My two cents.
I saw all the nominated performances with the exception of Jan in Chitty because I have no desire to see Chitty at all. When I saw Spamalot, Sara was out but at the very least I saw her character.
Now with Sara, okay. The woman has one of the greatest voices I've heard in a very long time. She's amazing and unbelievably versatile. But I don't believe that she should get the Tony. Give her a grammy or something :) As someone said before, it was a very external part. No arc. Just inserted at various parts of the show.
This I think was also the case with Joanna Gleason. I would have almost like to have seen Sara Gettlefinger get a nod instead of her. She at least created this hysterical character, stole the first act with her song. Joanna was just deadpan. Mind you - that's what she's great at. Her role just didn't grab me. Kind of flat.
Miss O'Hara - well I loved Piazza. I thought she did an incredible job with Clara Johnson. We saw her journey, we witnessed her highs and lows with a voice that soared. Miss Keenan-Bolger also did this. We saw her journey from beginning to end. The quiet outsider of the Spelling Bee with a complicated home life and being alone.
Clearly I think the front runners are Kelli and Celia. It's sad to hear that Celia isn't getting more votes from you guys. "The I Love You Song" from Bee was amazing and she had some amazing moments with Dan Fogler as Barfee. Kelli as well and her moments, the delicateness of "The Light in the Piazza" in Act Two, and her interactions with Victoria.
So - my votes go to Celia and Kelli. It's not a singing award, it's an acting award. I believe these two women developed two incredible characters and deserve accolades for their work :)
okay, I'm getting off my soapbox :)
-k
celia keenan-bolger online