The Tony Awards Are Back!

Its enough to make me burst into Yentl

Put on your Sunday clothes…2 years and 3 months since the last occasion the craftsmen of Broadway came together to honor their work, they’re finally going to do it again.

Indeed, the show must go on, even if you could’ve birthed multiple children in the duration between curtain calls.

I wrote a brief series called “Intermission” last year analyzing some of the published plays that premiered during the brief 2019–2020 season. I did this with the intention of hyping up some of the lesser-known works that would lead into the awards. Well, that was over a year ago.

Instead of looking back, I’d like to briefly look forward. No more moping about Broadway’s closure! Today is Game Day! Sure, it’s a [extremely] small list of nominees, but here are my picks for what will win the two top prizes tonight. I’m choosing not to focus on all individual categories, but instead the culmination of all elements into one show:

Best Musical

Nominees:
Jagged Little Pill
Moulin Rouge!
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

The Winner: Moulin Rouge!

With an extravagant atmosphere, electrifying energy, and iconic songs, this jukebox show made the biggest splash when it opened in 2019, so much so that it still lingers in the minds of theatre-goers.

I spoke with a friend who witnessed the initial run of the show, and she explained what made it so delectable: the immediate rush of infatuation and envelopment within a space.

The craftsmanship of Rouge! is at a high level; alluring, yet mysterious; vintage, yet modern. Another important element is the level of excitement the show creates, with get-out-your-seat-and-dance musical numbers that only compliment the story every so often, but provide a vivid experience nonetheless. That is what, I feel, the Theatre Community will rely on to best represent what Broadway can achieve, therefore it will likely win big.

Tina also has a tremendous amount of energy, bringing the story of Tina Turner’s life and career to life in typical jukebox/biographical fashion. It could be second in-line to win.

Jagged Little Pill is just a 3-hour Kohl’s commercial set to Alanis Morrisette music.

Best Play

Nominees:
Grand Horizons
The Inheritance
Sea Wall/A Life
Slave Play
The Sound Inside

The Winner: The Inheritance

This is a tough category to predict and an even harder one to vote for. I wrote in my reviews for Slave Play and The Inheritance last year that I wanted both to win this award, but I don’t one to lose! Inheritance seems almost like a companion-piece to Angels in America, set in Obama-to-Trump-era New York and focusing on the urgency of the ever-present and ever-ignored crisis of the AIDS pandemic. It is that urgency and heft (it was a 7-hour-long play when it ran) that would, in other years, earn this award in a heartbeat.

But, there’s also Slave Play, Jeremy O. Harris’ absurd, racially-charged, sexual masterpiece. It stunned audiences with its depth and shock value, with many critics praising its innovation of story and directorial vision.

The question remains: will the Tony Voters choose a hefty epic or an exciting new experiment? We’ll see.

The 74th Tony Awards air on CBS and Paramount+ at 8:00pm EST/7PM CST