Tony Award Noms to be Announced on Tuesday

[edjames]

NYPost columnist Michael Riedel opines on the upcoming nominations:

 

2019 Tony Awards predictions: Which shows will be nominated or snubbed?

 

“Tootsie” and “Ink” scurried in this week to make the Tony deadline and have upset everyone’s brackets. The nominations come out Tuesday, and you can bet both shows will be uncorking the Veuve Clicquot.

 

Given its strong reviews and box office, “Tootsie” is now the front-runner for Best Musical. Its competition will be “Hadestown” (arty), “Ain’t Too Proud” (big crowd-pleaser about the Temptations)and “The Prom” (a nifty little show that needs a boost).

 

Fighting for the fifth slot will be “Be More Chill,” “The Cher Show” and “Beetlejuice.” I’ll give the edge to “Cher.” Two of the people behind it — writer Rick Elice and costume designer Bob Mackie — have a lot of fans around Shubert Alley.

 

“Ink,” a gripping show about the rough-and-tumble world of newspapers, will be in the running for Best Play, as will “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Ferryman” (about the Troubles in Northern Ireland) and “What the Constitution Means to Me,” which boasts nice lefty credentials. The fifth slot should go to “Choir Boy,” although it could be edged out either by “The Lifespan of a Fact” or “Hillary and Clinton.”

The real race is between “Mockingbird” and “Ferryman.” The Drama Desk snubbed “Mockingbird” Thursday, which had the folks at “Ferryman” doing a little jig — probably Irish-style, without moving their arms. But “Mockingbird” has the Tony edge: It’s a celebrated title and a major hit, and will have a national tour.

 

Nominees for Best Revival of a Play will be “The Waverly Gallery” and the star-studded “The Boys in the Band.” Both are long gone, but nominators remember them fondly. The uneven “All My Sons” should slip in — it’s an Arthur Miller play, after all — as will “Torch Song.” Should there be a fifth slot, “True West” should nab it. “King Lear” will be recognized for its star, Glenda Jackson, who won the Tony last year for “Three Tall Women.”

 

There are only two musical revivals — “Kiss Me, Kate” and “Oklahoma!” — so both get nominated. The vote here will be a referendum on updating classics. This “Oklahoma!” is against guns and cowboys who robbed Native Americans of their land, issues Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II didn’t have in mind when they wrote “The Surrey With the Fringe on Top.”

 

There are performances this season that are among the best I’ve seen in my 40 years of theatergoing. Bryan Cranston (“Network”) and Jeff Daniels (“Mockingbird”) lead the field for Best Actor in a Play, but how magnificent was Paddy Considine in “Ferryman”? (He’s since left the show, but will be remembered.) And don’t discount Adam Driver, who won raves in “Burn This.”

 

Jackson is formidable, as is Annette Bening (“All My Sons”), but they’re up against Elaine May (“Waverly”). May played a woman suffering from dementia, and you couldn’t see the acting. When her character tried yet again to remember where she put her house keys, I wanted to scream, “They’re on your wrist!” Joan Allen, as the daughter, said just that, and will be nominated.

 

As for musical performances, “Tootsie” star Santino Fontana is the Best Actor (or Actress?) to beat. But a round of applause, please, for the sensational hams in “The Prom”: Beth Leavel, Christopher Sieber, Angie Schworer and Brooks Ashmanskas. A nod as well to Caitlin Kinnunen, who grounds this delightful romp of a show with a subtle, dignified performance. All will be nominated. And, at least in my book, all should win.