The Antoinette Perry Awards (Tony) honor excellence in Broadway theater. I have watched them for decades, and I cannot wait for this year’s on Sunday night.
I had a baby in February, which means I have seen a lot less theater than usual this year. I have seen three of the five Best Musical Nominees, which isn’t too shabby.
Best Musical
Will Win: Maybe Happy Ending
Should Win: Maybe Happy Ending
Who knew a show about robots could make me feel so much? Maybe Happy Ending is a beautiful show about two retired helperbots meeting, falling in love, and going on an adventure all while facing their own mortality. It has a small cast of four, but they are a mighty bunch. I don’t see a world in which this show doesn’t take home this award.
Best Revival of a Musical
Will Win: Sunset Boulevard
Should Win: Sunset Boulevard
I will admit that I have not seen this much lauded revival yet, but I have tickets to see it at the end of the month. I have always felt like Best Revival should go to a piece that reinvents the piece, and this production directed by Jamie Lloyd does just that.
Best Choreography
Will Win: Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club
Should Win: Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club
Is Justin Peck going to win this award the second year in a row? I think so. I have not seen Buena Vista Social Club, but I’ve heard people talking excitedly about the choreography.
Best Direction of a Musical
Will Win: Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
Should Win: Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending
I am a fan of Arden’s direction and have been since I saw Once on this Island. Everything about Maybe Happy Ending from the design elements to the book to the performances comes together with a clear vision, and that is Arden’s doing. I’d like to see him win another direction Tony this year, and I think he will. His competition would be Sunset Boulevard’s Jamie Lloyd.
Best Book of a Musical
Will Win: Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
Should Win: Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
Maybe Happy Ending‘s book is poignant, smart, and funny. It should and likely will win here. There also is a history of the best musical winning also winning Best Book, and Maybe Happy Ending is going to take that top prize. (Yes, I know Shaina Taub won Book last year and Suffs didn’t win Best Musical, but they do tend to go hand in hand)
Best Original Score Written for the Theater
Will Win: Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
Should Win: Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending
I won’t lie, when I left Maybe Happy Ending, I thought, “Hmm, that score was nice, but the music didn’t stick with me.” Since then, I have listened to the cast album and played it for my baby, and now I cannot get it out of my head. There are some lovely songs in the style of mid-century crooners, and also plenty in a more modern musical theater style.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Will Win: Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending
Should Win: Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins
Listen, I love Darren Criss. I vividly remember a friend of mine telling me I needed to watch A Very Potter Musical in high school. I fell in love with him on Glee, as many others did. His performance as a retired helperbot in Maybe Happy Ending is great. The physicality especially is impressive. It would also be lovely to see an Asian man win this award for a show that is not The King and I.
However, Jeremy Jordan blew me away in Floyd Collins. Not only is he lending his incredible set of pipes to this Adam Guettel score, but I felt like I was watching him fade away as he died in a cave. It was remarkable to watch, and it deserves recognition.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Will Win: Audra McDonald, Gypsy
Should Win: Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard
This one is tough. Audra Mcdonald, Nicole Scherzinger, and Jasmine Amy Rogers of Boop have all been winning the awards that are precursors to the Tonys. I could truly see it going to any one of them. I haven’t seen Scherzinger or Rogers yet, so the “should win” is hard for me to call. Everyone I know has been talking about Scherzinger’s performance though, and that’s hard to ignore.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Will Win: Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat
Should Win: Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat
This is probably as close to a lock as it gets. Malone plays dozens of characters in Operation Mincemeat and distinguishes them all clearly, which is no easy feat. He won the Olivier for his performance, and he will likely win the Tony as well. His performance of “Dear Bill,” sung by a older woman in a not so thinly disguised remembrance about a lover she lost in World War I, is enough to win him this award. Seriously, if you haven’t heard it, go now. Listen.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Will Win: Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
Should Win: Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club
As it stands right now, I have only seen one performance in this category, Joy Woods in Gypsy. I’d love to see Woods win, but I don’t think this is her year. I’ve heard incredible things about Belcon’s performance, and I have a feeling she’ll take this one.
I don’t feel as qualified to call other categories, but I will give a few others a shot. I think Oh Mary! will take Best Actor in a Play for Cole Escola and Best Play easily. As someone who grew up watching Francis Jue in shows in the Bay Area, I’m hoping to see him win Featured Actor in a Play for Yellowface (which I saw him do in 2009 in California and in 2024 on Broadway. Wild!) I also am expecting Sarah Snook to win Best Actress in a Play for The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Are you going to watch the Tonys? Let me know what you think!
Bubbling up with Helena 