The Tony Nominations were announced today. Topping the list with the most nominations (11) is the musical “Once”, with nominations in “Best Musical”, “Best Book of a Musical”, and several “Best Performance” categories. Opposite “Once” in many categories is “Newsies” making a prediction difficult to call, but “Newsies” is also nominated in “Best Original Score” which it has a great chance of winning, even up against “Bonnie and Clyde”.
Also in “Best Original Score” is “One Man, Two Guvnors” the adaptation of “Servant of Two Masters”.
Surprisingly, “Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark” only received two nominations, and not surprisingly, they are in “Best Scenic Design of a Musical” and “Best Costume Design of a Musical”. I am glad to see that this troubled show did not garner a nomination for best direction of a musical.
Under “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play” we find James Earl Jones (“The Best Man”) and John Lithgow (“The Columnist”), among other fine actors. Lithgow has a good chance of taking the award, but the choice is made difficult with Philip Seymour Hoffman in the list for “Death of a Salesman”.
“Nice Work If You Can Get It” is up for “Best Musical”, but being that it is a show of old Gershwin songs mixed with a few unknown ones, I don’t expect it to take the prize.
Tune in on Monday’s at 3pm for three hours of Broadway, off-Broadway and London show tunes, including songs from the nominated productions, and learn more about my Tony Winner predictions. You will soon be able to make your own predictions online here [1] and qualify for prizes. I’m having a special “Pre-Tony” show on June 4th, and we’ll announce the winners of my Tony Prediction Contest on June 11th, and celebrate and congratulate the award winners.