out for the wonderful Broadway debut of Carmen Cusack for Bright Star.
BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Mateo: Michelle Williams, Blackbird
Ricky: Jessica Lange, Long Day's Journey Into Night
Lupita Nyong'o, Eclipsed
Annaleigh Ashford, Sylvia
Mateo: Sophie Okonedo, The Crucible
Ricky: Nicola Walker, A View From the Bridge
Mateo: Laurie Metcalf, Misery
Ricky: Kiera Knightly, Therese Raquin
**A bit of a difference here, though I personally think the fifth slot may not be either of these and a completely different surprise.
BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Thomas Kail, Hamilton
Rupert Goold, American Psycho
George C Wolfe, Shuffle Along
Michael Arden, Spring Awakening
**Here's your probably directors list. Though I'm on the fence with Rupert Goold. Scott Ellis may sneak in with She Loves Me.
BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Joe Mantello, The Humans
Ivo van Hove, View From the Bridge
Rupert Goold, King Charles III
Jonathan Kent, Long Day's Journey Into Night
**We both The only spoiler may be Jonathan Kent being snubbed for Ivo van Hove getting two noms, the other for The Crucible. Thought that's a VERY small chance.
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
Savion Glover, Shuffle Along
Ricky: Casey Nicholaw, Tuck Everlasting
Mateo: Hofesh Shechter, Fiddler on the Roof
Spencer Liff, Spring Awakening
**In my book, expect Casey's good luck to run out this year in favor of the first new choreography allowed in a Broadway production of Fiddler.