2022 Tony Awards to put a bow on crazy Broadway season
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Jun. 10—It's been a wild 2021-22 season for Broadway. We've had vaccine passports, shows closing early due to COVID-19 shutdowns, leaked nudes, and Patti LuPone telling an anti-masker what for.
Still, we made it through and we can take a deep breath and celebrate with the 75th Annual Tony Awards, scheduled for Sunday, June 12 on CBS and Paramount+.
I saw every nominated show and reviewed them on my YouTube channel, One Man's Opinion — with the exception of "Girl From the North Country, which I reviewed before the pandemic and can be found archived on the JI's website.
Who do I want to win and who do I think will win? Well, let's run through the 26 categories.
BEST PLAY
"Clyde's" by Lynn Nottage
"Hangmen" by Martin McDonagh
"The Lehman Trilogy" by Stefano Massini and Ben Power
"The Minutes" by Tracy Letts
"Skeleton Crew" by Dominique Morisseau
It was such a great year for new plays that my pick, Keenan Scott II's "Thoughts of a Colored Man," didn't even get nominated. The winner should be McDonagh's gripping comedic-thriller "Hangmen," which is loaded with gallows humor along the way, but I suspect "The Lehman Trilogy" based on the Lehman family's rise to power and subsequent fall will take the win.
My pick: "Hangmen"
Will win: "The Lehman Trilogy"
BEST MUSICAL
"Girl from the North Country"
"MJ"
"Mr. Saturday Night"
"Paradise Square"
"SIX: The Musical"
"A Strange Loop"
As good as new plays were, new musicals were mostly forgettable. The two that deserve a win are "SIX" and "A Strange Loop," and my pick and who will win is Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, about a young overweight gay black man trying to find his way in life, "A Strange Loop."
My pick: "A Strange Loop"
Will win: "A Strange Loop"
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
"Girl from the North Country" by Conor McPherson
"MJ" by Lynn Nottage
"Mr. Saturday Night" by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel
"Paradise Square" by Christine Anderson & Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
Jackson's daring and provocative book for "A Strange Loop" should be a lock for best book. Nothing else comes close.
My pick: "A Strange Loop"
Will win: "A Strange Loop"
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE
"Flying Over Sunset" Music by Tom Kitt, Lyrics by Michael Korie
"Mr. Saturday Night" Music by Jason Robert Brown, Lyrics by Amanda Green
"Paradise Square" Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Nathan Tysen & Masi Asare
"SIX: The Musical" Music & Lyrics by Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
"A Strange Loop" Music and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson
This should round out the big three awards for Jackson. The music is exciting, vibrant, and mixed with whimsy and heart.
My pick: "A Strange Loop"
Will win: "A Strange Loop"
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
"American Buffalo"
"for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf"
"How I Learned to Drive"
"Take Me Out"
"Trouble in Mind"
This is a tale of two plays that should have made it to Broadway long before they did. Paula Vogel's "How I Learned to Drive" and Alice Childress's "Trouble in Mind" are long-awaited for Broadway and are finally getting their due. My pick is "How I Learned to Drive," but I suspect Tony voters may be more sentimental toward Childress.
My pick: "How I Learned to Drive"
Will win: "Trouble in Mind"
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
"Caroline, or Change"
"Company"
"The Music Man"
Marianne Elliott's whimsical "Alice in Wonderland" inspired "Company" is brilliantly conceived and executed, but was received with mixed reviews, particularly toward the gender reversal of Bobby to Bobbie and the casting of Katrina Lenk. "The Music Man" will likely win instead.
My pick: "Company"
Will win: "The Music Man"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Simon Russell Beale, "The Lehman Trilogy"
Adam Godley, "The Lehman Trilogy"
Adrian Lester, "The Lehman Trilogy"
David Morse, ""How I Learned to Drive"
Sam Rockwell, "American Buffalo"
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, "Lackawanna Blues"
David Threlfall, "Hangmen"
This is the hardest category of the year, even with the Daniel Craig snub as Macbeth. Threlfall was brilliant as Harry, a British executioner and bartender, who may or may not have executed an innocent man, and David Morse was brutally dark as the child molesting Uncle Peck. But, I think Simon Russell Beale's turn as Henry Lehman will give him the win.
My pick: David Threlfall
Will win: Simon Russell Beale
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRES IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Gabby Beans, "The Skin of Our Teeth"
LaChanze, "Trouble in Mind"
Ruth Negga, "Macbeth"
Deirdre O'Connell, "Dana H."
Mary-Louise Parker, "How I Learned to Drive"
Granted, Sarah Jessica Parker should have been nominated for her performance in "Plaza Suite," Mary-Louise Parker should win the Tony for the role she should have won for 25 years ago, as a woman reflecting on the abuses she received from her uncle as a child.
My pick: Mary-Louise Parker
Will win: Mary-Louise Parker
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Billy Crystal, "Mr. Saturday Night"
Myles Frost, "MJ"
Hugh Jackman, "The Music Man"
Rob McClure, "Mrs. Doubtfire"
Jaquel Spivey, "A Strange Loop"
Jaquel Spivey was born for the role of Usher in "A Strange Loop." With such a weak field behind him this year, he should be a shoo-in.
My pick: Jaquel Spivey
Will win: Jaquel Spivey
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Sharon D Clarke, "Caroline, or Change"
Carmen Cusack, "Flying Over Sunset"
Sutton Foster, "The Music Man"
Joaquina Kalukango, "Paradise Square"
Mare Winningham, "Girl from the North Country"
This is an interesting category as these are all women who carried generally weak shows. There's a lot of love still flying around for Cusack as Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce in "Flying Over Sunset," but Kalukango deserves the win with her show-stopping turn as bar owner Kelly O'Brien, trying to keep the peace at Five Points as the 1863 Draft Riots loom.
My pick: Joaquina Kalukango
Will win: Carmen Cusack
BEST PERFORMANCE OF AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Alfie Allen, "Hangmen"
Chuck Cooper, "Trouble in Mind"
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Take Me Out"
Ron Cephas Jones, "Clyde's"
Michael Oberholtzer, "Take Me Out"
Jesse Williams, "Take Me Out"
First of all, Jesse Williams should have been nominated for Best Actor. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is adorable as finance manager Mason Marzac, who falls in love with baseball. But Chuck Cooper gives a stirring monologue about lynching in "Trouble in Mind," and Alfie Allen gives a Malcolm McDowell-esque performance right out of "A Clockwork Orange" in "Hangmen."
My pick: Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Will win: Alfie Allen
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Uzo Aduba, "Clyde's"
Rachel Dratch, "POTUS"
Kenita R. Miller, "for colored girls"
Phylicia Rashad, "Skeleton Crew"
Julie White, "POTUS"
Kara Young, "Clyde's"
Another fantastic field of nominees. For a long time, I thought Phylicia Rashad was a lock with her performance as beleaguered auto-plant worker, Faye, but late arrivals, Julie White, Rachel Dratch, and Kenita R. Miller mix things up a bit. Miller's monologue in "for colored girls" about her boyfriend threatening to kill her two children is going to stick with me for a long time and should win, but attendance numbers for "for colored girls" were so low, I question whether the Tony will go her way.
My pick: Kenita R. Miller
Will win: Julie White
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Matt Doyle, "Company"
Sidney DuPont, "Paradise Square"
Jared Grimes, "Funny Girl"
John-Andrew Morrison, "A Strange Loop"
A.J. Shively, "Paradise Square"
Jared Grimes is the only great thing about "Funny Girl" as friend and colleague of Fanny Brice, Eddie Ryan. He owns the stage every time he walks on. He should get the Tony.
My pick: Jared Grimes
Will win: Jared Grimes
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Jeannette Bayardelle, "Girl from the North Country"
Shoshana Bean, "Mr. Saturday Night"
Jayne Houdyshell, "The Music Man"
L Morgan Lee, "A Strange Loop"
Patti LuPone, "Company"
Jennifer Simard, "Company"
This award will go to Patti LuPone, as Joanne in "Company." As mixed as audiences felt about the production in general, the one sure thing was LuPone's performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch."
My pick: Patti LuPone
Will win: Patti LuPone
BEST SCENIC DEISGN OF A PLAY
Beowulf Boritt, "POTUS"
Es Devlin, "The Lehman Trilogy"
Anna Fleischle, "Hangmen"
Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong, "Skeleton Crew"
Scott Pask, "American Buffalo"
Adam Rigg, "The Skin of Our Teeth"
Big, busy sets were in this year, and all of these designers did superb work, but Devlin ekes out the rest due to the use of plexiglass walls that characters write on, and a rotating stage. It allows so much depth and maneuverability while still maintaining the story's integrity.
My pick: Es Devlin
Will win: Es Devlin
BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Bunny Christie, "Company"
Arnulfo Maldonado, "A Strange Loop"
Allen Moyer, "Paradise Square"
Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini, "MJ"
Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions, "Flying Over Sunset"
Bunny Christie's imaginative "Alice in Wonderland" design should win for "Company," but I wonder if Tony voters will prefer the scale of Moyer's "Paradise Square" with its rotating tavern.
My pick: Bunny Christie
Will win: Allen Moyer
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Montana Levi Blanco, "The Skin of Our Teeth"
Sarafina Bush, "for colored girls"
Jane Greenwood, "Plaza Suite"
Jennifer Moeller, "Clyde's"
Emilio Sosa, "Trouble in Mind"
Moeller's outrageous costumes for the titular Clyde, played by Uzo Aduba, should be an automatic win, but I think Sosa's fantastic period outfits for "Trouble in Mind" may appeal to Tony voters.
My pick: Jennifer Moeller
Will win: Emilio Sosa
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Fly Davis, "Caroline, or Change"
Toni-Leslie James, "Paradise Square"
William Ivey Long, "Diana, The Musical"
Santo Loquasto, "The Music Man"
Gabriella Slade, "SIX: The Musical"
Paul Tazewell, "MJ"
The much maligned "Diana, The Musical" didn't have much going for it, but Long's costumes were stellar.
My pick: William Ivey Long
Will win: William Ivey Long
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Joshua Carr, "Hangmen"
Jiyoun Chang, "for colored girls"
Jon Clark, "The Lehman Trilogy"
Jane Cox, "Macbeth"
Yi Zhao, "The Skin of Our Teeth"
Carr and Clark deal with rather unique problems with their design. Carr has to deal with a whole scene that rises into the rafters taking up much needed grid space and Clark has to address reflection and refraction with the see-through walls of "The Lehman Trilogy." Carr should win, but I think the love for "The Lehman Trilogy" gives it the win.
My pick: Joshua Carr
Will win: Jon Clark
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Neil Austin, "Company"
Tim Deiling, "SIX: The Musical"
Donald Holder, "Paradise Square"
Natasha Katz, "MJ"
Bradley King, "Flying Over Sunset"
Jen Schriever, "A Strange Loop"
Donald Holder's moody and delicately shadowed lighting in "Paradise Square," should make him a lock.
My pick: Donald Holder
Will win: Donald Holder
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey, "The Lehman Trilogy"
Justin Ellington, "for colored girls"
Mikhail Fiksel, "Dana H."
Palmer Hefferan, "The Skin of Our Teeth"
Mikaal Sulaiman, "Macbeth"
This will come down to the precision of the sound design by Fiksel for "Dana H." versus the epic sound of Hefferan's "The Skin of Our Teeth." I prefer "The Skin of Our Teeth," but I think Fiksel will win.
My pick: Palmer Hefferan
Will win: Mikhail Fiksel
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Ian Dickinson for Autograph, "Company"
Simon Baker, "Girl from the North Country"
Paul Gatehouse, "SIX: The Musical"
Drew Levy, "A Strange Loop"
Gareth Owen, "MJ"
It's a shame that a show as good as "SIX" isn't likely going to get many wins because "A Strange Loop" being as good as it is. Where it may get its one Tony is with Gatehouse's phenomenal sound design, giving that concert sound without covering the story.
My pick: Paul Gatehouse
Will win: Paul Gatehouse
BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Lileana Blain-Cruz, "The Skin of Our Teeth"
Camille A. Brown, "for colored girls"
Sam Mendes, "The Lehman Trilogy"
Neil Pepe, "American Buffalo"
Les Waters, "Dana H."
It's like the nominating committee forgot the excellent work by Susan Stroman with "POTUS" and Steve H. Broadnax III's direction of "Thoughts of a Colored Man." Alas, Sam Mendes should easily take this win.
My pick: Sam Mendes
Will win: Sam Mendes
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage, "SIX: The Musical"
Stephen Brackett, "A Strange Loop"
Marianne Elliott, "Company"
Conor McPherson, "Girl from the North Country"
Christopher Wheeldon, "MJ"
The amount of delicacy necessary to make "A Strange Loop" work, with the sexual content and sensitive nature of its subject matter should have Brackett get the Tony.
My pick: Stephen Brackett
Will win: Stephen Brackett
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Camille A. Brown, "for colored girls"
Warren Carlyle, "The Music Man"
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, "SIX: The Musical"
Bill T. Jones, "Paradise Square"
Christopher Wheeldon, "MJ"
You'd think that a musical featuring the songs and dancing of Michael Jackson, "MJ" would be the clear winner, but Bill T. Jones' integration of Irish and African American dance is beautiful storytelling and the dance off in the second act is thrilling.
My pick: Bill T. Jones
Will win: Bill T. Jones
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
David Cullen, "Company"
Tom Curran, "SIX: The Musical"
Simon Hale, "Girl from the North Country"
Jason Michael Webb and David Hocenberg, "MJ"
Charlie Rosen, "A Strange Loop"
This might be the only win for "Girl from the North Country" as Hale has taken the decidedly not musical theater music of Bob Dylan and colored it beautifully for the stage. Still, it's "A Strange Loop" year, so we'll see.
My pick: Simon Hale
Will win: Charlie Rosen
For coverage of local restaurants, cultural events, music, and an extensive range of Connecticut theater reviews, follow Tim Leininger on Twitter: @Tim_E_Leininger, Facebook: Tim Leininger's Journal Inquirer News page, and Instagram: @One_Mans_Opinion77.