Tony Awards 2018 Predictions - The Shows
Check out Part 1 of our 2018 Tony Awards predictions...
With the biggest night of the Broadway calendar - The 72nd Annual Tony Awards - only a few weeks away, we thought it was about time we took a closer look at this year's nominations and shared our educated predictions with you. We've decided to split the 26 competitive categories into four different parts which we will publish each week - The Shows, The Actors, The Actresses and The Creatives.
So without any further ado, curtain up for Part 1 - The Shows...
BEST PLAY
The Children - Author: Lucy Kirkwood
Farinelli and The King - Author: Claire van Kampen
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Author: Jack Thorne - PREDICTED WINNER!
Junk - Author: Ayad Akhtar
Latin History for Morons - Author: John Leguizamo
In a Broadway season where new plays have been unusually scarce and revivals have poured in by the bucketload, there is really only one clear winner and it is, of course, a certain smash hit London import that has been wowing muggle audiences since it first began previews at the Lyric Theatre on March 16. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child had critics unanimously bewitched by the time the Broadway production officially opened on April 22 and it has been playing to 100% capacity audiences ever since. It look almost certain that the Boy Who Lived will be adding a number of Tony Awards to his ever-growing list of accolades next month as J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World firmly takes root on the Great White Way. The dark horse in this race may be another London import - the Mark Rylance-led Farinelli and the King and we are personally overjoyed to see John Leguizamo's solo show Latin History for Morons make the cut, but there'll be just no stopping Mr. Potter & Friends!
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Tickets are available now.
BEST MUSICAL
The Band's Visit - PREDICTED WINNER!
David Yazbek & Itamar Moses' hypnotically touching musical The Band's Visit seemed to just creep up on everybody when it premiered off-Broadway (courtesy of Atlantic Theatre Company) in fall 2016. Since then, it went from 0 to 100 in the shortest possible time, securing a Broadway transfer and officially opening at the Barrymore Theatre on November 9, 2017. The musical is the critics' darling of the season and we are pretty sure the Tony voters will follow suit. Although Katrina Lenk, Tony Shalhoub and Ari'el Stachel have all been singled out with Tony-nominated performances, The Band's Visit is truly an ensemble piece with an extremely talented bunch of actor-musicians. It is also splendid to see Broadway once again committing to diversity by showcasing talent (and music) of Middle Eastern origin - a minority that has always been thoroughly underrepresented on the Great White Way. Although Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants were also very well-received, we feel older Tony voters will want to avoid the typically mainstream choices.
The Band's Visit Tickets are available now for performances through to September 2, 2018.
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Angels in America - PREDICTED WINNER!
Edward Albee's Three Tall Women
Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh
This category is perhaps the most hotly-contested of all the show categories and it really has been a superb season of play revivals on Broadway. All five of these nominated productions were praised by New York's critics and have showcased a wealth of accomplished stars from Denzel Washington to Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf, Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane to Tom Hollander, to Chris Evans and Michael Cera, but we think that the National Theatre's revival of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic Angels of America may just edge it and take the crown. Marianne Elliott's production made such seismic waves during its time in London and they were certainly felt on this side of the pond. Broadway beckoned and managed to secure (almost) the entire London cast for the transfer. Clocking over 7 hours of stage time, Angels is a theatrical event that asks much of its actors, crew and audiences and we're not sure when another revival may come around. We wouldn't be surprised to see Tony voters rewarding the mammoth achievement of this first-ever Broadway revival when June 10 rolls around. How do we know, you ask? Well, f*** you, we're all prophets too!
Angels of America Tickets are available now for performances through to July 15, 2018.
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
My Fair Lady - PREDICTED WINNER!
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel
We bring our final prediction of the day to you somewhat begrudgingly because we'd like nothing more than to see Michael Arden's ingeniously innovative revival of Once on This Island crowned on June 10, however, we feel older Tony voters are going to go for the safer and more traditional choice of My Fair Lady. That's not to say there's anything wrong with Lincoln Center Theater's lavish revival of the Lerner & Loewe classic - it is Bartlett Sher doing what Bartlett Sher does best and that is traditionally directing big-budgeted, timeless classics. Once on This Island feels much more like a breath of fresh air in the Broadway scene, in contrast to Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel and My Fair Lady, but alas we'd be surprised if Mama provided a Tony for Ti Moune next month. We hope the Tony voters prove us wrong...
My Fair Lady Tickets are available now for performances through to January 6, 2019.
So, that about wraps it up for Part 1 of our Tony Awards 2018 Predictions. How did we do? Do you see things evolving differently on June 10? Check back next week as we take a closer look at all the talented actresses in contention...
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