‘I Didn’t Love-Love Any of the Musicals’: Two Tony Voters Dissect This Year’s Ballot

Willkommen and bienvenue to another round of anonymous Tony voters debating the merits of this year’s nominations, with Stereophonic and Hell’s Kitchen leading the marquees with 13 nominations each. Despite all the mothers, rock-and-roll doyens, and Waystar Royco employees trying to lure us to the Theater District, our two veteran Tony voters aren’t overly enthralled by the season. They think it’s one of the strongest years for plays in recent memory. But for musicals? Eh, maybe some shouldn’t have made the transfer from across the pond. And while Stereophonic and Merrily We Roll Along are destined for further greatness, the voters don’t think being a Hollywood star guarantees an acting trophy. Ahead of the June 16 ceremony at Lincoln Center, they weighed in on where they stand and why.

Best Musical

Hell’s Kitchen
ďťżIllinoise
ďťżThe Outsiders
ďťżSuffs
ďťżWater for Elephants

Voter 1: I feel like they got the nominees right for this category. I’m going to decide between Illinoise and The Outsiders. I admired Suffs a lot for what it is and what it’s saying — I just wish I liked it a bit more. Illinoise was the most exciting of all the nominees to me. I guess the question mark for myself will be, since there’s no new music and while there’s a book, there are no words, is that enough? Will that be a bar for me to pull the lever for Illinoise versus a more conventionally structured and well-crafted book musical? I honestly don’t know where I land. I’ll see all three of those again to make my decision.

Voter 2: I think Suffs. I didn’t love-love any of the musicals, but Suffs was the first one I saw where at the end I thought, This really could win. It was this feeling I got. If you would’ve told me that Hillary Clinton, Alicia Keys, and Angelina Jolie would’ve been competing for Best Musical, I mean, what kind of craziness is that? When I saw it at the Public Theater, I thought to myself, Okay, I learned a lot. I took my medicine, but this thing needs work. And you know what? They did the work. It has a whole new mood and a whole new feeling. It felt more upbeat and energized. I know a lot of people are saying, “It’s just Hamilton for girls” or “It’s just a Hamilton knockoff.” Maybe that’s a fair comparison. I think it’s a little reductive, but I thought it was so clever. I left feeling upbeat, even though it’s like, Oh, gosh, there’s still a lot of work women have to do.

Best Revival of a Musical

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Gutenberg! The Musical
Merrily We Roll Along
The Who’s Tommy

Voter 1: Merrily, Merrily, Merrily. I do think it’s disappointing that the one specifically BIPOC musical, The Wiz, was excluded. I’ll say that. I’m disappointed that it was snubbed. But for me, it’s Merrily in a walk. I really liked it downtown and I fucking loved it uptown.

Voter 2: Merrily. It’s always been my favorite. I know it’s the Stephen Sondheim black sheep show, but this is the best production I’ve ever seen and I think it’s the best production you will ever see. It finally works. There’s a lot of good you can say about these four shows, but Merrily is without question the one for me.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Brody Grant — The Outsiders
Jonathan Groff — Merrily We Roll Along
Dorian Harewood — The Notebook
Brian d’Arcy James — Days of Wine and Roses
Eddie Redmayne — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Voter 1: There are three exceptional performances in this category. Brody and Brian are extraordinary, but my vote is going to Jonathan. His performance is the best of the year in any category, actually. He manages to make, on paper, a character who might be very unlikable and turn him into a complex human being who makes some pretty awful choices, and yet we understand the humanity behind those choices. It’s a staggering achievement.

Voter 2: My winner is Jonathan. That character is a total jerk the way it’s written, but he makes him completely sympathetic and it’s a beautiful performance. But I do want to say it’s an interesting list of names. I would’ve put money on Brian because that was an amazing performance. I probably would’ve predicted Eddie, even though it was a very divisive performance. I thought it was very stylized. I thought, Okay, you know what? That’s a choice. He was just sort of there for me, but I suspected he would get nominated because it’s one of “those” roles. Brody is saddled with two of the worst wigs on Broadway — he overcame them. The one glaring omission here is the star of Tommy, Ali Louis Bourzgui. That kid is a star. He’s so magnetic. I was enraptured from start to finish and I don’t understand why he’s not included.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Eden Espinosa — Lempicka
Maleah Joi Moon — Hell’s Kitchen
Kelli O’Hara — Days of Wine and Roses
Maryann Plunkett — The Notebook
Gayle Rankin — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Voter 1: This is a really impressive category, but for me, it’s Kelli. Her performance was absolutely fearless and devastating. It’s such an uncompromising, brilliant, and vanity-free performance. It took my breath away. Honestly, I didn’t love the show. A lot of times I was like, Ugh, this is rough. I don’t think it belonged on Broadway because it’s such a difficult show to watch.

Voter 2: I think Maleah. I feel like that’s one of those “a star is born” performances. She does a lot in the show, has a presence, and has a voice — somehow a theater voice, a pop voice, and an R&B voice all at once. She’s not just imitating Alicia Keys, she’s doing her own thing. One other nomination I was really pleased to see was Maryann getting in there. She’s fantastic. I was a little worried when they put her as a lead, because all three of the Allies are sort of equal, so I thought, Why are they putting her there? For her to be recognized is the real win.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

Roger Bart — Back to the Future
Joshua Boone — The Outsiders
Brandon Victor Dixon — Hell’s Kitchen
Sky Lakota-Lynch — The Outsiders
Daniel Radcliffe — Merrily We Roll Along
Steven Skybell — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Voter 1: This is another great category. I loved Steven and really loved Brandon. I thought both of the guys from The Outsiders were wonderful, but I’m all about Daniel. His delivery of “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” is award-worthy just for that song. Watching him grow as a stage actor has been a privilege. He’s one of the biggest stars in the world and he keeps coming back to the stage. In this production, he just takes it all to another level. It’s spectacular.

Voter 2: I’ll end up going with Daniel, but Steven, oh my God. I’m thinking about his performance and I’m almost crying again. Ron Rifkin won for that role in the last Cabaret revival. It’s definitely one of those roles that gets you noticed. But Tony nominators have had a habit of ignoring Daniel, so I was so happy they nominated him. He’s a fantastic stage actor. This isn’t a brag, but I’ve seen everything he’s done in New York on and off Broadway, and he gets better every time. His “Franklin Shepard, Inc.”? He’s singing the 11 o’clock number at 8:30. Come on. That’s a pretty tall order. Oh, I totally forgot about Back to the Future. I’m surprised Roger got in there.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

Shoshana Bean — Hell’s Kitchen
Amber Iman — Lempicka
Nikki M. James — Suffs
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer — Monty Python’s Spamalot
Kecia Lewis — Hell’s Kitchen
Lindsay Mendez — Merrily We Roll Along
Bebe Neuwirth — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club

Voter 1: You won’t be surprised given all my Merrily love, but it’s Lindsay. She recently got married — Jonathan was the officiant and Daniel was the ring bearer. That’s how close they’ve become as friends, and that chemistry and love they have for one another is so evident onstage. Lindsay is really funny and sour; she oozes sarcasm, and yet she allows us to see the pain behind all the armor. In the final Merrily scene, we witness her innocence and her hopefulness in a way that I don’t think anyone sees coming. It’s acting at the highest level.

Voter 2: Even though I love Merrily and Lindsay here, I’m inclined to vote for Kecia for Hell’s Kitchen. I didn’t love the show, but she was one of the reasons I liked it. Oh my gosh, her voice. She anchors the show in a lot of ways. She’s also one of those actors who’s always been around and doing fantastic work. She made her Broadway debut at age 18 in Dreamgirls, playing Effie. This show is just another reminder of her talents. It’s not like we should give Tonys for longevity or lifetime achievement, but I feel like this is just another reminder of, Yes, Kecia is fantastic. That might put me over the top for her.

Best Book of a Musical

Kristoffer Diaz — Hell’s Kitchen
Bekah Brunstetter — The Notebook
Adam Rapp and Justin Levine — The Outsiders
Shaina Taub — Suffs
Rick Elice — Water for Elephants

Voter 1: This is a tough one, and I could find myself changing my mind. But right now, I’m thinking it will be Suffs. I left the theater putting my fist in the air and wanting to work harder to bring about change. That’s the god-honest truth. I went with some old friends and I immediately thought, I want to take to the streets, we haven’t gone far enough. That achievement was very impressive for me. If I stray from that, it’s probably for The Outsiders, which I admire greatly. There’s a kind of youthful masculinity that didn’t feel like a sugarcoated story for Broadway. It didn’t feel dumbed down or softened to make it more digestible for audiences.

Voter 2: Is there any book I feel like was over-the-top good? I don’t think so. I’m still thinking about this. I’m going between The Outsiders and Suffs. The book was actually one of the issues I had with Hell’s Kitchen. I would’ve nominated the book for Days of Wine and Roses over that. It’s the most depressing show I’ve ever seen, but it was well done. I was also glad to see Water for Elephants in there, because that show was probably trickier to adapt than any of us realize — to direct and wrangle all of that.

Best Original Score

Adam Guettel — Days of Wine and Roses
David Byrne and Fatboy Slim — Here Lies Love
Will Butler — Stereophonic
Shaina Taub — Suffs
Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine — The Outsiders

Voter 1: Here Lies Love will get my vote. Whatever the show didn’t deliver, I absolutely love the score and it’s the most successful of those entries. It created a world and made me remember the tunes for days after I left the theater, which didn’t really happen with the others.

Voter 2: Plays have been nominated in this category before, but often it can be to fill out the category in more anemic years when there haven’t been a ton of musicals. But this was one of those years when the Stereophonic score had to be nominated because it’s that good. I was very glad to see Here Lies Love in here. Many people didn’t think of it as a new musical, even though it was categorized that way, because it’s been around for so long. The Public Theater production was a decade ago and it has a cast recording, so it seems people weren’t thinking of it as new even though that’s how the committee ruled it. So I’m glad to see the score there, because it’s really good. I might go with Stereophonic. The first time I saw it at Playwrights Horizons, I was like, I absolutely need to hear those songs again. The interesting thing is you don’t hear them all in the show. I think you only hear two in their entirety. When they release the album, they’re going to include the full songs. People have been clamoring for a while for it. I thought they were all so catchy and they fit perfectly in the show — they had this ’70s-ish vibe, but they didn’t feel vintage or dated. They also felt really modern. That’s the score I’ve heard people buzzing about the most by a long shot.

Best Choreography

Camille A. Brown — Hell’s Kitchen
Annie-B Parson — Here Lies Love
Rick and Jeff Kuperman — The Outsiders
Justin Peck — Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll — Water for Elephants

Voter 1: This is the easiest answer I’ll give you: Illinoise. I don’t think any other dance touches it. There’s a lot of really wonderful choreography. The muscularity of The Outsiders is thrilling and fresh to me, and in another season would be award-worthy. But what Justin achieved is astonishing.

Voter 2: I would’ve left out Here Lies Live because I thought nothing was memorable. My question here is where is Tommy? The choreography was so vibrant, visually striking, and kept that show moving. Tommy was just a constant stream of motion, and I’m really surprised it got left out. The same choreographer, Lorin Latarro, also did The Heart of Rock and Roll and did an incredible job with that musical — but, of course, that’s not the kind of show a person gets nominated for. No one took that show seriously, even though I thought it was super fun and a big jolted ’80s cheese. She was the one I was a little annoyed to get left out. Personally, I’m going to go with Hell’s Kitchen. Camille perfectly captures the mood and the spirit, and also the ’90s time period. But since “Best Choreography” often equals “Most Choreography,” I think Illinoise will win. I liked it; I didn’t love it. I thought there were two amazing dances, but a lot of the other ones looked the same to me.

Best Play

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Mary Jane
Mother Play
Prayer for the French Republic
Stereophonic

Voter 1: Stereophonic is going to win and I loved it. It’s an incredible year for new plays. Part of me is rooting for Mary Jane, and I’ll likely be voting for it — I love how quiet and complicated it is. But if any one of these were announced as Best Play, I would applaud. How nice am I? I really thought all five were terrific.

Voter 2: I think I’ll go with Stereophonic, which I loved. But I want to say this is an amazing list, and in a lot of other seasons, any of them could win. It’s kind of incredible. Usually it’s like, “Well, this one isn’t so great.” It’s a really, really impressive list. Three of them started Off Broadway and all of them came from Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage, and Playwrights Horizons. It says a lot about the current state of playwriting. I’m impressed and hope those theaters continue to invest in new plays and new playwrights.

Best Revival of a Play

Appropriate
An Enemy of the People
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Voter 1: It’s a close race between two for me: I loved Appropriate and Purlie Victorious. I didn’t care for Enemy of the People. It never disturbed or provoked me, which it set out to do with its audience. I think I’ll be voting for Appropriate in the end. The truth is, the first time I saw it years ago, I didn’t like it at all. But this production I loved. In the spirit of what’s “the best revival,” it revived my notion of what the play is.

Voter 2: Probably Appropriate. The interesting thing was there was a debate about, “Is Appropriate going to be a new play or a revival?” I think this is the best way to recognize the play. Not that people shouldn’t recognize Ibsen, or in this case, also Amy Herzog, who did a great job updating, trimming, and pruning Enemy of the People. But Appropriate is a terrific play, and that might be what gives it the edge for me in this category. That said, I think it’s a great production of Enemy of the People and super timely. And I’m glad that they didn’t forget Purlie Victorious because it was funny, dark, and an unexpected delight on so many levels.

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

William Jackson Harper — Uncle Vanya
Leslie Odom Jr. — Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Liev Schreiber — Doubt: A Parable
Jeremy Strong — An Enemy of the People
Michael Stuhlbarg — Patriots

Voter 1: It’s between Leslie and Liev, but I’ll probably vote for Leslie. I’m not sure where I’m going to land. Both them are award-worthy. I didn’t care for Jeremy or Michael’s performances — there’s no conflict there. They never transcended “just fine.”

Voter 2: Patriots was the last show of the season I saw, so that’s the freshest in my mind. When I was walking out, I said to my friend, Michael might win. I mean, he’s always been good, but he’s exceptional here. Playing a Russian oligarch who helped put Putin in power and you’re actually rooting for him? That’s no easy task. Jeremy is so good, too. I know a lot of people are like, “Oh, Jeremy Strong, just get another TV star coming to Broadway and expecting to win.” He’s done a lot of theater and these people are misinformed. He’s been in plays by John Patrick Shanley, Theresa Rebeck, and Amy Herzog. It’s not like he’s just waltzing in and expecting to clean up with a Tony Award. I’m leaning toward Michael. I’m also really glad to see William recognized. This Uncle Vanya was very uneven, but he was the clear standout.

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Betsy Aidem — Prayer of the French Republic
Jessica Lange — Mother Play
Rachel McAdams — Mary Jane
Sarah Paulson — Appropriate
Amy Ryan — Doubt: A Parable

Voter 1: Now this is a formidable category where any one of these five could be award-worthy. I think Jessica has the edge for me. There’s a scene in the play where she’s alone onstage in silence for about five minutes. That she could hold an audience in captivated silence without saying a thing by the power of her stage presence blew me away. I was in awe of what she did. Very few people could pull that off. Jessica just took it to another level in a very complicated role. She knocked me out.

Voter 2: They’re all really good. I do think it’s between Rachel and Sarah. I’m leaning heavily toward Sarah because she’s spitting bile for two and a half hours. She plays a really awful person, let’s be honest. It’s hard to play a terrible person. I think it’s harder than people realize, and I really commend her for that. That show is tough. I’ve always liked her onstage, but I was kind of knocked out by her here.

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Will Brill — Stereophonic
Eli Gelb — Stereophonic
Jim Parsons — Mother Play
Tom Pecinka — Stereophonic
Corey Stoll — Appropriate

Voter 1: It’ll be one of the Stereophonic guys, and I’ll give my vote to Will. It almost seems cruel to single one Stereophonic actor out. This is a case where you just think, Oh, there should be an award for Best Ensemble, what are the Tonys waiting for? They’re all fucking great, but Will made me laugh the most. This is the prime argument to have that new category.

Voter 2: If I go the Stereophonic route, I’ll probably choose Eli because I feel like he’s keeping all the balls in the air. Will has the showiest role, and Tom plays the genius that everybody hates. See, I might end up not going with Stereophonic at all, just because it’s hard to pick between the three. Isn’t that terrible? I might end up going with Corey for that reason, because he’s amazing. Going toe-to-toe with Sarah Paulson is no small feat. Not that Corey is a second choice by any means. He’s always fantastic. Jim is fine and exactly the performance I expected him to give.

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Quincy Tyler Bernstine — Doubt: A Parable
Juliana Canfield — Stereophonic
Celia Keenan-Bolger — Mother Play
Sarah Pidgeon — Stereophonic
Kara Young — Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch

Voter 1: Another super-tough category. I’m going to give the edge to Kara — she was so fresh and exciting. It’s the fact that I’m still thinking about her performance long after the play closed and remembering my emotional response to it. She’s just always good. I love her. That’s where my allegiance lies.

Voter 2: ​​I’m leaning toward Kara. This was another instance of me being glad that they didn’t leave her out, because closed shows can often fall out of people’s minds. I also have to say, poor Zoe Kazan, the only one from Doubt who wasn’t nominated. I thought she was fantastic in it. I think Sarah might win because she’s framed in Stereophonic as the standout — the Stevie Nicks, if you will. They’re all sensational, gosh. But I’ll vote for Kara. She’s been nominated the past two years in the same category. She keeps getting nominated and keeps getting better.