These are not my personal picks, but rather who I think will actually be nominated on Tuesday.
I did not select winners, since we are only at the nominations stage.
Best Musical A CATERED AFFAIR IN THE HEIGHTS PASSING STRANGE XANADU
Best Revival Of A Musical GREASE GYPSY SOUTH PACIFIC SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Best Play THE 39 STEPS AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY ROCK ’N’ ROLL THE SEAFARER
Best Revival Of A Play BOEING-BOEING THE HOMECOMING CYRANO DE BERGERAC MACBETH
Best Director Of A Musical Sam Buntrock, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Thomas Kail, IN THE HEIGHTS Bartlett Sher, SOUTH PACIFIC Christopher Ashley, XANADU
Best Director Of A Play Daniel Sullivan, THE HOMECOMING Rupert Goold, MACBETH Anna D. Shapiro, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY David Leveaux, CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Best Leading Actor In A Musical Daniel Evans, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Cheyenne Jackson, XANADU Lin Manuel Miranda, IN THE HEIGHTS Paulo Szot, SOUTH PACIFIC Tom Wopat, A CATERED AFFAIR
Best Leading Actress In A Musical Kerry Butler, XANADU Patti LuPone, GYPSY Kelli O’Hara, SOUTH PACIFIC Faith Prince, A CATERED AFFAIR Jenna Russell, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Best Featured Actor In A Musical Daniel Breaker, PASSING STRANGE Danny Burstein, SOUTH PACIFIC Robin De Jesús, IN THE HEIGHTS Christopher Fitzgerald, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Boyd Gaines, GYPSY
Best Featured Actress In A Musical Laura Benanti, GYPSY Mary Testa, XANADU Jackie Hoffman, XANADU Olga Merediz, IN THE HEIGHTS Loretta Ables Sayre, SOUTH PACIFIC
Best Leading Actor In A Play Laurence Fishburne, THURGOOD Kevin Kline, CYRANO DE BERGERAC Mark Rylance, BOEING-BOEING Ian McShane, THE HOMECOMING Nathan Lane, NOVEMBER
Best Leading Actress In A Play Kate Fleetwood, MACBETH Deanna Dunagan, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Amy Morton, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Anika Noni Rose, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Sinéad Cusack, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
Best Featured Actor In A Play Raúl Esparza, THE HOMECOMING Michael McKean, THE HOMECOMING Jim Norton, THE SEAFARER Jeff Perry, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY David Pittu, IS HE DEAD?
Best Featured Actress In A Play Christine Baranski, BOEING-BOEING Mary McCormack, BOEING-BOEING Rosie Perez, THE RITZ Rondi Reed, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Marisa Tomei, TOP GIRLS
Best Book Of A Musical A CATERED AFFAIR (Book by Harvey Fierstein) IN THE HEIGHTS (Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes) PASSING STRANGE (Book by Stew) XANADU (Book by Douglas Carter Beane)
Best Original Score A CATERED AFFAIR (Music and Lyrics by John Bucchino) IN THE HEIGHTS (Music and Lyrics by Lin Manuel-Miranda) PASSING STRANGE (Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Lyrics by Stew) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks)
Best Choreography Rob Ashford, CRY-BABY Andy Blankenbuehler, IN THE HEIGHTS Christopher Gattelli, SOUTH PACIFIC Dan Knechtges, XANADU
Best Orchestrations A CATERED AFFAIR (Music Orchestrated by Jonathan Tunick) IN THE HEIGHTS (Music Orchestrated by Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman) PASSING STRANGE (Music Orchestrated by Stew and Heidi Rodewald) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Music Orchestrated by Doug Besterman)
Best Scenic Design Of A Play OLD ACQUAINTANCE (Scenic Design by Alexander Dodge) IS HE DEAD? (Scenic Design by Peter J. Davison) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (Scenic Design by Todd Rosenthal) MACBETH (Scenic Design by Anthony Ward and Lorna Heavey)
Best Scenic Design Of A Musical IN THE HEIGHTS (Scenic Design by Anna Louizos) SOUTH PACIFIC (Scenic Design by Michael Yeargan) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Scenic Design by Robin Wagner) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Scenic Design by David Farley, Tim Bird and The Knifedge Creative Network)
Best Costume Design Of A Play CYRANO DE BERGERAC (Costume Design by Gregory Gale) OLD ACQUAINTANCE (Costume Design by David C. Woolard) CYMBELINE (Costume Design by Jess Goldstein) LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (Costume Design by Katrina Lindsay)
Best Costume Design Of A Musical A CATERED AFFAIR (Costume Design by Ann Hould-Ward) IN THE HEIGHTS (Costume Design by Paul Tazewell) SOUTH PACIFIC (Costume Design by Catherine Zuber) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Costume Design by David Farley)
Best Lighting Design Of A Play THE 39 STEPS (Lighting Design by Kevin Adams) CYRANO DE BERGERAC (Costume Design by Gregory Gale) LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (Lighting Design by Donald Holder) MACBETH (Lighting Design by Howard Harrison)
Best Lighting Design Of A Musical IN THE HEIGHTS (Lighting Design by Howell Binkley) PASSING STRANGE (Lighting Design by Kevin Adams) SOUTH PACIFIC (Lighting Design by Donald Holder) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Lighting Design by Ken Billington)
Best Sound Design Of A Play THE 39 STEPS (Sound Design by Mic Pool) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (Sound Design by Richard Woodbury) MACBETH (Sound Design by Adam Cork) THE SEAFARER (Sound Design by Matthew Smethurst Evans)
Best Sound Design Of A Musical GYPSY (Sound Design by Dan Moses Schreier) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Sound Design by Jonathan Deans) IN THE HEIGHTS (Sound Design by Acme Sound Partners) SOUTH PACIFIC (Sound Design by Scott Lehrer)
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
I agree about roughly 90% of your predictions. I don't think Testa and Hoffman will both get a nomination for featured actress, are the Tonys going to overlook Leslie Kritzer, Mary Beth Piel, the ladies from PASSING STRANGE (not familiar with the show)? We'll see, it's not far-fetched, and it could very well happen, I just don't think it will. Is Mark Rylance definitely leading for BOEING-BOEING? I figured they'd put him in Featured and keep Whitford as Leading. If that the case I think I'd replace Rylance with Ben Daniels from LIAISONS. I believe you're the first person that has predicted GLORY DAYS as a nominee for Best Score, and you know what? It sorta makes sense. If it happens, I'll remember WannaBe called it :)
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
This is the way I see it. Personally, I think YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN has the better score than GLORY DAYS, but the Nominating Committee knows that if they nominate Mel Brooks, he's going to go on and on in his pre- and post-show interviews about how they deserved a Best Musical nomination. The GLORY DAYS guys at least will be humbled to be recognized. The only other options are CRY-BABY, which is a corporate funded movie-to-musical mess, and THE LITTLE MERMAID, which is only really half of a new score.
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
The travesty about LITTLE MERMAID and the reason it shouldn't be nominated is that Howard Ashman's beautiful work in the original film sticks out so much from the generic mess that Glenn Slater and Alan Menken wrote, they didn't even try to do an original mess. I follow exactly the same logic you're following re the possible nod to GLORY DAYS, that's why I said it pretty much makes sense, at least to me.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I think YOUG FRANKENSTIEN is going to surprise many people when those nominations come out. It got several Drama Desk noms. Maybe at the end of the day people like it. I did. But of course these boards always seem to try and tear things apart rather than praise them.
And Yet again WBAF has to slam CRY-BABY what a surprise. Its not a mess. Its a fun show with the best choreogrpahy in a long time and for a show so many predicted would be closing its still open. And for the record take a look in your playbill. It is not a corporate funded show. There are like 11 or 12 names above the title. The majority of which are individual people. Universal Studios looks like the only corporate name on there to me. But that wouldnt fit your smear campaign would it?
That being said I would love GLORY DAYS to get some recognition. It was a noble try!
I think YF will grab a few. And INTH for book and costumes. I must say the book is the weak part of the show. Thank goodness for the most unorginal dancing(seen it on MTV). It made the show some what bearable. Costumes, they wear street clothes. Updated On: 5/8/08 at 03:05 PM
I think YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN might steal the last spot away from XANADU or even possibly A CATERED AFFAIR. And I think Andrea Martin will get a nod as will Chris Fitzgerald, the score, the scenic design, the sound design, choreography, and costume designs.
It's so funny that after YF came out everyone deemed it the Tony snub-ee of the season...it goes to show that you shouldn't talk too soon. Glory Days...Cry-Baby...The Little Mermaid..etc etc.
I do think, however, that the last score nod is up in the air with YF and TLM both fighting for it. GLORY DAYS will not get any Tony nominations.
Updated On: 5/8/08 at 03:51 PM
If YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is nominated for Best Musical, I don't think XANADU will be bumped out.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
To those who think YF might get a Best Musical nomination over Xanadu, why? I'm just curious.
I'm suprised because I thought Xanadu was raved about and praised for most all aspects, while Young Frankenstein was pretty much written off, and despised in some cases, in its critical reception.
Best Musical A CATERED AFFAIR IN THE HEIGHTS PASSING STRANGE XANADU
Best Revival Of A Musical GREASE GYPSY SOUTH PACIFIC SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Best Play THE 39 STEPS AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY ROCK ’N’ ROLL THE SEAFARER
Best Revival Of A Play TOP GIRLS BOEING-BOEING THE HOMECOMING MACBETH
Best Director Of A Musical Sam Buntrock, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Thomas Kail, IN THE HEIGHTS Bartlett Sher, SOUTH PACIFIC Christopher Ashley, XANADU
Best Director Of A Play Daniel Sullivan, THE HOMECOMING Rupert Goold, MACBETH Anna D. Shapiro, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Matthew Warchus, BOEING BOEING
Best Leading Actor In A Musical Daniel Evans, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Stew, PASSING STRANGE Lin Manuel Miranda, IN THE HEIGHTS Paulo Szot, SOUTH PACIFIC Tom Wopat, A CATERED AFFAIR
Best Leading Actress In A Musical Kerry Butler, XANADU Patti LuPone, GYPSY Kelli O’Hara, SOUTH PACIFIC Faith Prince, A CATERED AFFAIR Jenna Russell, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Best Featured Actor In A Musical Daniel Breaker, PASSING STRANGE Danny Burstein, SOUTH PACIFIC Christopher Fitzgerald, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Boyd Gaines, GYPSY Harvey Fierstein, A CATERED AFFAIR
Best Featured Actress In A Musical Laura Benanti, GYPSY Mary Testa, XANADU Sutton Foster, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Andrea Martin, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Loretta Ables Sayre, SOUTH PACIFIC
Best Leading Actor In A Play Ben Daniels, LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES Kevin Kline, CYRANO DE BERGERAC Mark Rylance, BOEING-BOEING Ian McShane, THE HOMECOMING Patrick Stewart, MACBETH
Best Leading Actress In A Play S. Epatha Merkerson, COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA Deanna Dunagan, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Amy Morton, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Anika Noni Rose, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Laura Linney, LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
Best Featured Actor In A Play Jim Norton, THE SEAFARER Conleth Hill, THE SEAFARER David Pittu, IS HE DEAD? Bobby Cannavale, MAURITIUS
Best Featured Actress In A Play Martha Plimpton, TOP GIRLS Marisa Tomei, TOP GIRLS Kate Fleetwood, MACBETH Mary McCormack, BOEING-BOEING Rondi Reed, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
Best Book Of A Musical A CATERED AFFAIR (Book by Harvey Fierstein) IN THE HEIGHTS (Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes) PASSING STRANGE (Book by Stew) XANADU (Book by Douglas Carter Beane)
Best Original Score A CATERED AFFAIR (Music and Lyrics by John Bucchino) IN THE HEIGHTS (Music and Lyrics by Lin Manuel-Miranda) PASSING STRANGE (Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Lyrics by Stew) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks)
Best Choreography Rob Ashford, CRY-BABY Andy Blankenbuehler, IN THE HEIGHTS Christopher Gattelli, SOUTH PACIFIC Dan Knechtges, XANADU
Best Orchestrations A CATERED AFFAIR (Music Orchestrated by Jonathan Tunick) IN THE HEIGHTS (Music Orchestrated by Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman) PASSING STRANGE (Music Orchestrated by Stew and Heidi Rodewald) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Music Orchestrated by Doug Besterman)
Best Scenic Design Of A Play OLD ACQUAINTANCE (Scenic Design by Alexander Dodge) COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA (Scenic Design by James Noone) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (Scenic Design by Todd Rosenthal) MACBETH (Scenic Design by Anthony Ward and Lorna Heavey)
Best Scenic Design Of A Musical IN THE HEIGHTS (Scenic Design by Anna Louizos) SOUTH PACIFIC (Scenic Design by Michael Yeargan) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Scenic Design by Robin Wagner) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Scenic Design by David Farley, Tim Bird and The Knifedge Creative Network)
Best Costume Design Of A Play CYRANO DE BERGERAC (Costume Design by Gregory Gale) OLD ACQUAINTANCE (Costume Design by David C. Woolard) CYMBELINE (Costume Design by Jess Goldstein) LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (Costume Design by Katrina Lindsay)
Best Costume Design Of A Musical A CATERED AFFAIR (Costume Design by Ann Hould-Ward) IN THE HEIGHTS (Costume Design by Paul Tazewell) SOUTH PACIFIC (Costume Design by Catherine Zuber) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Costume Design by David Farley)
Best Lighting Design Of A Play THE 39 STEPS (Lighting Design by Kevin Adams) CYRANO DE BERGERAC (Costume Design by Gregory Gale) LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (Lighting Design by Donald Holder) MACBETH (Lighting Design by Howard Harrison)
Best Lighting Design Of A Musical IN THE HEIGHTS (Lighting Design by Howell Binkley) PASSING STRANGE (Lighting Design by Kevin Adams) SOUTH PACIFIC (Lighting Design by Donald Holder) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Lighting Design by Ken Billington)
Best Sound Design Of A Play THE 39 STEPS (Sound Design by Mic Pool) AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (Sound Design by Richard Woodbury) MACBETH (Sound Design by Adam Cork) THE SEAFARER (Sound Design by Matthew Smethurst Evans)
Best Sound Design Of A Musical GYPSY (Sound Design by Dan Moses Schreier) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Sound Design by Jonathan Deans) IN THE HEIGHTS (Sound Design by Acme Sound Partners) SOUTH PACIFIC (Sound Design by Scott Lehrer)
Best Musical A CATERED AFFAIR IN THE HEIGHTS *winner* PASSING STRANGE YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
Best Play AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY *winner* ROCK 'N ROLL THE SEAFARER THE 39 STEPS
Best Revival of a Musical GREASE GYPSY SOUTH PACIFIC *winner* SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Best Revival of a Play THE HOMECOMING TOP GIRLS BOEING-BOEING MACBETH *winner*
And I pretty much agree with everyone's performance nominees...I think the acting races are pretty boring this year. Besides Best Featured Actress in a Musical for which I think the nominees will be: MEGAN MULLALLY, YF ANDREA MARTIN, YF JACKIE HOFFMAN, XANADU MARY TESTA, XANADU LAURA BENANTI, GYPSY *winner*
LUPONE, BUNTROCK, SHAPIRO, GAINES, MORTON, REED, NORTON, STEWART, and MIRANDA are my other picks to win at this point.
Also, I think Cheyenne will get a nod over Stew for Actor.
I also want to point out that I think that Breaker is going to be a much tougher candidate for Featured Actor than a lot of people think.
I personally thought he was the one thing from PASSING STRANGE that was worth writing home about and from what I hear the Nominating committee has not been feeling the PS love so they may want to award it by giving Breaker the Tony...after all, GYPSY is already going to go home with a lot of awards (I think it just might beat SOUTH PACIFIC for Best Revival).
1.) I don't think GLORY DAYS will be nominated for Best Original Score.
2.) I don't think Testa and Hoffman will be nominated for Featured Actress.
Other than that, the predictions look pretty golden.
"I mean, sitting side by side with another man watching Patti LuPone play Rose in GYPSY on Broadway is essentially the equivalent of having hardcore sex." -Wanna Be A Foster.
"Say 'Goody.' Say 'Bubbi.'" ... "That's it. Exactly as if it were 'Goody.' Now I know you're gonna sing 'Goody' this time, but nevertheless..."
Why do so many people think that if Young Frankenstein gets a nomination, it will bump out Xanadu? Wouldn't the logical assumption be that it would bump out A Catered Affair? YF and ACA received similarly mixed reviews... Xanadu received raves. I just don't understand the logic.
My predictions for Best Musical would be Xanadu, Passing Strange, In the Heights, Young Frankenstein. Then I think the nominating committee wouldn't feel the need to nominate YF for Best Score, leaving it open for another show (at this point it would have to be Cry-Baby, since Glory Days is ineligible).
GLORY DAYS is not available, Laurents is eligible for director, Kate Fleetwood is eligible for leading, James Earl Jones is eligible for leading actor, all the TOP GIRLS are featured (Marlene is a leading role, IMO, but whatever) and Mark Rylance is indeed leading. I assume YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN or CRY-BABY will get the nod... I hope it's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"