CindersGolightly said: "I’ve been thinking about "Mean Girls" and the Tony Nominations a lot lately.
I feellike Taylor Louderman (Regina), Grey Henson (Damian), Barrett Wilbert Weed (Janis), and one last featured role, either Kate Rockwell (Karen), or Kerry Butler (Mrs. Heron/Mrs. Norbury/Mrs. George) are the actors that’ll be nominated. I know about vote splitting, and it is in the back of my mind, but in my head, I’ve sorta worked it out.
I don’t think Barrett is in serious trouble with splitting a vote. Realistically, the most vote splitting will be between members of the Plastics. That’s why I’m not totally sold on Kate Rockwell securing a nomination. I know for a fact that some voters will prefer Ashley Park’s more subtle comedic performance, that actually contains a lot of nuance and heart, as opposed to Kate’s consistently funny, scene stealing comedic performance.
I think, out of every character in the show, Janis has the most to do. She’s hilariously written, she has the best numbers in the show, and honestly, Barrett Wilbert Weed is maybe one of the strongest vocalists Broadway has had in a very, very long time. I would be sorta shocked if she wasn’t nominated. I could even see her winning the Tony. Lindsay Mendez seems to be the front runner, but there's so much more to play with Janis. That being said, I would be beyond thrilled to see Mendez walk home with the Tony.
I could easily see the nominators wanting to give Kerry Butler her (very overdue) second Tony nomination. After all, she is giving THREE performances, and she disappears into each of them. She’s completely unrecognizable as each of the ladies she plays, and I do think she deserves the second and final Tony nomination. As much as I love both Ashley Park and Kate Rockwell, I just don’t feel like they hold up compared to Kerry Butler and Barrett Wilbert Weed. Of course, all of these choices could split the vote so much that there is only one actress from "Mean Girls" up for featured. It could even make it so none of them are recognized - which is the unfortunate part about every actress in this show being such a knockout. Sort of reminds me of "Great Comet" and how not one of their featured actresses deserved to be shut out.
Grey Henson is a lock. There is no planet on earth in which he won’t be nominated.
Taylor Louderman SHOULD be a lock, but similar to Karen and Gretchen, I fear the votes splitting Regina and Cady will make sure neither of them are nominated. The honest truth is that Cady is well written, but she’s the ingenue of the show. Erika Henningsen, who is phenomenal in the part, has to be the straight man. There isn’t really anything flashy about Cady’s role. I don’t think she’ll be nominated, but even so, I know it is a possibility that the votes split between Taylor and Erika. I’m definitely on #TeamTaylor, and hope she’ll be nominated. But I won’t be shocked if nobody is representing "Mean Girls" in the lead actress category."
I agree that Janis is the heart of the show in a lot of ways. The audience is always on Janis' side and feels for her, even more than Cady, honestly.
Kerry Butler would be nominated only because of her name. You said it: she "disappears." I know what you meant by that, but for me, she faded in the background in comparison to the other Featured Actresses.
Also there is zero need to worry about splitting the vote. Erika is not getting a nomination and she's not competition for Taylor. However, Taylor may have to be worried about leads from other shows (like maybe LaChanze could sneak in there, considering how loved she is). But I think vote splitting is more something to worry about between Rockwell and Park (and Weed, possibly) than between Louderman and Henningsen).
