Broadway’s biggest night is almost here. On June 10th, Neil Patrick Harris will preside over the Tony Awards, which celebrate the best and brightest of the New York theater scene. As award obsessives enthusiasts and with several of the nominees having strong connections to the film industry, it was only right that we extended our predictions to include this great awards show. Peep the list of nominees and predicted winners after the jump.

Best Play
Clybourne Park 
Other Desert Cities 
Peter and the Starcatcher
Venus in Fur

This lineup is great, with each play having a pretty good argument for why they deserve the award. Though Peter and the Starcatcher is the most nominated play, chances are they’ll give the award to Pulitzer Prize winning Clybourne Park.

Best Musical
Leap of Faith
Newsies 
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Once

It’s a battle between critical darling Once and box office mega hit Newsies. This perhaps the hardest category cause they rarely choose the critical hit for the big award, but Once leads the nominations for a reason. I expect they’ll win in a mild upset over a Disney Theatrical production.

Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Master Class
Wit

Attention must be paid…and certainly will come Sunday.

Best Revival of a Musical
Evita
Follies 
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess 
Jesus Christ Superstar

Follies was very well recieved, but is no longer playing on Broadway. That might give the edge to The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, which has weathered much controversy on its way to being a box office and critical hit.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
James Corden - One Man, Two Guvnors
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
James Earl Jones - Gore Vidal’s The Best Man
Frank Langella - Man and Boy
John Lithgow - The Columnist

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is playing one of the most iconic characters in theater history and earning raves while doing it. Might as well collect the Tony too.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Nina Arianda - Venus in Fur
Tracie Bennett - End of the Rainbow
Stockard Channing - Other Desert Cities
Linda Lavin - The Lyons
Cynthia Nixon - Wit

Ingenue vs. Veterans. I’d love to see Arianda take this award for her amazing performance, but it’ll be difficult for her to beat out a respected veteran (Channing) or someone playing a legend (Bennett).

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Danny Burstein - Follies
Jeremy Jordan - Newsies
Steve Kazee - Once
Norm Lewis - The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Ron Raines - Follies

Each contender is certainly formidable, but Jack Kelly is such a star making role for Jeremy Jordan, it’s hard to see anyone else taking this award.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Jan Maxwell - Follies
Audra McDonald - The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Cristin Milioti - Once
Kelli O’Hara - Nice Work If You Can Get It
Laura Osnes - Bonnie & Clyde

Audra McDonald has 4 Tonys already, but none for a lead performance. The voters should right that wrong for her scintillating performance as Bess.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
Michael Cumpsty, End of the Rainbow
Tom Edden, One Man, Two Guvnors
Andrew Garfield, Death of a Salesman
Jeremy Shamos, Clybourne Park

The glitz of having Spiderman Andrew Garfield in this category might sway some voters but Borle’s highly regarded performance should win.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Linda Emond, Death of a Salesman
Spencer Kayden, Don’t Dress for Dinner
Cella Keenan-Bolger, Peter and the Starcatcher
Judith Light, Other Desert Cities
Condola Rashad, Stick Fly

Light is a respected veteran whom they’ll want to reward.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Phillip Boykin, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Michael Cerveris, Evita
David Allen Grier, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Michael McGrath, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Josh Young, Jesus Christ Superstar

Literally anyone in this category could win this award. While I have a sneaking suspicion that Young’s comeback from illness might endear him to voters, McGrath is the front runner.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Elizabeth A. Davis, Once
Jayne Houdyshell, Follies
Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Jesse Mueller, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Ghost

Kaye is steamrolling on her way to win. But Houdyshell could upset.

Best Direction of a Play
Nicholas Hytner, One Man, Two Guvnors
Pam MacKinnon, Clybourne Park
Mike Nichols, Death of a Salesman
Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, Peter and the Starcatcher

Nichols. For his 9th (!) Tony.

Best Direction of a Musical
Jeff Calhoun, Newsies
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Diane Paulus, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
John Tiffany, Once 

Once is the most nominated musical but it doesn’t have many categories where it’s the favorite. In a strange way, that bodes well for John Tiffany, who turned a small indie film into a Broadway smash.

Best Book of a Musical
Lysistrata Jones
Newsies
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Once

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Bonnie & Clyde
Newsies
One Man, Two Guvnors
Peter and the Starcatcher

This is one of the most boring categories in recent years, but Newsies score is fun.

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Evita
Christopher Gattelli, Newsies
Steven Hoggett, Once
Kathleen Marshall, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Best Scenic Design of a Play
John Lee Beatty, Other Desert Cities
Daniel Ostling, Clybourne Park
Mark Thompson, One Man, Two Guvnors
Donyale Werle, Peter and the Starcatcher 

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley, Once
Rob Howell and Jon Driscoll, Ghost the Musical
Tobin Ost and Sven Ortel, Newsies
George Tsypin, Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark

Best Costume Design of a Play
William Ivey Long, Don’t Dress for Dinner
Paul Tazewell, A Streetcar Named Desire
Mark Thompson, One Man, Two Guvnors
Paloma Young, Peter and the Starcatcher

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Follies
ESosa, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Eiko Ishioka, Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark
Martin Pakledinaz, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jeff Croiter, Peter and the Starcatcher
Peter Kaczorowski, The Road to Mecca
Brian MacDevitt, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Kenneth Posner, Other Desert Cities

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Christopher Akerlind, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Natasha Katz, Follies
Natasha Katz, Once
Hugh Vanstone, Ghost the Musical

Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti, One Man, Two Guvnors
Scott Lehrer, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Gareth Owen, End of the Rainbow
Darron L. West, Peter and the Starcatcher

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Acme Sound Partners, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Clive Goodwin, Once
Kai Harada, Follies
Brian Ronan, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Best Orchestrations
William David Brohn and Christopher Jahnke, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Bill Elliott, Nice Work If You Can Get It
Martin Lowe, Once
Danny Troob, Newsies

About Terence Johnson

When he's not enduring Shade Samurai training from Victoria Grayson, you can find Terence spends his time being an avid watcher of television, Criterion film collector, Twitter addict, and awards season obsessive. Opinionated but open minded, ratchet but with class, Terence holds down the fort as the producer of the Power Hour podcast and will soon be taking over Historical Circuit, bringing you the best films and hidden gems from the lovely history of cinema. As the only person with a degree in a STEM field (B.S. in Civil Engineering), he's holding it down for the nerds who love film. You can follow him on Twitter at @LeNoirAuteur.

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