Final Tony nomination predictions - post them here!

It may be more wishful thinking than a prediction, but I could see LuPone getting a nomination. Her courtroom scene (and number) are pretty much all I've retained from that show--though I thought Benanti was wonderful.

Updated On: 4/29/11 at 03:32 PM

I want to make a "Dream Nominations" thread.

In fact, I'll do that now. Ha!

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Mine are similar to yours, AC, but I have a few ones that are different. I will post them tomorrow after I've thought about them more. The only one of yours that I think is a blatant foul is Rob Ashford for direction. I think Stro gets nominated for direction but not choreography, and Ashford gets nominated for choreography but not direction. His direction was pretty widely criticized as being the weakest part of the show.

I think they should have petitioned for Hemingway to be Leading. She could have easily taken either Leavel or Scott's spots.

BJH--good point, re: Ashford.

Doodle--at the performance I attended, Mindelle's song brought the house down, and she's been singled out in several reviews. I think she has a better shot than someone like LuPone, even though I would much prefer to see LuPone or Tammy Blanchard nominated.

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I don't see Joel Grey copping a nomination. I thought he was fine, but not nomination-worthy and I don't think anyone has been pushing him for this. Sadly, I think that they should have pushed Colin Donnell in Featured instead of Best Actor. That decision took him from a relatively sure nomination to no chance in hell. I don't get all of the Rannells love for Mormon. I would love to see Tveit up for Best Actor, but it is looking like he will get shafted again since all of the love seems to be going to Butz. And would the nominating committees please stop acting like La Lupone needs a nomination every time she sets foot on a stage despite the quality of the performance? If anyone else had recreated the performance she gave in Women, no one would be talking it up for a nomination.

Also, I hope this is not one of those years where Book of Mormon wins in EVERY category it gets a nomination. That happened with The Producers and it got old quick, and within a year people were already touting it as being overrated. I agreed with MOST of its wins, but one show dominating everything makes for a boring night.

So many categories are hard to call this year, but here are my thoughts . . .

BEST MUSICAL
The Book of Mormon
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Scottsboro Boys
Sister Act

BEST PLAY
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Good People
Jerusalem
War Horse
(Alternate: The Motherf**ker with the Hat)

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Anything Goes
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Born Yesterday
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Merchant of Venice
The Normal Heart
(Alternate: Arcadia)

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
The Book of Mormon – Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson – Alex Timbers
The Scottsboro Boys – David Thompson
Sister Act – Douglas Carter Beane, Bill Steinkellner & Cheryl Steinkellner

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Book of Mormon – Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone
Catch Me If You Can – Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman
The Scottsboro Boys – John Kander & Fred Ebb
Sister Act – Alan Menken & Glenn Slater
(Alternate: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson - Michael Friedman)

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Colin Donnell – Anything Goes
Josh Gad – The Book of Mormon
Daniel Radcliffe – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Andrew Rannells – The Book of Mormon
Tony Sheldon – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
(Alternate: Norbert Leo Butz - Catch Me If You Can)

BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Brian Bedford – The Importance of Being Earnest
Bobby Cannavale – The Motherf**ker with the Hat
Joe Mantello – The Normal Heart
Al Pacino – The Merchant of Venice
Mark Rylance – Jerusalem
(Alternates: Mark Rylance - La Bete, Robin Williams - Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo)

BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Sutton Foster – Anything Goes
Beth Leavel – Baby, It’s You!
Donna Murphy – The People in the Picture
Patina Miller – Sister Act
Sherie Rene Scott – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Nina Arianda – Born Yesterday
Frances McDormand – Good People
Lily Rabe – The Merchant of Venice
Vanessa Redgrave – Driving Miss Daisy
Hannah Yelland – Brief Encounter
(Alternate: Kathleen Turner - High)

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Nick Adams – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Adam Godley – Anything Goes
Joel Grey – Anything Goes
John Larroquette – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Rory O’Malley – The Book of Mormon
(Alternate: Tom Wopat – Catch Me If You Can)

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Mackenzie Crook – Jerusalem
Tate Donovan – Good People
John Benjamin Hickey – The Normal Heart
Arian Moayed – Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Lee Pace – The Normal Heart
(Alternate: Yul Vasquez – The Motherf**ker with the Hat)

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Laura Benanti – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Victoria Clark – Sister Act
Nikki M. James – The Book of Mormon
Laura Osnes – Anything Goes
Patti LuPone – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
(Alternates: Tammy Blanchard - How to Succeed, Rose Hemingway - How to Succeed)

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Ellen Barkin – The Normal Heart
Edie Falco – The House of Blue Leaves
Reneé Elise Goldsberry – Good People
Judith Light – Lombardi
Estelle Parsons – Good People
(Alternates: Becky Ann Baker - Good People, Elizabeth Rodriguez - The Motherf**ker with the Hat)

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Scott Pask – The Book of Mormon
Brian Thomson – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Donyale Werle – Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Klara Zieglerova – Sister Act
(Alternate: Michael Yeargan – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
John Lee Beatty – Good People
Todd Rosenthal – The Motherf**ker with the Hat
Rae Smith – War Horse
Ultz – Jerusalem
(Alternate: John Lee Beatty - Born Yesterday, Derek McLane - Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Lez Brotherston – Sister Act
Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Martin Pakledinaz – Anything Goes
Ann Roth – The Book of Mormon
(Alternate: Catherine Zuber – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Desmond Heeley – The Importance of Being Earnest
Ann Hould-Ward – A Free Man of Color
Rae Smith – War Horse
Catherinze Zuber – Born Yesterday
(Alternate: Gregory Gale - Arcadia)

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Natasha Katz – Sister Act
Brian MacDevitt – The Book of Mormon
Nick Schlieper – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Justin Townsend – Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Paule Costable – War Horse
David Lander – Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Malcolm Rippeth – Brief Encounter
Mimi Jordan Sherin - Jerusalem

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Mick Potter – Sister Act
Brian Ronan – Anything Goes
Brian Ronan – The Book of Mormon
Jon Weston – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Acme Sound Partners & Cricket S. Myers – Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Simon Baker – Brief Encounter
Ian Dickinson – Jerusalem
Christopher Shutt – War Horse

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Doug Besterman – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Doug Besterman – Sister Act
Larry Blank & Marc Shaiman – Catch Me If You Can
Larry Hochman & Stephen Oremus – The Book of Mormon

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Rob Ashford – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Kathleen Marshall – Anything Goes
Casey Nicholaw – The Book of Mormon
Susan Stroman – The Scottsboro Boys

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Rob Ashford – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Kathleen Marshall – Anything Goes
Casey Nicholaw & Trey Parker – The Book of Mormon
Susan Stroman – The Scottsboro Boys
(Alternate: Jerry Zaks – Sister Act)

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Marianne Elliott & Tom Morris – War Horse
Joel Grey & George C. Wolfe – The Normal Heart
Ian Rickson – Jerusalem
Daniel Sullivan – Good People
(Alternate: Moises Kaufman - Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Emma Rice - Brief Encounter)

LuPone's chances are hurt, I think, by ambivalent reviews and the fact that the show has been closed for nearly four months. I feel like Benanti will get the nomination (and Scott will be nominated for Actress merely out of necessity). LuPone could very well be nominated, but I think that someone like Mindelle has a better chance right now. Her show is running, she was singled out in a number of reviews as being one of the production's best aspects, and she has a great "I want" song that stops the show.

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I just hope that you all are wrong and Patina takes home her FIRST Tony. I think it's more exciting when great up and coming performers have a shot at something that somewhat of a vet already has accomplished. Sutton is Sutton, and she's great, but her performance in Anything Goes is not as good as Patina's in Sister Act in my opinion.

Hopefully Rory O'Malley will win, too. I can't even decide on who I would like to see win best leading actor....too many to choose from.

I predict that Tveit will be nominated, shutting out one of the MORMON boys.

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Here are the predictions of a dozen Tonys experts from Back Stage, Playbill, Entertainment Weekly, NY Daily News, etc. --

http://www.goldderby.com/theater/news/1441/experts-predict-tony-award-nominations.html


CLICK HERE

Hyperbole aside, Christoph, which of LuPone's Tony nominations did you object to?

1976 Best Featured Actress in a Musical - The Robber Bridegroom
1980 Best Actress in a Musical - Evita
1988 Best Actress in a Musical - Anything Goes
2006 Best Actress in a Musical - Sweeney Todd
2008 Best Actress in a Musical - Gypsy

Read Sutton Foster's reviews. Read the reviews of the production. Then ask your question again.

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