2011 Tony Award Nominee Predictions

It is now May 2nd and thus, all Tony-eligible shows have opened. The critics have had their say, and now the Tony voters will have theirs. The 2011 Tony Award Nominees will be announced tomorrow on Tuesday May 3rd at 8:30am EST on tonyawards.com and I can't wait! I am going to do my best to predict the nominees based on reviews & personal opinions. I'm just guessing at the nominees for now, but I'll certainly make my predictions for winners once the nominees are announced. I'm not going to even venture a guess on the technical categories because I have not seen all of the productions and these awards are primarily based on visual impact.

Best Play:
Good People                           David Lindsay-Abaire
Jerusalem                               Nez Butterworth
The Mother**With The Hat        Stephen Adly Guirgis
War Horse                              Nick Stafford

Best Musical:
Catch Me If You Can                Terrence McNally, Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman
Priscilla Queen of the Desert     Stephen Elliot & Allan Scott
Sister Act                                Alan Menken & Glen Slater
The Book of Mormon                Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone

Best Book of a Musical:
Iris Rainer Dart                        The People in the Picture   
Lopez, Parker & Stone             The Book of Mormon             
Terrence McNally                     Catch Me If You Can
David Thompson                      The Scottsboro Boys              


Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre:
Catch Me If You Can                Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman

The Book of Mormon                Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone

The Scottsboro Boys                John Kander & Fred Ebb 

Women on the Verge...             David Yazbek

Best Revival of a Play:

The House of Blue Leaves        John Guare

The Importance...Earnest         Oscar Wilde

The Merchant of Venice            William Shakespeare
The Normal Heart                     Larry Kramer

Best Revival of a Musical:

Anything Goes                          Cole Porter

How To Succeed...                    Frank Loesser     

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play:
Brian Bedford                            The Importance of Being Earnest
Bobby Cannavale                      The Mother** with the Hat

Joe Mantello                             The Normal Heart

Al Pacino                                  The Merchant of Venice

Mark Rylance                            Jerusalem

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play:

Cherry Jones                            Mrs. Warren's Profession

Frances McDormand                 Good People

Lily Rabe                                  The Merchant of Venice

Vanessa Redgrave                    Driving Miss Daisy
Kathleen Turner                        High

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical:
Norbert Leo Butz                       Catch Me If You Can

Josh Gad                                   The Book of Mormon

Daniel Radcliffe                         How To Succeed...

Andrew Rannells                       The Book of Mormon

Tony Sheldon                            Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical:

Sutton Foster                            Anything Goes

Patina Miller                             Sister Act

Donna Murphy                         The People In The Picture

Sherie Rene Scott                     Women on the Verge...

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play:
Mackenzie Crook                     Jerusalem
Tate Donovan                           Good People

John Benjamin Hickey               The Normal Heart
Jim Parsons                               The Normal Heart
Yul Vasquez                              The Mother** with the Hat

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play:
Ellen Barkin                               The Normal Heart
Edie Falco                                 The House of Blue Leaves

Judith Light                                Lombardi

Estelle Parsons                           Good People
Elizabeth Rodriguez                    The Mother** with the Hat

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical:

Nick Adams                              Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Joel Grey                                   Catch Me If You Can

John Laroquette                         How to Succeed

Rory O'Malley                           The Book of Mormon
Tom Wopat                               Catch Me If You Can

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical:

Laura Benanti                             Women on the Verge...

Kerry Butler                               Catch Me If You Can

Victoria Clark                            Sister Act

Nikki M. James                         The Book of Mormon

Laura Osnes                              Anything Goes

Best Direction of a Play:

Marianne Elliot & Tom Morris      War Horse
Joel Grey & Goerge C. Wolfe      The Normal Heart
Emma Rice                                  Brief Encounter

Anna D. Shapiro                         The Mother** with the Hat

Best Direction of a Musical:

Kathleen Marshall                        Anything Goes
Nicholaw/Parker                          The Book of Mormon

Susan Stroman                            The Scottsboro Boys
Alex Timbers                               Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Best Choreography:

Rob Ashford                              How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Ross Coleman                           Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Kathleen Marshall                      Anything Goes

Jerry Mitchell                             Catch Me If You Can