Besides Ripley's Tony win last year, what were some other Tony 'sure thing'

[bwaybri2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:00pm

Relatively new to the Broadway scene, I remember last year at this time how many people were saying that Ripley was a for sure thing.

In recent memory, what are some other slam dunks? Thanks -

[Annas_Priest]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:02pm

Patti winning for Mama Rose

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:06pm

Angela Lansbury as Mme. Armfeldt. ::Snickers::

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:06pm

In the Heights winning best Musical. Angela winning for Blithe Spirit.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:09pm

Christine Ebersole (2007)
Victoria Clark (2005)

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:29pm

Mary Louise Parker in PROOF
Zoe Caldwell in MASTER CLASS
Audra--any time she's won
Patti and Mandy in EVITA
Glenn Close in SUNSET BLVD--granted, she was only up against one other person
Geoffrey Rush in EXIT THE KING
Frank Langella in FROST/NIXON

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:30pm

Nathan Lane for THE PRODUCERS.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:35pm

Raul Esparza for Company.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:40pm

Oh snap, TotallyEffed...

[dg22894]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:43pm

Spring Awakening for Best Musical
Hyde Pierce for Curtain
August Osage County

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:44pm

I thought last year a lot of people thought they might give it to Allison Janney?

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 4:47pm

The Billy boys were a slam dunk. Of course the majority of voters would vote for them.

Hugh Jackman for The Boy From Oz comes to mind.

~Steven

[mikem]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 5:51pm

I would not personally say that In the Heights as Best Musical as a "sure thing." Passing Strange actually came out on top of the NY Times pre-Tony discussion with a small number of Tony voters, and some thought that Passing Strange might pull off an upset.

Besides the ones already mentioned, I would say that Laura Benanti for Gypsy was a lock.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 7:42pm

There have been a ton...

Best Play:
GOD OF CARNAGE
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
THE COAST OF UTOPIA
THE HISTORY BOYS
DOUBT
TAKE ME OUT
THE GOAT
PROOF

Best Musical:
BILLY ELLIOT
IN THE HEIGHTS
SPRING AWAKENING
JERSEY BOYS
SPAMALOT
HAIRSPRAY
THE PRODUCERS

Book of a Musical:
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
...SPELLING BEE
HAIRSPRAY
URINETOWN
THE PRODUCERS

Best Score:
SPRING AWAKENING
THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA
HAIRSPRAY
URINETOWN
THE PRODUCERS

Best Revival of a Play:
THE NORMAN CONQUESTS
BOEING-BOEING
JOURNEY'S END
AWAKE AND SING!
LONG DAY'S JOURNEY...

Best Revival of a Musical:
HAIR
SOUTH PACIFIC
COMPANY
NINE
42ND STREET

Best Actress/Musical:
Patti LuPone, GYPSY
Christine Ebersole, GREY GARDENS
Victoria Clark, THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA
Sutton Foster, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE


Best Actor/Musical:
John Lloyd Young, JERSEY BOYS
Norbert Leo Butz, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
Hugh Jackman, THE BOY FROM OZ
John Lithgow, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
Nathan Lane, THE PRODUCERS

Best Actor/Play:
Geoffrey Rush, EXIT THE KING
Frank Langella, FROST/NIXON
Richard Griffiths, THE HISTORY BOYS
Jefferson Mays, I AM MY OWN WIFE
Brian Dennehy, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY...


Best Actress/Play:
Julie White, THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED
Cynthia Nixon, RABBIT HOLE
Cherry Jones, DOUBT
Vanessa Redgrave, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY...
Mary-Louise Parker, PROOF

Best Feat. Actor/Play:
Roger Robinson, JOE TURNER...
Ian McDiarmid, FAITH HEALER
Brian F. O'Byrne, FROZEN
Denis O'Hare, TAKE ME OUT

Best Feat. Actress/Play:
Angela Lansbury, BLITE SPIRIT
Frances de la Tour, THE HISTORY BOYS
Adriane Lenox, DOUBT
Audra McDonald, A RAISIN IN THE SUN

Best Feat. Actor/Musical:
John Gallagher, Jr., SPRING AWAKENING
Dan Fodler, ...SPELLING BEE
Dick Latessa, HAIRSPRAY
Shuler Hensley, OKLAHOMA!
Gary Beach, THE PRODUCERS

Best Feat. Actress/Musical:
Katen Olivo, WEST SIDE STORY
Laura Benanti, GYPSY
Mary Louise Wilson, GREY GARDENS
Beth Leavel, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
Sara Ramirez, SPAMALOT
Jane Krakowski, NINE
Harriet Harris, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE
Cady Huffman, THE PRODUCERS

Best Direction/Play:
Jack O'Brien, THE COAST OF UTOPIA
Nicholas Hytner, THE HISTORY BOYS
Doug Hughes, DOUBT
Jack O'Brien, HENRY IV

Best Direction/Musical:
Stephen Daldry, BILLY ELLIOT
Bartlett Sher, SOUTH PACIFIC
Michael Mayer, SPRING AWAKENING
John Doyle, SWEENEY TODD
Joe Mantello, ASSASSINS
Jack O'Brien, HAIRSPRAY
Susan Stroman, THE PRODUCERS

Best Choreography:
Peter Darling, BILLY ELLIOT
Kathleen Marshall, WONDERFUL TOWN
Twyla Tharp, MOVIN' OUT
Rob Ashford, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE
Susan Stroman, THE PRODUCERS

[alliez92092]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:16pm

I don't think Karen Olivo or Dan Fogler were locks. Karen was neck and neck with Haydn, and didn't a lot of people think the award was going to Matthew Morrison over Dan Fogler?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:21pm

As far as I can recall, there was no doubt in my mind that Olivo and Fogler would win. Personally, I wanted Matthew Morrison to win, but it was painfully clear that Fogler had it in the bag.

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:54pm

I wouldn't consider Dennehy a lock for Long Day's Journey.... Eddie Izzard took the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards that year and I think was favored to win the Tony by many.

[kidbroadway2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 9:16pm

Wicked for best musical.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 9:18pm

Oh, wait...

[pants2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 10:10pm

If we're speaking more in recent years of the awards(which actually we apparently are not) I thought it was pretty widely accepted that Hair had Best Revival in the bag last year. Am I wrong?

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:26am

Sunset Boulevard for Best Musical, Best Actress, Best Score, and Best Book.

~Steven

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 12:34am

As far as I can recall, there was no doubt in my mind that Olivo and Fogler would win.

um, but that still doesn't make them locks. That just means that you really thought they were going to win. There was no doubt in my mind that Patti LuPone was going to win a Tony for Sweeney Todd, but that didn't happen.

I would love to see the breakdown of votes for the Tonys, to see how wide margins actually have been. For example, there were enough people saying that Kelli O'Hara might beat Patti in 2008, and I'm genuinely curious as to what percentage of the vote she got.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 4:07am

I'll be honest, I find it hard to say that any Tony Award is a "sure thing." Given the extreme fluctuation of "sure things" winning and/or losing in the past, it seems that the Tonys are perhaps the most fickle of the major awards shows. Even with the aforementioned Ripley and LuPone wins, who can say that they were 100% sure that the award was theirs to win? Note the important difference between "sure thing" wins and "sure thing" deserve-to-wins.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 8:31am

Definitely Hugh Jackman, as stated above, for THE BOY FROM OZ.

Does any awards body confer a Performance of the Decade accolade? If so, Jackman should win it for the "aughts," hands down.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 9:18am

If I remember, David Hyde Pierce's win in 2007 came as a total surprise. Many thought that Raul Esparza had it in the bag for Company.

Updated On: 4/23/10 at 09:18 AM