Read our 2017 Tony Award Predictions
For the past two years, we correctly predicted more Tony Award winners than any other theater publication. We like to start our Tony Awards Predictions analysis early. While the Tony telecast isn’t until Sunday, June 11th, we will be reviewing every show we see this season, indicating which awards we feel they may be nominated for in April.
Predictions Updated: April 29, 2017
NOMINATIONS DAY UPDATE: Actual Nominees are highlighted in BLUE
Tony Award for Best Musical
Shoo-InsDear Evan Hansen
Come From Away
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
On the Bubble
Groundhog Day
Anastasia
A Bronx Tale
Dark Horses
Bandstand
Amélie
Tony Award for Best Play
Shoo-Ins
Sweat
Oslo
Indecent
On the Bubble
A Doll’s House, Part 2
Significant Other
The Play That Goes Wrong
Dark Horses
Heisenberg
Oh, Hello
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Hello, Dolly!
Falsettos
On the Bubble
Sunset Boulevard
Miss Saigon
Dark Horses
Cats
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
Shoo-InsJitney
The Little Foxes
On the Bubble
The Front Page
Six Degrees of Separation
The Price
Dark Horses
The Glass Menagerie
Present Laughter
Best Leading Actor in a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Ben Platt (Evan Hansen, Dear Evan Hansen)
David Hyde Pierce (Horace Vandergelder, Hello, Dolly!)
Andy Karl (Phil Connors, Groundhog Day)
On the Bubble
Christian Borle (Marvin, Falsettos)
Josh Groban (Pierre, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)
Jon Jon Briones (The Engineer, Miss Saigon)
Corey Cott (Donny Novitski, Bandstand)
Dark Horses
Christian Borle (Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Bobby Conte Thorton (Calogero, A Bronx Tale)
Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Bette Midler (Dolly, Hello, Dolly!)
On the Bubble
Denée Benton (Natasha, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)
Christy Altomare (Anya, Anastasia)
Christine Ebersole (Elizabeth Arden, War Paint)
Laura Osnes (Julia, Bandstand)
Patti LuPone (Helena Rubinstein, War Paint)
Dark Horses
Eva Noblezada (Kim, Miss Saigon)
Phillipa Soo (Amélie, Amélie)
Best Leading Actor in a Play
Shoo-Ins
Kevin Kline (Gary Essendine, Present Laughter)
On the Bubble
Jefferson Mays (Terje Rød-Larsen, Oslo)
Corey Hawkins (Paul, Six Degrees of Separation)
Gideon Glick (Jordan, Significant Other)
Simon McBurney (The Encounter)
Denis Arndt (Alex Priest, Heisenberg)
Dark Horses
Nick Kroll (Gil Faizon, Oh, Hello)
Joe Mantello (Tom Wingfield, The Glass Menagerie)
John Mulaney (George St. Geegland, Oh, Hello)
Henry Shields (Chris, The Play That Goes Wrong)
Chris Cooper (Torvald, A Doll’s House, Part 2)
Richard Roxburgh (Mikhail, The Present)
Best Leading Actress in a Play
Shoo-Ins
Laurie Metcalf (Nora, A Doll’s House, Part 2)
Laura Linney (Regina Giddens, The Little Foxes)
On the Bubble
Jennifer Ehle (Mona Juul, Oslo)
Allison Janney (Ouisa, Six Degrees of Separation)
Sally Field (Amanda Wingfield, The Glass Menagerie)
Dark Horses
Cate Blanchett (Anna, The Present)
Mary-Louise Parker (Georgie Burns, Heisenberg)
Diane Lane (Ranevskaya, The Cherry Orchard)
Best Director of a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)
Jerry Zaks (Hello, Dolly!)
Christopher Ashley (Come From Away)
On the Bubble
Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen)
James Lapine (Falsettos)
Dark Horses
Darko Tresnjak (Anastasia)
Matthew Warchus (Groundhog Day)
Pam MacKinnon (Amélie)
Best Director of a Play
Shoo-Ins
Daniel Sullivan (The Little Foxes)
On the Bubble
Sam Gold (A Doll’s House, Part 2)
Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Jitney)
Rebecca Taichman (Indecent)
Jack O’Brien (The Front Page)
Kate Whoriskey (Sweat)
Bartlett Sher (Oslo)
Dark Horses
Trip Cullman (Six Degrees of Separation)
Sam Gold (The Glass Menagerie)
Trip Cullman (Significant Other)
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Nick Cordero (Sonny, A Bronx Tale)
Lucas Steele (Anatole, Natasha, Pierre)
Gavin Creel (Cornelius Hackl, Hello, Dolly!)
On the Bubble
Joel Hatch (Claud & others, Come From Away)
Will Roland (Jared Kleinman, Dear Evan Hansen)
Andrew Rannells (Whizzer, Falsettos)
Michael Xavier (Joe Gillis, Sunset Boulevard)
Dark Horses
Brandon Uranowitz (Mendel, Falsettos)
Michael Park (Larry Murphy, Dear Evan Hansen)
John Bolton (Vlad Popov, Anastasia)
Taylor Trensch (Barnaby Tucker, Hello, Dolly!)
What We Missed
Mike Faist (Connor Murphy, Dear Evan Hansen)
Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Jenn Colella (Beverly/Annette & others, Come From Away)
Rachel Bay Jones (Heidi Hansen, Dear Evan Hansen)
Stephanie J. Block (Trina, Falsettos)
On the Bubble
Kate Baldwin (Irene Molloy, Hello, Dolly!)
Amber Gray (Helene, Natasha, Pierre)
Laura Dreyfuss (Zoe Murphy, Dear Evan Hansen)
Mary Beth Peil (Dowager Empress, Anastasia)
Caroline O’Connor (Countess Lily, Anastasia)
Dark Horses
Beanie Felstein (Minnie Fay, Hello, Dolly!)
Katie Rose Clarke (Ellen, Miss Saigon)
Brittain Ashford (Sonya, Natasha, Pierre)
Beth Leavel (Mrs. June Adams, Bandstand)
Kristolyn Lloyd (Alana Beck, Dear Evan Hansen)
Jackie Hoffman (Mrs. Teavee, Charlie…)
Ariana DeBose (Jane, A Bronx Tale)
Best Featured Actor in a Play
Shoo-Ins
Nathan Lane (Walter Burns, The Front Page)
Danny DeVito (Gregory Solomon, The Price)
On the Bubble
John Douglas Thompson (Becker, Jitney)
Richard Thomas (Horace Giddens, The Little Foxes)
Michael Aronov (Uri Savir, Oslo)
Richard Topol (Lemml, Indecent)
Dark Horses
John Benjamin Hickey (Flan, Six Degrees of Separation)
Jefferson Mays (Bensinger, The Front Page)
Robert Morse (Mr. Pincus, The Front Page)
Khris Davis (Chris, Sweat)
Anthony Azizi (Ahmed Qurie, Oslo)
André Holland (Youngblood, Jitney)
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Shoo-Ins
Cynthia Nixon (Birdie Hubbard, The Little Foxes)
Johanna Day (Tracey, Sweat)
On the Bubble
Jayne Houdyshell (Anne Marie, A Doll’s House, Part 2)
Michelle Wilson (Cynthia, Sweat)
Kate Burton (Liz Essendine, Present Laughter)
Katrina Lenk (Actor, Indecent)
Dark Horses
Condola Rashad (Emmy, A Doll’s House, Part 2)
Madison Ferris (Laura Wingfield, The Glass Menagerie)
Jessica Hecht (Esther Franz, The Price)
Sherie Rene Scott (Mollie Malloy, The Front Page)
Kristine Nielson (Monica Reed, Present Laughter)
Best Book of a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen)
Irene Sankoff & David Hein (Come From Away)
On the Bubble
Terrence McNally (Anastasia)
Richard Oberacker & Rob Taylor (Bandstand)
Danny Rubin (Groundhog Day)
Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre)
Dark Horses
Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale)
Best Score of a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Dear Evan Hansen (Music & Lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul)
Come From Away (Music & Lyrics by Irene Sankoff & David Hein)
Natasha, Pierre (Music & Lyrics by Dave Malloy)
On the Bubble
Anastasia (Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens)
War Paint (Music by Scott Frankel, Lyrics by Michael Korie)
A Bronx Tale (Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Glenn Slater)
Bandstand (Music by Richard Oberacker, Lyrics by Rob Taylor and Richard Oberacker)
Dark Horses
Groundhog Day (Music & Lyrics by Tim Minchin)
Amélie (Music by Daniel Messé, Lyrics by Daniel Messé & Nathan Tysen)
Best Choreography
Shoo-Ins
Warren Carlyle (Hello, Dolly!) [apparently I missed the notice that the revival uses the choreography from the original production, making Warren Carlyle inelligible. My bad! – Oliver]
On the Bubble
Andy Blankenbuehler (Bandstand)
Sam Pinkleton (Natasha, Pierre)
Kelly Devine (Come From Away)
Denis Jones (Holiday Inn)
Dark Horses
Bob Avian (Miss Saigon)
Peggy Hickey (Anastasia)
Peter Darling & Ellen Kane (Groundhog Day)
Shana Carroll & Daphné Mauger (Cirque du Soleil Paramour)
Danny Mefford (Dear Evan Hansen)
Best Orchestrations
Shoo-Ins
August Eriksmoen (Come From Away)
On the Bubble
Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre)
Alex Lacamoire (Dear Evan Hansen)
Doug Besterman (Anastasia)
Bill Elliot & Greg Anthony Rassen (Bandstand)
Dark Horses
Larry Hochman (Hello, Dolly!)
Bruce Coughlin (War Paint)
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Mimi Lien (Natasha, Pierre)
Santo Loquasto (Hello, Dolly!)
On the Bubble
Alexander Dodge (Anastasia)
David Korins (War Paint)
Rob Howell (Groundhog Day)
Totie Driver & Matt Kinley (Miss Saigon)
Dark Horses
David Zinn (Amélie)
David Rockwell (Falsettos)
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Shoo-Ins
Nigel Hook (The Play That Goes Wrong)
Douglas W. Schmidt (The Front Page)
On the Bubble
Scott Pask (The Little Foxes)
David Gallo (Jitney)
Michael Yeargan (Oslo)
Mark Wendland (Six Degrees of Separation)
Dark Horses
Mark Wendland (Significant Other)
Scott Pask (Oh, Hello)
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Santo Loquasto (Hello, Dolly!)
On the Bubble
Linda Cho (Anastasia)
Catherine Zuber (War Paint)
Paloma Young (Great Comet)
Paloma Young (Bandstand)
Dark Horses
Toni-Leslie James (Come From Away)
Andreane Neofitou (Miss Saigon)
Best Costume Design of a Play
Shoo-Ins
Susan Hilferty (Present Laughter)
On the Bubble
David Zinn (A Doll’s House, Part 2)
Jane Greenwood (The Little Foxes)
Toni-Leslie James (Jitney)
Ann Roth (The Front Page)
Dark Horses
Catherine Zuber (Oslo)
Roberto Surace (The Play That Goes Wrong)
Emily Rebholz (Oh, Hello)
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Shoo-Ins
Bradley King (Great Comet)
On the Bubble
Natasha Katz (Hello, Dolly!)
Donald Holder (Anastasia)
Kenneth Posner (War Paint)
Jeff Croiter (Bandstand)
Dark Horses
Japhy Weideman (Dear Evan Hansen)
Howell Binkley (Come From Away)
Mark Henderson (Sunset Boulevard)
Jane Cox & Mark Barton (Amelie)
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Shoo-Ins
Christopher Akerlind (Indecent)
On the Bubble
Justin Townsend (The Little Foxes)
Japhy Weideman (Significant Other)
Jane Cox (Jitney)
Ben Stanton (Six Degrees of Separation)
Dark Horses
Donald Holder (Oslo)
Peter Kaczorowski (Sweat)
Brian MacDevitt (The Front Page)
What We Missed
Jennifer Tipton (A Doll’s House, Part 2)
18 comments
Join the conversationBilly - March 15, 2017
My 2017 Tony Predictions:
Leading Actor in a Play:
– Chris Cooper (A Doll’s House Part 2)
– Rob Falconer (The Play That Goes Wrong)
– Gideon Glick (Significant Other)
– John Benjamin Hickey (Six Degrees of Separation)
– Kevin Kline (Present Laughter)
Leading Actress in a Play
– Barbara Barrie (Significant Other)
– Kate Burton (Present Laughter)
– Sas Goldberg (Significant Other)
– Allison Janney (Six Degrees of Separation)
– Laurie Metcalf (A Doll’s House, Part 2)
Leading Actor in a Musical
– Christian Borle (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
– Jon Jon Briones (Miss Saigon)
– Adam Chanler-Berat (Amelie)
– Corey Cott (Bandstand)
– Derek Klena (Anastasia)
Leading Actress in a Musical
– Christy Altomare (Anastasia)
– Bette Midler (Hello Dolly)
– Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon)
– Laura Osnes (Bandstand)
– Phillipa Soo (Amelie)
Best Revival of a Play
– The Cherry Orchard
– The Little Foxes
– Present Laughter
– Six Degrees of Separation
Best Revival of a Musical
– Cats
– Hello Dolly
– Miss Saigon
– Sunset Boulevard
Best Play
– A Doll’s House Part 2
– The Play That Goes Wrong
– Significant Other
– Sweat
Best Musical
– Amelie
– Anastasia
– Bandstand
– Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Best Book of a Musical
– Amelie (Craig Lucas)
– Anastasia (Terrence McNally)
– Bandstand (Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker)
– Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (David Greig)
Best Original Score (Music and or/Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
– Amelie (Daniel Messe and Nathan Tysen)
– Anastasia (Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens)
– Bandstand (Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor)
– Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman)
Best Choreography
– Joshua Bergasse (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
– Andy Blankenbuehler (Bandstand)
– Warren Carlyle (Hello Dolly)
– Peggy Hickey (Anastasia)
Best Orchestrations
– Doug Besterman (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
– Bruce Coughlin (Amelie)
– Bill Elliot and Greg Anthony Rassen (Bandstand)
– Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)
Best Scenic Design of a Play
– Nigel Hook (The Play That Goes Wrong)
– Andrew Liebermann (The Glass Menagerie)
– Mark Wendland (Significant Other)
– David Zinn (Present Laughter)
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
– Alexander Dodge (Anastasia)
– David Korins (Bandstand)
– Santo Loquasto (Hello Dolly)
– Mark Thompson (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Best Costume Design of a Play
– Susan Hilferty (Present Laughter)
– Clint Ramos (Six Degrees of Separation)
– Emily Rebholz (Indecent)
– Kaye Voyce (Significant Other)
Best Costume Design of a Musical
– Linda Cho (Anastasia)
– Mark Thompson (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
– Paloma Young (Bandstand)
– David Zinn (Amelie)
Best Sound Design of a Play
– Andrew Johnson (The Play That Goes Wrong)
– Daniel Kluger (Significant Other)
– Fitz Patton (Present Laughter)
– Darron L. West (Six Degrees of Separation)
Best Sound Design of a Musical
– Kai Harada (Amelie)
– Peter Hylenski (Anastasia)
– Andrew Keister (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
– Mick Potter (Miss Saigon)
Best Direction of a Play
– Trip Cullman (Six Degrees of Separation)
– Sam Gold (A Doll’s House Part 2)
– Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Present Laughter)
– Daniel Sullivan (The Little Foxes)
Best Direction of a Musical
– Andy Blankenbuehler (Bandstand)
– Pam MacKinnon (Amelie)
– Jack O’Brien (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
– Darko Tresnjak (Anastasia)
Featured Actor in a Play
– David Alford (The Little Foxes)
– John Behlmann (Significant Other)
– Matt Bittner (Present Laughter)
– Corey Hawkins (Six Degrees of Separation)
– Luke Smith (Significant Other)
Featured Actress in a Play
– Sas Goldberg (Significant Other)
– Celia Keenan-Bolger (The Cherry Orchard)
– Lindsay Mendez (Significant Other)
– Charlie Russell (The Play That Goes Wrong)
– Cobie Smulders (Present Laughter)
Featured Actor in a Musical
– Gavin Creel (Hello Dolly)
– Jeremy Davis (Cats)
– Tyler Hanes (Cats)
– Ramin Karimloo (Anastasia)
– Tony Sheldon (Amelie)
Featured Actress in a Musical
– Kate Baldwin (Hello Dolly)
– Jenn Colella (Come From Away)
– Beth Leavel (Bandstand)
– Emily Padgett (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
– Mamie Parris (Cats)
Oliver - March 28, 2017
Great predictions Billy – let’s see how we do. Nominations are only a few weeks away!
Alicia - April 12, 2017
These are great, but I’d be surprised if DEH and Ben Platt aren’t up there.
Oliver - April 13, 2017
Agreed. DEH and Ben I consider shoe-ins for the nomination. Ben is delivering a hard performance to beat, and I’m really not sure that it’s going to be possible for someone to rob him of the hardware. But we shall see…
Jordan - May 6, 2017
You forgot to highlight in blue “Brandon Uranowitz (Mendel, Falsettos)” – he is nominated 🙂
Oliver - May 8, 2017
Thank you for catching that, Jordan. Fixed now.
Ta'lor - March 16, 2017
Hi, just to let you all know, Joel Hatch plays Claude and others. Rodney Hicks play Bob.
Oliver - March 28, 2017
Thanks for that. Corrected now!
Gerald Szymski - April 12, 2017
Billy, explain complete omission of DEAR EVAN HANSEN….Ben Platt (hands UP & DOWN)!!!
Alicia - April 12, 2017
Thanks for sharing! I’ve seen most of these shows, and I just saw Bandstand Saturday (walked in knowing nothing about it). I’m really hoping it gets some recognition- it was fantastic. If I was holding a Tony Award for Choreography, I would’ve just thrown it on stage. Corey Cott definitely deserves a nomination.
Oliver - April 13, 2017
Alicia, I’ll be seeing BANDSTAND a week from Saturday and I’ll be sure to update this list afterward. In fact, I’ll be filling out these predictions with the remaining categories I haven’t yet filled in shortly – I’ve been waiting to see more productions and also for some eligibility rulings to come out. Stay tuned, nominations come out in under a month!
OnTheAisle - April 14, 2017
Enjoyed your Tony predictions. Did you realize you omitted the categories of Featured Actor and Actress in a Play?
Oliver - April 14, 2017
Thanks for reading! I’ve been waiting for some eligibility determinations to be made and to have seen more productions to do the featured categories. Those and physical production awards will be up in the next few weeks.
Chelsea - April 14, 2017
Nice predictions! Wouldn’t be surprised if they’re spot on when they announce. My one comment would be for Best Leading Actress in Musical, I think Stephanie J Block is gonna be considered Featured just because the actress in the original production was nominated for Featured. Judging by the reviews, I’d say she’s a shoe-in for that category.
Oliver - April 17, 2017
You are right. She is featured. My mistake! Thanks.
Jeffrey muheller - April 18, 2017
Featured Actor in a play:
Harold Perrineau for The Cherry Orchard.
Didn’t enjoy the play, but his performance was standout.
Carol Joyce - April 29, 2017
Come From Away is my pick for best new musical. Jenn Colella should definitely be nominated!
Chris D. - May 30, 2017
Now that the nominations are out I’m curious who your predictions are for the winner! I had the chance to interview Evan Todd from Beautiful the Carole King Musical, and he shared his predictions with me. Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1kfvJ4qv0s
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read moreTennis & Theater – The New York Times
“An Upset,” a one-act play by David Auburn first seen in New York in 2008, is being revived around the city timed to the Open, including three shows at 99 Bowery beginning Sept. 12.
“It’s always hard to put a finger on why something is suddenly in the zeitgeist,” said Ruhl, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Tony Award nominee. “I don’t know why it is happening with tennis in theater right now. But for me, while researching the Bush dynasty, I realized tennis is such a big part of their lives and a wonderful metaphor for family competition and sibling rivalry.”
In “Scenes From Court Life,” Greg Keller plays George W. Bush as a more shrewd politician than his brother Jeb but an inferior tennis player.
“Athletes are almost another species to playwrights,” Keller said. “The writer’s world is so subjective, but for athletes there is always a winner and a loser.”
Tennis holds undeniable appeal for the theater. For starters, it can encompass widely different settings, including the Bush family compound, the public courts of the Lower East Side and Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Tennis, Keller said, is also “one-on-one, but you are not physically touching each other like in boxing.”
He added, “You are in your own little world.”
Bragen has written other works about tennis, including a monologue called “Game, Set, Match.” He said the sport offered intimacy and isolation — great fodder for writers.
“There’s a kind of dance that I feel as a player, but you are alone in your own head at the same time you are connected to other person,” Bragen said.
Ruhl said she liked the combat mixed with decorum, “the formality within the structure of competition.”
Ryan Sweeney, who played Division I tennis at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is producing and starring in “An Upset,” said, “Tennis is a lonely sport, and Auburn’s script touches on the players’ vulnerabilities.”
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Kinky Boots – Tony Awards
Wins
Best Musical
Best Original Score [Cyndi Lauper]
Best Actor in a Musical [Billy Porter]
Best Sound Design of a Musical [John Shivers]
Best Choreography [Jerry Mitchell]
Best Orchestrations [Stephen Oremus]
Nominations
Best Book of a Musical [Harvey Fierstein]
Best Actor in a Musical [Stark Sands]
Best Featured Actress in a Musical [Annaleigh Ashford]
Best Scenic Design of a Musical [David Rockwell]
Best Costume Design of a Musical [Gregg Barnes]
Best Lighting Design of a Musical [Kenneth Posner]
Best Direction of a Musical [Jerry Mitchell]