Jeff and Mike's 2015 Tony Awards Predictions

As has become tradition, Mike and I offer our predictions for the winners of the Tony Awards.  This year, we streamlined it, naming only who we think will win, not who we hope will in, and limiting our comments to three categories of our choosing.

This season, we saw every nominee in all of the musical categories (including Best Choreography nominee Scott Graham and Stephen Hoggett's work in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). We agreed, for the most part, on what we liked and didn't like, with a few differences (An American in Paris, for example - I liked it much better than he did...).  Overall, though, I think we agree that this season was full of award-worthy shows and performances.  In almost all of the musical categories, I think it is safe to say that any one of the nominees is a potential winner.  A lot of these were difficult to choose; I'd love a tie or two!

JEFF’S TONY PICKS	MIKE’S TONY PICKS
BEST MUSICAL
Fun Home	Fun Home
Mike says: This is what I'm hoping for, anyhow, and I think it has a great chance of winning. If it doesn't, it'll be An American in Paris, which frankly left me extremely unimpressed. Jeff says: I really hope that Fun Home wins. Of the four nominees, An American in Paris was my least favorite, though I enjoyed it and recognize its artistry. This could end up being another Next to Normal – Billy Elliott or Urinetown – Thoroughly Modern Millie situation.
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
The King and I	The King and I
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Sam Gold Fun Home	Sam Gold Fun Home
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris	Christopher Wheeldon,  An American in Paris
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Lisa Kron Fun Home	Lisa Kron Fun Home
BEST SCORE WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE
Jeanine Tesori (Music), Lisa Kron (Lyrics)  Fun Home	Jeanine Tesori (Music), Lisa Kron (Lyrics)  Fun Home
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky,  Bill Elliott An American in Paris	Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky,  Bill Elliott An American in Paris
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Brad Oscar Something Rotten!	Brad Oscar Something Rotten!
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Judy Kuhn Fun Home	Sydney Lucas Fun Home
Mike says: My personal choice would be Judy Kuhn, who makes an incredible impression with a small-ish part. But I think the ubiquitous 11-year-old Lucas will take the prize, which I'm also totally happy with.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Michael Cerveris Fun Home	Michael Cerveris Fun Home
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Kristin Chenoweth  On the Twentieth Century	Kelli O’Hara The King and I
Mike says: It's a toss-up between O'Hara and Kristin Chenoweth (I don't think Chita has much of a chance, much less Beth or Leanne). I guess I'm picking my sentimental favorite here; if I were actually betting on it, I might go with Kristin. Jeff says: Perhaps Kelli will finally get her long overdue award, possibly to make up for last year.  But, as wonderful as she is, she’s not the best Anna Broadway has seen. Even though I hated On the Twentieth Century, even I can recognize that Kristin is giving a tour de force performance by most standards.  I know it isn’t a popular opinion, but I thought she was superb in Promises, Promises – much better than she is in Twentieth Century.
BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Bob Crowley and 59 Productions An American in Paris	David Zinn Fun Home
Jeff says: I really hope Mike is right on this one, as Zinn’s design matches the entire production so perfectly, and it solves the Circle-in-the-Square space issues.  I really admire Yeargan’s design for The King and I, too, for the exact same reasons, but I think it says something when design choices have to be explained in the program. But I can totally see the voters going for Paris because it incorporates those always hard-to-classify projections. (There really needs to be a separate category for those!)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Gregg Barnes Something Rotten!	Gregg Barnes Something Rotten!
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Donald Holder The King and I	Ben Stanton Fun Home

What do you think of our choices?  How do our picks compare to yours?  Let us know! Email: jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com; Twitter: @jkstheatrescene; or leave a comment below!

Jeff