Without a blockbuster hit like Hamilton to sweep the Tony Awards (broadcast this Sunday evening on CBS-TV, beginning at 8 p.m.), predicting this season’s winners is substantially more difficult. It was a year of many new musicals, but look for the awards to be split largely between Dear Evan Hansen and the hot-ticket revival of Hello, Dolly!
In plays, the season was stronger in revivals, but the best (new) play category managed to feature four new scripts of worth that are actually still running, which isn’t easy on Broadway.
Here are my courageous, and probably erroneous, picks for the 2017 Tony Award winners, some of which were chosen with a dartboard:
* Best Musical – Dear Evan Hansen
* Best Book of a Musical – Steven Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen
* Best Original Score – Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Dear Evan Hansen
* Best Revival, Musical – Hello, Dolly!
* Best Leading Actor, Musical – Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen
* Best Leading Actress, Musical – Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly!
* Best Featured Actor, Musical – Gavin Creel, Hello, Dolly!
* Best Featured Actress, Musical – Rachel Bay Jones, Dear Evan Hansen
* Best Scenic Design, Musical – Mimi Lien, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
* Best Costume Design, Musical – Catherine Zuber, War Paint
* Lighting Design, Musical – Natasha Katz, Hello, Dolly!
* Best Direction, Musical – Rachel Chavkin, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
* Best Choreography – Andy Blankenbuehler, Bandstand
* Best Orchestrations – Dave Malloy, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
* Best Play – Oslo
* Best Revival, Play – The Little Foxes
* Best Leading Actor, Play – Kevin Kline, Present Laughter
* Best Leading Actress, Play – Laurie Metcalf, A Doll’s House, Part 2
* Best Featured Actor, Play – Richard Thomas, The Little Foxes
* Best Featured Actress, Play – Cynthia Nixon, The Little Foxes
* Best Scenic Design, Play – Michael Yeargan, Oslo
* Best Costume Design, Play – Jane Greenwood, The Little Foxes
* Best Lighting Design, Play – Jennifer Tipton, A Doll’s House, Part 2
* Best Direction, Play – Bartlett Sher, Oslo