The 75th annual Tony Awards for the 2021-2022 Broadway theatre season will be presented on Sunday, June 12, live from Radio City Music Hall and broadcast on CBS-TV and Paramount+. The awards will be hosted by Academy Award winner and Broadway veteran Ariana DeBose. This year, a special Tony for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, will be presented to five-time Tony Award winner and Broadway legendary icon Angela Lansbury.
Let’s take a look at this year’s competitive races and see who could go home with a Tony, who should take a Tony home and who was overlooked and deserved to be nominated.
BEST MUSICAL
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“Girl from the North Country”
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“MJ”
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“Mr. Saturday Night”
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“Paradise Square”
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“Six: The Musical”
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“A Strange Loop”
Will Win: The race is between “Six: The Musical” and “A Strange Loop.” In the end, “A Strange Loop” will emerge victorious.
Should Win: “Six: The Musical.” It just such a fun, good time.
BEST PLAY
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“Clyde’s” by Lynn Nottage
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“Hangman” by Martin McDonough
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“The Lehman Trilogy” by Stefano Massini and Ben Power
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“The Minutes” by Tracey Letts
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“Skeleton Crew” by Dominque Morisseau
Will Win: “The Lehman Trilogy.”
Should Win: “The Minutes.”
BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
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“Caroline, or Change”
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“Company”
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“The Music Man”
Will and Should Win: A slam dunk for “Company.
BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
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Stephen Brackett – “A Strange Loop”
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Marianne Elliott – “Company”
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Conor McPherson –“Girl from the North Country”
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Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage – “Six: the Musical”
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Christopher Wheeldon – “MJ”
Will and Should Win: A race between Stephen Brackett and Marianne Elliott, with Elliot winning in the end.
Should Have Been Nominated: Moises Kaufman for “Paradise Square.”
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
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“American Buffalo”
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“For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
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“How I Learned to Drive”
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“Take Me Out”
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“Trouble in Mind”
Will and Should Win: The race is between “How I Learned to Drive” and “Take Me Out” with “Take Me Out” winning in the end, as it definitely should.
Should Have Been Nominated: “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
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Lileanna Blain-Cruz – “The Skin of Our Teeth”
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Camille A. Brown – “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
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Sam Mendes – “The Lehman Trilogy”
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Neil Pepe – “American Buffalo”
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Les Waters – “Dana H”
Will and Should Win: Sam Mendes
Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Ellis for “Take Me Out.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
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Billy Crystal – “Mr. Saturday Night”
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Myles Frost – “MJ”
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Hugh Jackman – “The Music Man”
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Rob McClure – “Mrs. Doubtfire”
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Jaquel Spivey – “A Strange Loop”
Will Win: Jaquel Spivey
Should Win: A tie between Myles Frost who channels Michael Jackson and Rob McClure for the quick changes alone.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
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Sharon D. Clarke – “Caroline, or Change”
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Carmen Cusack – “Flying Over Sunset”
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Sutton Foster – “The Music Man”
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Joaquina Kalukango – “Paradise Square”
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Mare Winningham – “Girl from the North Country”
Will and Should Win: The race appears to be between Sharon D. Clarke and Joaquina Kalukango. Since Kalukango was nominated last year for “Slave Play” and didn’t win, and has the 11 o’clock number in “Paradise Square” that is a true standout, Kalukango for the win.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
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Simon Russell Beale – “The Lehman Trilogy”
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Adam Godley – “The Lehman Trilogy”
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Adrian Lester – “The Lehman Trilogy”
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David Morse – “How I Learned to Drive”
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Sam Rockwell – “American Buffalo”
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Ruben Santiago-Hudson – “Lackawanna Blues”
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David Threlfall – “Hangman”
Will Win: With seven nominees, this prize is hard to predict. The forerunners seem to be David Morse and Simon Russell Beale – let’s go with Beale for the win.
Should Win: Adrian Lester.
Should Have Been Nominated: Noah Reid for “The Minutes.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
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Gabby Beans – “The Skin of Our Teeth”
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LaChanze – “Trouble in Mind”
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Ruth Negga – “Macbeth”
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Deirdre O’Connell – “Dana H”
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Mary-Louise Parker – “How I Learned to Drive”
Will Win: A race between Mary-Louise Parker and LaChanze. Since Parker won the Tony in this category last year, LaChanze.
Should Win: LaChanze – Definitely, LaChanze.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
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Matt Doyle – “Company”
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Sidney DuPont – “Paradise Square”
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Jared Grimes – “Funny Girl”
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John-Andrew Morrison – “A Strange Loop”
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J. Shively – “Paradise Square”
Will and Should Win: Matt Doyle, in a brilliant cast, he is a true standout performance.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
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Jeanette Bayardelle – “Girl from the North Country”
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Shoshanna Bean – “Mr. Saturday Night”
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Jayne Houdyshell – “The Music Man”
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Morgan Lee – “A Strange Loop”
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Patti LuPone – “Company”
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Jennifer Simard – “Company”
Will and Should Win: A clear lock for La LuPone.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
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Alfie Allen – “Hangman”
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Chuck Cooper – “Trouble in Mind”
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Jesse Tyler Ferguson – “Take Me Out”
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Ron Cephas Jones – “Clyde’s”
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Michael Oberholtzer – “Take Me Out”
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Jesse Williams – “Take Me Out”
Will Win: Since he is a Broadway veteran, who has been nominated for his first Tony Award and has the plum part – Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
Should Win: Chuck Cooper.
Should Have Been Nominated: There are two performances that should have been nominated in this highly competitive category: Patrick J. Adams in “Take Me Out” and Austin Pendleton in “The Minutes.”
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
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Uzo Aduba – “Clyde’s”
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Rachel Dratch – “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”
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Kenita R. Miller – “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”
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Phylicia Rashad – “Skeleton Crew”
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Julie White – “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”
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Kara Young – “Clyde’s”
Will Win: This is a tough category. Since she had the showiest of all the roles, Uzo Aduba.
Should Win: Kenita R. Miller.
Coverage of the 2022 Tony Award will begin streaming at 7 p.m. on Sunday night, June 12, with the rest of the ceremony airing live on CBS beginning at 8 p.m.
WHY WE LIKE “TAKE ME OUT”
“Take Me Out” is Richard Greenberg’s masterpiece of a play that works on so many levels. Winning the Tony Award for Best Play in 2003, it is the first time it has been revived in nearly 20 years.
Darren Lemming, a bi-racial superstar baseball player for the New York Empires (think, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees) very matter-of-factly announces that he is gay during a press conference. He believes that he’s stating his truth, and this will change nothing on or off the field. Darren couldn’t be more wrong.
The entire ensemble cast is excellent which makes this revival truly special. Jesse Williams, best known to audiences, for the last 12 seasons, as “Dr. Jackson Avery” on the television series “Grey’s Anatomy,” is making his Broadway debut as Darren Lemming. He portrays the character with just the right amount of swagger and bravado.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, a Broadway veteran, who is also known for his television role of “Mitchell Pritchett” on the television sitcom “Modern Family,” plays Darren’s business manager, Mason Marzac, a gay man with no interest or knowledge of baseball. Since his client is a star baseball player, who has come out as gay, he suddenly takes a interest in baseball and falls in love with the game. He is endearingly funny.
Michael Oberholtzer, plays Shane Mungitt, the uneducated, homophobic, racist, team pitcher. He manages to instill the character with empathy despite playing such a repulsive, hateful and broken character. For this role, Michael received the 2022 Dorothy Louden Award for Excellence in Theatre.
Patrick J. Adams, who is best known to audiences as Michael Ross on the television series “Suits,” plays Kippy, Darren Lemming’s best friend and the narrator of the play. Patrick instills Kippy with so much earnestness and likability; it feels as if he’s real and not a character at all. For this role, Patrick received the 2022 Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut performance.
This is an outstanding revival of an amazing play. It is being presented by Second Stage and playing at the Helen Hayes Theatre until June 11.
Helen Hayes Theatre
240 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
212.541.4516
