As City Guide’s Theatre Editor, as well as someone who’s weathered more than a couple decades of Tony nights, I have to say the 2023-2024 Broadway season has been both idiosyncratic and exhausting. With several shows bowing in as early as last summer, and a profusion of productions launching between mid-March and the Tony Awards’ eligibility cut-off on April 25th, the playing field is saturated with contenders—not to mention a number of shows that failed to get even a cursory nod.

THE LOWDOWN: Of the 28 shows that received nominations in one or more categories this season, nine have closed—Days of Wine and Roses; Doubt: A Parable; Grey House; Gutenberg! The Musical!; Here Lies Love ; Jaja's African Hair Braiding; Lempicka ; Monty Python's Spamalot; Prayer for the French Republic; and Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch—while another ten are slated to end their limited runs before the end of this summer.

THE CATEGORY CONUNDRUM: This year’s breakdown is interesting. The standard for most categories is five nominees, however the variations range from three nominees for Best Revival of a Play up to seven for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

LAST WORD: The predictions (in red) don’t necessarily reflect my favorites or the season’s most popular. They are simply my speculations on which shows and talents will be honored on June 16th…feel free to agree or disagree!

Hell's Kitchen. Photo by Marc J. Franklin.

Best Musical
Hell’s Kitchen
Illinoise
The Outsiders
Suffs
Water for Elephants

Best Play
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Mary Jane
Mother Play
Prayer for the French Republic
Stereophonic

Merrily We Roll Along. Photo: Matthew Murphy, 2023.

Best Revival of a Musical
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gutenberg! The Musical
Merrily We Roll Along
The Who’s Tommy

Best Revival of a Play
Appropriate
An Enemy of the People
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Brody Grant — The Outsiders
Jonathan Groff — Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood — The Notebook
Brian d’Arcy James — Days of Wine and Roses
Eddie Redmayne — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Eden Espinosa — Lempicka
Maleah Joi Moon — Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara — Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett — The Notebook
Gayle Rankin — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Roger Bart — Back to the Future
Joshua Boone — The Outsiders
Brandon Victor Dixon — Hell’s Kitchen
Sky Lakota-Lynch — The Outsiders
Daniel Radcliffe — Merrily We Roll Along
Steven Skybell — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Shoshana Bean — Hell’s Kitchen
Amber Iman — Lempicka
Nikki M. James — Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer — Monty Python’s Spamalot
Kecia Lewis — Hell’s Kitchen
Lindsay Mendez — Merrily We Roll Along
Bebe Neuwirth — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
William Jackson Harper — Uncle Vanya
Leslie Odom, Jr. — Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Liev Schreiber — Doubt: A Parable
Jeremy Strong — An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg — Patriots

Sarah Paulson. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Betsy Aidem — Prayer of the French Republic
Jessica Lange — Mother Play
Rachel McAdams — Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson — Appropriate
Amy Ryan — Doubt: A Parable

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Will Brill — Stereophonic
Eli Gelb — Stereophonic
Jim Parsons — Mother Play
Tom Pecinka — Stereophonic
Corey Stoll — Appropriate

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine — Doubt: A Parable
Juliana Canfield — Stereophonic
Celia Keenan-Bolger — Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon — Stereophonic
Kara Young — Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Best Direction of a Musical
Maria Friedman — Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif — Hell’s Kitchen
Leigh Silverman — Suffs
Jessica Stone — Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor — The Outsiders

Best Direction of a Play
Daniel Aukin — Stereophonic
Anne Kauffman — Mary Jane
Kenny Leon — Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Lila Neugebauer — Appropriate
Whitney White — Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Best Book of a Musical
Kristoffer Diaz — Hell’s Kitchen
Bekah Brunstetter — The Notebook
Adam Rapp and Justin Levine — The Outsiders
Shaina Taub — Suffs
Rick Elice — Water for Elephants

Best Original Score
Adam Guettel — Days of Wine and Roses
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim — Here Lies Love
Will Butler — Stereophonic
Shaina Taub — Suffs
Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine — The Outsiders

Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown — Hell’s Kitchen
Annie-B Parson — Here Lies Love
Rick and Jeff Kuperman — The Outsiders
Justin Peck — Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll — Water for Elephants

Best Scenic Design in a Musical
Amp featuring Tatianna Kahvegian — The Outsiders
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini — Hell’s Kitchen
Takeshi Kata — Water for Elephants
David Korins — Here Lies Love
Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini — Lempicka
Tim Hatley and Finn Ross — Back to the Future
Tom Scutt — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

THE GREAT GATSBY, Eva Noblezada.

Best Costume Design in a Musical
Dede Ayite — Hell’s Kitchen
Linda Cho — The Great Gatsby
David Israel Reynoso — Water for Elephants
Tom Scutt — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Paul Tazewell — Suffs

Best Scenic Design in a Play
dots — Appropriate
dots — An Enemy of the People
Derek McLane — Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn — Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
David Zinn — Stereophonic

Best Costume Design in a Play
Dede Ayite — Appropriate
Dede Ayite — Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Enver Chakartash — Stereophonic
Emilio Sosa — Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn — An Enemy of the People