With just under a week until the red carpet rolls out for the 2022 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall, it’s time to toss out my Tony predictions for what has been a uniquely enigmatic theatre season. So, get out your score cards, and when the big night comes, feel free to see how your choices stack up against mine and, of course, the official June 12th tally.
(Predicted winning picks are in bold print,)
TONY AWARDS: Musicals
A Strange Loop. Photo by Marc J. Franklin.
Best Musical
Girl From The North Country
MJ
Mr. Saturday Night
Paradise Square
SIX: The Musical
A Strange Loop – (Should/will—no-objection here—win.)
Best Revival of a Musical
Caroline, or Change – (Should win—brilliant revival)
Company – (As the last Stephen Sondheim musical to play Broadway in his lifetime, this revisionary revival is the sentimental/homage favorite. Conceptually and emotionally, though, it’s Caroline, or Change that deserves the Tony nod.)
The Music Man
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Billy Crystal, Mr. Saturday Night
Myles Frost, MJ
Hugh Jackman, The Music Man
Rob McClure, Mrs. Doubtfire
Jaquel Spivey, A Strange Loop – (A revelation who earns Tony recognition every
performance.)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sharon D Clarke, Caroline, or Change (Neck and neck with Joaquina Kalukango of Paradise Square. Both are powerful performances and Caroline… has the drawback of having closed so many months ago. Still, Clarke should scoop up this one.)
Carmen Cusack, Flying Over Sunset
Sutton Foster, The Music Man
Joaquina Kalukango, Paradise Square (neck and neck with Clarke—may win just because Caroline, or Change is so far in the season’s rearview mirror.)
Mare Winningham, Girl From The North Country
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Matt Doyle, Company (Maybe a little wishful thinking on my part, love the role and his Jaimie-switch gender-switch interpretation of Amy. But like a few other categories, it’s a tough category all-round.)
Sidney DuPont, Paradise Square
Jared Grimes, Funny Girl
John-Andrew Morrison, A Strange Loop
A.J. Shively, Paradise Square
Patti LuPone and Katrina Lenk in Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Jeannette Bayardelle, Girl From The North Country
Shoshana Bean, Mr. Saturday Night
Jayne Houdyshell, The Music Man
L Morgan Lee, A Strange Loop
Patti LuPone, Company (Dark horse nominee Jennifer Simard was so wackily brilliant, she may wind up bumping LuPone—already a two-time Tony recipient—from the winner’s circle. If so, expect LuPone to applaud more enthusiastically than anyone.)
Jennifer Simard, Company
Best Direction of a Musical
Stephen Brackett, A Strange Loop
Marianne Elliott, Company (Stephen Brackett of A Strange Loop has some hand, but Elliott, as a woman giving a feminist revamp to the production that came to Broadway with Sondheim’s stamp of approval, is clearly the frontrunner.)
Conor McPherson, Girl From The North Country
Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage, SIX: The Musical
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ
Best Book of a Musical
Conor McPherson - Girl From The North Country
Lynn Nottage - MJ
Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel - Mr. Saturday Night
Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan - Paradise Square
Michael R. Jackson - A Strange Loop (A thumbs up in keeping with the show’s Pulitzer
Prize-winning status.)
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Flying Over Sunset - Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Michael Korie
Mr. Saturday Night - Music: Jason Robert Brown; Lyrics: Amanda Green
Paradise Square - Music: Jason Howland; Lyrics: Nathan Tysen & Masi Asare
SIX: The Musical - Music and Lyrics: Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
A Strange Loop - Music & Lyrics: Michael R. Jackson (See Best Book of a Musical.)
Paradise Square, Sidney DuPont, A.J. Shively, and ensemble ©Kevin Berne.
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Warren Carlyle, The Music Man
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, SIX: The Musical
Bill T. Jones, Paradise Square (I know, Jones is already a two-time Tony winner, but this baby showcases his choreographic versatility beautifully, as well as his iconic status among the other contenders. Wheeldon may scoop it up for MJ, but the most memorable bits involve recreating Jackson’s legendary moves. Still, Wheeldon is a Brit and Tony voters still appreciate a U.K. pedigree.)
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ
TONY AWARDS: Plays
The Lehman Trilogy, photo by Julieta Cervantes.
Best Play
Clyde's - Author: Lynn Nottage
Hangmen - Author: Martin McDonagh
The Lehman Trilogy - Stefano Massini, Ben Power (The moment I saw it, it was clear: this was the one—perfect on every theatrical tier imaginable.)
The Minutes - Author: Tracy Letts
Skeleton Crew - Author: Dominique Morisseau
Best Revival of a Play
American Buffalo
for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
How I Learned to Drive – (Competition is tough all around and especially from Trouble in Mind, but this production continues to haunt me and, I suspect, did the same for Tony voters.)
Take Me Out
Trouble in Mind
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Simon Russell Beale, The Lehman Trilogy – (Looking at Beale and his costars theatregoers are presented with a kind of performance trifecta. Rather that cancel each other out in the category, they stand alone as formidable competitors and Beale absolutely rates my vote.)
Adam Godley, The Lehman Trilogy
Adrian Lester, The Lehman Trilogy
David Morse, How I Learned to Drive
Sam Rockwell, American Buffalo
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lackawanna Blues
David Threlfall, Hangmen
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabby Beans, The Skin of Our Teeth
LaChanze, Trouble in Mind
Ruth Negga, Macbeth
Deirdre O'Connell, Dana H. (Long shot, I know, but too brilliant to ignore—hopefully the Tony voters feel the same way. But if I’m jumping the shark here, look to former Tony winners LaChanze and Mary-Louise Parker to face off for the trophy.)
Mary-Louise Parker, How I Learned to Drive
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Alfie Allen, Hangmen
Chuck Cooper, Trouble in Mind
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Take Me Out (Denis O’Hare set the Tony precedent in the role in the original production and Ferguson is way worthy. All the same, I wouldn’t have a problem if his castmate Jesse Williams won.)
Ron Cephas Jones, Clyde's
Michael Oberholtzer, Take Me Out
Jesse Williams, Take Me Out
Phylicia Rashad in Skeleton Crew. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Uzo Aduba, Clyde's
Rachel Dratch, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Kenita R. Miller, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew – (Rashad in a multi-layered performance sans vanity and pretension…another choice that is fairly self-evident. Comedically, though, I did love the off-the-rails lunacy of both Rachel Dratch and Julie White in POTUS.)
Julie White, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Kara Young, Clyde's
Best Direction of a Play
Lileana Blain-Cruz, The Skin of Our Teeth
Camille A. Brown, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Sam Mendes, The Lehman Trilogy – (Complex storyline, multiple characters, simple set pieces and three actors embodying dozens of characters…a directorial maze gloriously executed.)
Neil Pepe, American Buffalo
Les Waters, Dana H.
Marking 75 years of excellence on Broadway, The Tony Awards, hosted by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, will take place LIVE from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, June 12th, 2022 (8-11pm) on CBS, and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+. Coverage is slated to begin at 7-8pm with exclusive content streaming only on Paramount+. The 2022 Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.
