The 2024 Tony Awards: Predictions and Actual Winners
By Ross
The Tony Awards are finished. And I couldn’t be happier with a number of these winners. Especially The Outsiders and of course, Jonathan Groff.
Here’s my list of who won, along with my predictions: Who I think will win, and who I think should win. There are a number of obvious choices, but a few races are difficult to call. Like the Jessica Vs Sarah American Horror alumn battle, or the emotional contest of Best New Musical. Here are mine.
Below is the full list of winners (🏆), my predictions (⭐️), who I think should win (👍), and all of the nominations:
Here goes nothing.
⭐️= Who I think Will Win
👍= Who I Think Should Win
🏆= Who Did in the End Win (stay tuned Sunday, June 11th, 2023 from the United Palace Theatre in NYC)
The full list of winners and nominees is below. My reviews of the shows are hyperlinked.
Best Book of a Musical
Hell’s Kitchen – Kristoffer Diaz
The Notebook – Bekah Brunstetter
The Outsiders– Adam Rapp and Justin Levine
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Suffs – Shaina Taub
Water for Elephants – Rick Elice
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Days of Wine and Roses – Music & Lyrics: Adam Guettel
Here Lies Love – Music: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim – Lyrics: David Byrne
👍 The Outsiders – Music & Lyrics: Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine
Stereophonic – Music & Lyrics: Will Butler
🏆 ⭐️ Suffs – Music & Lyrics: Shaina Taub
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
William Jackson Harper, Uncle Vanya
Leslie Odom, Jr., Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Liev Schreiber, Doubt: A Parable
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Jeremy Strong, An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg, Patriots
This is a hard one, but I’m leaning on the overall effect of the riveting An Enemy of the People leading Strong to a Tony victory. Stuhlbarg was excellent in the lesser excellent Patriots. Odom and Harper are two good actors who I believe underperformed, and I’m hoping their star power doesn’t push them over the winning line.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Betsy Aidem, Prayer for the French Republic
Jessica Lange, Mother Play
Rachel McAdams, Mary Jane
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Sarah Paulson, Appropriate
Amy Ryan, Doubt: A Parable
Although everyone here excelled, particularly Aidem and Ryan, I do believe Paulson delivered something more profound and detailed than Lange, probably because the play gave her so many more complex opportunities which she gobbled up fantastically for our pleasure.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Brody Grant, The Outsiders
👍 ⭐️ Jonathan Groff, Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood, The Notebook
Brian d’Arcy James, Days of Wine and Roses
Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
No shocker here. This is Groff’s moment, even though I loved Grant and Redmayne in their lesser-received shows. James was also good, vocally, in a musical that I just didn’t connect to, so I wasn’t as connected to him or his performance. The same can be said of O’Hara. I just didn’t care, even within the dramatic ending.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
👍 Eden Espinosa, Lempicka
🏆 ⭐️ Maleah Joi Moon, Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara, Days of Wine and Roses
👍 Maryann Plunkett, The Notebook
Gayle Rankin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
I think the new kid on the block might take home the prize, although I would not be disappointed if either Espinosa or Plunkett jumped to the front of the Hell’s Kitchen train.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
🏆 👍 Will Brill, Stereophonic
⭐️ Eli Gelb, Stereophonic
Jim Parsons, Mother Play
Tom Pecinka, Stereophonic
Corey Stoll, Appropriate
Such a hard call, but I fully believe that, as in many categories including this one, it will be a winning Stereophonic night. Some say Stoll might snatch it up, but I’d be very surprised.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Doubt: A Parable
👍 Juliana Canfield, Stereophonic
Celia Keenan-Bolger, Mother Play
👍 Sarah Pidgeon, Stereophonic
🏆 ⭐️ Kara Young, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Gosh. Young was, for me, by far the best thing in this revival elevating it spectacularly leaving everyone, including the bland Odem, Jr. At the bottom of the hill.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Roger Bart, Back To The Future: The Musical
👍 Joshua Boone, The Outsiders
Brandon Victor Dixon, Hell’s Kitchen
Sky Lakota-Lynch, The Outsiders
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Daniel Radcliffe, Merrily We Roll Along
Steven Skybell, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
I’ll be cheering for Radcliffe when he wins the Tony for his performance in this stellar production, but I did love The Outsiders maybe more than most, and Boone really gave the new musical its solid emotional heart.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, Hell’s Kitchen
Amber Iman, Lempicka
Nikki M. James, Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Monty Python’s Spamalot
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Kecia Lewis, Hell’s Kitchen
Lindsay Mendez, Merrily We Roll Along
👍 Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
What an amazing group, and I’d really be happy anyway this one went, but Neuwirth feels so damn perfect in the part, and Lewis made me cry, so there’s that….
Best Scenic Design of a Play
dots, Appropriate
dots, An Enemy of the People
Derek McLane, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
🏆 👍 ⭐️ David Zinn, Stereophonic
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian, The Outsiders
Robert Brill and Peter Nigrini, Hell’s Kitchen
Takeshi Kata, Water for Elephants
David Korins, Here Lies Love
Riccardo Hernández and Peter Nigrini, Lempicka
Tim Hatley and Finn Ross, Back To The Future: The Musical
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Best Costume Design of a Play
Dede Ayite, Appropriate
🏆 ⭐️ Dede Ayite, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
👍 Enver Chakartash, Stereophonic
Emilio Sosa, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
David Zinn, An Enemy of the People
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Dede Ayite, Hell’s Kitchen
🏆 Linda Cho, The Great Gatsby
David Israel Reynoso, Water for Elephants
👍 Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
⭐️ Paul Tazewell, Suffs
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Isabella Byrd, An Enemy of the People
Amith Chandrashaker, Prayer for the French Republic
👍 ⭐️ Jiyoun Chang, Stereophonic
🏆 Jane Cox, Appropriate
👍 Natasha Katz, Grey House
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Brandon Stirling Baker, Illinoise
⭐️ Isabella Byrd, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Natasha Katz, Hell’s Kitchen
Bradley King and David Bengali, Water for Elephants
🏆 👍 Brian MacDevitt and Hana S. Kim, The Outsiders
Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington and Stefania Bulbarella, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Leah Gelpe, Mary Jane
Tom Gibbons, Grey House
Bray Poor and Will Pickens, Appropriate
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Ryan Rumery, Stereophonic
Best Sound Design of a Musical
M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer, Here Lies Love
👍 Kai Harada, Merrily We Roll Along
Nick Lidster for Autograph, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
⭐️ Gareth Owen, Hell’s Kitchen
🏆 Cody Spencer, The Outsiders
Best Direction of a Play
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic
Anne Kauffman, Mary Jane
Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Lila Neugebauer, Appropriate
Whitney White, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Best Direction of a Musical
👍 ⭐️ Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif, Hell’s Kitchen
Leigh Silverman, Suffs
👍 Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
🏆 Danya Taymor, The Outsiders
Friedman, in a way, did the impossible with this formerly problematic musical so her win is well deserved. But Stone also delivered a spectacular worthy of the Water for Elephants story it told.
Best Choreography
Annie-B Parson, Here Lies Love
Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
👍 Rick Kuperman and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
🏆 ⭐️ Justin Peck, Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants
Best Orchestrations
Timo Andres, Illinoise
👍 Will Butler and Justin Craig, Stereophonic
Justin Levine, Matt Hinkley and Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance), The Outsiders
Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, Hell’s Kitchen
🏆 ⭐️ Jonathan Tunick, Merrily We Roll Along
Best Play
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding – Author: Jocelyn Bioh
Mary Jane – Author: Amy Herzog
Mother Play – Author: Paula Vogel
Prayer for the French Republic – Author: Joshua Harmon
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Stereophonic – Author: David Adjmi
No contest. Really. And that’s no slight to the other wonderfully written plays in this group.
Best Musical
⭐️ Hell’s Kitchen
Illinoise
🏆 👍 The Outsiders
Suffs
👍 Water for Elephants
This is a hard call cause none of them are perfect yet all deliver something pretty special. And unique. I loved The Outsiders, more than I imagined I would. Its heart beats the strongest for me, but I think Keys will triumph for expanding the genre and the audience up so many floors.
Best Revival of a Play
🏆 ⭐️ Appropriate – Author: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
👍 An Enemy of the People – Author: Amy Herzog
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
An Enemy of the People is solid and as strong as its Strong star, but Appropriate delivers in so many unexpected ways it’s impossible not to be taken in completely, laughing in its uncomfortableness and its tense emotional turmoil.
Best Revival of a Musical
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gutenberg! The Musical!
🏆 👍 ⭐️ Merrily We Roll Along
The Who’s Tommy
Another no-contest win. But I also loved Cabaret far more than your average critic. And I’m still a little surprised by that.
