http://www.goldderby.com/stats/experts/tony-awards-2015/actor-(musical).html
Gold Derby is an interesting read, but actually not super reliable for the Tonys. Looking back at the last few years, they missed a lot of major awards- even things that seemed fairly obvious.
A lot of the Gold Derby choices are odd. I agree that it is interesting, but I find myself disagreeing with a lot of their front-runners.
In regards to Best Actor, I really really really hope it goes to Cerveris. Him and Fairchild seem pretty neck-and-neck at the moment. If either of their shows starts scooping up awards earlier in the night, I'd say that would be a pretty good indicator of who will win this category.
Understudy Joined: 4/17/14
I hope he's wrong with Fairchild winning over Cerveris. Yes, the dream ballet sequence etc. of AAIP are remarkable, but then it is "only" that: really really good dancing. Fairchild's singing and acting are very good for a non-singer and non-actor. I really enjoyed his performance, he entertained me well and I was in awe that he has so much talent beyond ballet. But award-wise, I don't find this to be enough to be deserving. The role isn't that complex.
Cerveris' role on the other hand seems, like someone already mentioned, like a really difficult role to perform night after night and he masters this extremely well.
Stand-by Joined: 4/20/06
Of the nominees, I did not get a chance to see Ken Watanabe. I had initially thought Robert Fairchild would have the lock, but so many have been inventing superlatives to describe Fun Home and its cast, Tony voters often love "heavy" over "light" and Michael Cerveris is fairly well-respected in the theater community that it all may combine to give him the edge that I am not sure is entirely deserved in this case.
Personally, I would root for Fairchild (who I think is a fantastic addition to Broadway and nailed the part), followed by Tony Yazbeck (his Lonely Town was divine, plus he is designated water bearer for a show whose cast is absurdly under-represented in the performance nominees) and Brian D'Arcy James. Again, I have not seen Ken Watanabe and truthfully (let the brickbats and raspberries fly) I have often found Michael Cerveris to be solid, but overpraised and overrated in what I have seen, and Fun Home was no exception.
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