2007 Leading Actress in a Musical Tony Nominee Contenders

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:49pm

Now that Ms. Chenoweth has joined the mix, we have quite a bunch of leading lady possibilities for this category.

Leading Actress in a Musical Tony Nominee Contenders:

Kristin Chenoweth, THE APPLE TREE
Christine Ebersole, GREY GARDENS
Charlotte D'Amboise, A CHORUS LINE
Laura Bell Bundy, LEGALLY BLONDE
Ashley Brown, MARY POPPINS
Jenn Colella, HIGH FIDELITY
Lea Michele, SPRING AWAKENING
Debra Monk, CURTAINS
Audra McDonald, 110 IN THE SHADE
Stephanie J. Block, THE PIRATE QUEEN
(Daphne Rubin-Vega, LES MISERABLES?)

-Am I leaving anyone out?-

Who do you think will be dissed?

Edited to add: Debra, Audra & Steph (above)

Updated On: 9/14/06 at 11:49 PM

[CurtisTaylorJr2]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:52pm

I think that's a good idea of who might be on the list.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:52pm

Debra Monk - CURTAINS

[Aqualline2]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:52pm

isn't this a little early to decide... considering the runs haven't even started, for all we know they could bomb and last one week (oh... the little mermaid)

[Aqualline2]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:52pm

isn't this a little early to decide... considering the runs haven't even started, for all we know they could bomb and last one week (oh... the little mermaid)

[Tag]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:55pm

You honestly think The Little Mermaid will bomb?

*sarcasm*

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:58pm

THE LITTLE MERMAID is not opening until at least Fall 2007. It will not be part of this season's Tonys.

[Aqualline2]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:58pm

lol, I hadn't actually thought of whether or not it will bomb but The Little Mermaid would obviously have a leading lady

[commasplice]

Posted: 9/13/06 at 11:58pm

Don't forget Audra McDonald for 110 IN THE SHADE :)

[mikem]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 12:03am

Another is Stephanie J Block in Pirate Queen. Given previous reviews, I would say that Cheno and Ebersole are almost certainly going to be nominated. The voters love Audra and she's just about a lock. That only leaves two slots. I'd say Stephanie J Block, Ashley Brown, and Laura Lee Bundy are battling it out for those two slots, since they are all the stars of shows that are primarily about them. The rest are really fighting an uphill battle to be nominated, no matter how good they are. What a switch from the Glenn Close/Sunset Boulevard year!

Updated On: 9/14/06 at 12:03 AM

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 12:06am

Forgive my ignorance, but wouldn't Daphne Rubin-Vega be featured instead of leading? I mean, Fantine's only in the show for a fraction of the time...

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 12:16am

But don't you think the producers will petition to have Celia and Daphne in different categories, to increase both of their chances? Frances Ruffelle won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for playing Eponine. Randy Graff was not nominated for Fantine. Does anyone know which category she was considered for?

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 12:18am

That's a good point. But, still, Fantine is a MUCH smaller role than Eponine. It wouldn't make much sense to have Celia nominated as featured, and Daphne as leading.

Not that the Tonys ever make much sense...

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 12:35am

Kristen Chenoweth - Probably won't be even nominated
Christine Ebersole - She'll probably win
Charlotte D'Amboise - Nominated, might be a winner
Laura Bell Bundy - No nomination, I bet.
Ashley Brown - Might be nominated
Jenn Colella - No clue, but I bet she won't get a nomination either
Daphne Rubin-Vega - She'll be nominated as a featured actress, I predict.
Lea Michele - She'll be nominated.
Debra Monk - No clue.
Audra McDonald - She needs another Tony. =)
Stephanie J. Block - might be nominated

Okay, don't tell me, "How can you predict it when you haven't seen any of the performances?" since it's just my wild guess.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 1:24am

I'd be amazed if Chenoweth isn't nominated for APPLE TREE. Mind you, I'm not a particularly big fan of hers, but her performance in the roles at Encores was quite sensational. The three parts are very different from one another and she nailed them all -- it was a total tour de force. Based on what I saw, I'd say she's a lock for a nomination.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 1:39am

My guess is that Charlotte D'Amboise will be pushed for supporting, even though Donna McKechnie won for leading. I think she will probably be the only person from this particular revival to be nominated for a Tony. I know there are complete threads dedicated to them, but neither Deidre Goodwin or Paul Tam make enough of an impression to be nominated for the roles that won Tonys for Kelly Bishop and Sammy Williams.

[AberJ01]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 2:32am

Kristin Chenoweth, THE APPLE TREE - Nominated
Christine Ebersole, GREY GARDENS - Nominated (AS OF NOW, the likely Winner of the category)
Charlotte D'Amboise, A CHORUS LINE - My guess is a nomination in the FEATURED Actress Category, we'll see, if she goes Leading she'll get nominated in this category.
Laura Bell Bundy, LEGALLY BLONDE - It's possible, considering the whole show will revolve around her, but unlikely in my opinion. Plus when is the actual deadline when when a show has to open to be nominated?
Ashley Brown, MARY POPPINS - NO
Jenn Colella, HIGH FIDELITY - NO
Lea Michele, SPRING AWAKENING - To me, she's the fifth one out, D' Amboise goes Featured, she's in. Charlotte goes Leading she's out.
Debra Monk, CURTAINS - NO
Audra McDonald, 110 IN THE SHADE - Nominated cause the Tonys LOVE Audra.
Stephanie J. Block, THE PIRATE QUEEN - Nominated
Daphne Rubin-Vega, LES MISERABLES - Nomination for FEATURED Actress.

So that's...
Kristin Chenoweth- THE APPLE TREE
Stephanie J. Block- THE PIRATE QUEEN
Christine Ebersole- GREY GARDENS
Audra McDonald- 110 IN THE SHADE
and either Charlotte D'Amboise- A CHORUS LINE unless she's nominated for Featured Actress then...
Lea Michele - SPRING AWAKENING

Obviously again, that's based on pure predictions. Obviously some of these women have performed these roles before off-broadway and some are brand new shows. For those people I think it's harder to predict. For instance many are guessing Stephanie J. Block won't be nominated for Pirate Queen, yet the first preview hasn't even gone up, who's to say she won't give a better performance than all the praise Christine Ebersole has gotten for her previous performed role in Grey Gardens. Unlikely maybe, but time will tell. I do think it's anyone's award to win, but it will surely get more interesting soon when we actually start to see these performances for the first time.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 4:28am

Honestly, I don't think that Charlotte will earn a nomination in the leading category. If she's considered featured, she might have a better shot. My predictions are:
Kristin Chenoweth- THE APPLE TREE
Stephanie J. Block- THE PIRATE QUEEN
Christine Ebersole- GREY GARDENS
Audra McDonald- 110 IN THE SHADE

with the 5th spot going to either:
Lea Michele - SPRING AWAKENING
Ashley Brown - MARY POPPINS (the girl has an amazing voice, and it's an awesome part if she plays it correctly.)

Edited to add: Also, I don't think Daphne has an ice cube's chance in hell of being nominated for a featured actress Tony. Between Mary-Louise Wilson for Grey Gardens, Celia for Les Mis, Linda Balgord for Pirate Queen, Rebecca Luker for Mary Poppins, and then possibly Charlotte or any of the other girls for A Chorus Line, there is too much talent out there to waste a nomination on a Fantine, no matter how sexy she is when she dies, lol.
-BJH
Updated On: 9/14/06 at 04:28 AM

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 6:10am

yeah, i want the nominations to be:
Christine Ebersole (I REALLY hope she wins)
Laura Bell Bundy
Kristin Chenoweth
Stephanie J Block
Audra McDonald

and Laura actually doesnt seem too likely (one can always hope), but in place of her, I'd say Ashley Brown

[boxers7]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 7:04am

I think Chenoweth, McDonald, and Ebersole are locks. We'll have to wait for the other shows to open and see where they're campaigning people.

[scooter38432]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 7:37am

Do you really think that Fantine is a MUCH smaller role than Eponine? I think they are pretty much equal in size and in what each actress has to do (which is basically to garner sympathy, sing prettily and die).

Daphne has two Tony nominations under her belt, Celia has one. I think they both have a shot for Featured Actress nominations.

Charlotte D'Amboise lacks star quality in everything I've seen her do. Undoubtedly, she's talented, but there's just some spark that's lacking. If any performing Tony nominations go to ACL, it'll be Deirdre Goodwin (and Michael Berrese). Just a hunch. Deidre should have been Cassie anyway...

Updated On: 9/14/06 at 07:37 AM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 7:50am

Funny that, when I logged in just now and saw the press release about Chenoweth, the first thing I wanted to do was start this exact thread.
It's, as most people have said, way too early to predict anything like a nomination but, given the general acclaim these actresses win, I naturally assume that Chenoweth, Mcdonald and Ebersole are absolute locks.
This is shaping up to be another "big diva" year like the Wicked/Caroline/Wonderful Town competition of a few years ago.

[Colle]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 8:57am

Colm Wilkinson and Terrence Mann were both nominated for best lead actor in a musical for "Les Miserables," and Frances Ruefelle was up aganist Judy Kuhn for best featured actress. So if Daphne and Celia both get nominated for a Tony for Les Mis, it would not be the first time in the history of the show. If both Daphne and Celia end up being really good in their roles, I think both will be nominated for featured actress, not lead.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 10:48am

I am not saying that Daphne won't be nominated due to Celia also being nominated, I am saying she won't be nominated cause there is too much other talent in other shows (Celia just happens to be one of those people). Also, yes Judy Kuhn was nominated along side Frances Rufelle, but Judy Kuhn played Cosette. Fantine has a tiny role, and I don't think, even if the amazing Patti LuPone had come from London to Broadway in the part, would Fantine have been nominated originally. Both Fantine and Eponine garner sympathy, but Eponine is more central to the main story/plotline. Fantine just serves as kind of a set up that Eponine can act as a "foil character" to.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/14/06 at 11:39am

I think that Ebersole should have this engraved already, but in the interest of fairplay (and not having seen anyone else yet) here are my predictions:
LOCKS
Ebersole - Grey Gardens (winner)
Chenoweth - Apple Tree (runner up)
McDonald - 110 in the Shade (possible spoiler)

LIKELY
Monk - Curtains (Tony loves her)
Block - Pirate Queen (a possible spoiler if the show is a hit)

POSSIBILITIES
Brown - Mary Poppins (If London is an indication, this will be a Julie Andrews impersonation. Laura's win at the Olivier's was in a weak year.)
Bundy - Legally Blonde (This could be a flop. Too many unknowns here)