The New York Times
The Tonys 2017: Who Will Win (and Who Should)
MAY 11, 2017
Ben Brantley and Jesse Green, the chief theater critics for The New York Times, make their Tony Award choices. For the Should Have Been Nominated category, they were allowed to expand the potential nominees to productions ineligible for the Tonys, including those Off Broadway.
Ben Brantley
BEST MUSICAL
WILL WIN: “Come From Away”
SHOULD WIN: A tie! “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST PLAY
WILL WIN: “Oslo”
SHOULD WIN: “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: “Heisenberg”; “The Wolves”*
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
WILL WIN: “Hello, Dolly!”
SHOULD WIN: “Hello, Dolly!”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: “Sunday in the Park With George”*
BEST PLAY REVIVAL
WILL WIN: “Jitney”
SHOULD WIN: “Jitney”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: “Othello”*
Tony Nominations 2017: Musicals and Plays
CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
WILL WIN: Ben Platt, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: A tie! Ben Platt and Andy Karl (in “Groundhog Day”)
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Jake Gyllenhaal, “Sunday in the Park With George”*
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Bette Midler, “Hello, Dolly!”
SHOULD WIN: Bette Midler
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Katrina Lenk, “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
WILL WIN: Kevin Kline, “Present Laughter”
SHOULD WIN: Kevin Kline
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: David Oyelowo and Daniel Craig, “Othello”*
WILL WIN: Laurie Metcalf, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
SHOULD WIN: Laurie Metcalf
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Harriet Walter, “The Tempest”*
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Gavin Creel, “Hello, Dolly!”
SHOULD WIN: Lucas Steele, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Ari’el Stachel, “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Mary Beth Peil, “Anastasia”
SHOULD WIN: Mary Beth Peil
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Brittain Ashford, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
WILL WIN: Danny DeVito, “The Price”
SHOULD WIN: Nathan Lane, “The Front Page”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Anthony Azizi, “Oslo”; the entire cast of “Jitney”
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
WILL WIN: Condola Rashad, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
SHOULD WIN: Condola Rashad
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Anyone from “The Wolves”* or “The Tempest”*
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Michael Greif, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: Rachel Chavkin, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: David Cromer, “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
WILL WIN: Bartlett Sher, “Oslo”
SHOULD WIN: Bartlett Sher
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Lila Neugebauer, “The Wolves”*
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Steven Levenson, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: Steven Levenson
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Itamar Moses, “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST SCORE OF A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: Dave Malloy, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: David Yazbek, “The Band’s Visit”*
Jesse Green
BEST MUSICAL
WILL WIN: “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: “The Band’s Visit”*; “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music”*
BEST PLAY
WILL WIN: “Oslo”
SHOULD WIN: “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: “Heisenberg”; “The Wolves”*; “A Life”*
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
WILL WIN: “Hello, Dolly!”
SHOULD WIN: “Hello, Dolly!”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: “Sunday in the Park With George”*
BEST PLAY REVIVAL
WILL WIN: “Jitney”
SHOULD WIN: “Present Laughter”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: “The Glass Menagerie”; “Othello”*
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Ben Platt, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: Ben Platt
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Jake Gyllenhaal, “Sunday in the Park With George”*; Tony Shalhoub, “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Bette Midler, “Hello, Dolly!”
SHOULD WIN: Bette Midler
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Annaleigh Ashford, “Sunday in the Park With George”*; Katrina Lenk, “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
WILL WIN: Kevin Kline, “Present Laughter”
SHOULD WIN: Denis Arndt, “Heisenberg”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Bobby Cannavale, “The Hairy Ape”*; David Oyelowo and Daniel Craig, “Othello”*
BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
WILL WIN: Laurie Metcalf, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
SHOULD WIN: Laurie Metcalf
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Mary-Louise Parker, “Heisenberg”; Allison Janney, “Six Degrees of Separation”
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Gavin Creel, “Hello, Dolly!”
SHOULD WIN: Lucas Steele, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: John Sanders, “Groundhog Day”
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Jenn Colella, “Come From Away”
SHOULD WIN: Rachel Bay Jones, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Jennifer Laura Thompson, “Dear Evan Hansen”
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
WILL WIN: Danny DeVito, “The Price”
SHOULD WIN: Michael Aronov, “Oslo”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Anthony Azizi, “Oslo”; the entire cast of “Jitney”
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
WILL WIN: Cynthia Nixon, “The Little Foxes”
SHOULD WIN: (A tie!) Jayne Houdyshell and Condola Rashad, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Kate Burton, “Present Laughter”
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Michael Greif, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: Rachel Chavkin, “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: David Cromer, “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST DIRECTION OF PLAY
WILL WIN: Bartlett Sher, “Oslo”
SHOULD WIN: Bartlett Sher
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Lila Neugebauer, “The Wolves”*
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Steven Levenson, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: Steven Levenson
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Itamar Moses, “The Band’s Visit”*
BEST SCORE OF A MUSICAL
WILL WIN: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, “Dear Evan Hansen”
SHOULD WIN: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, “War Paint”; David Yazbek, “The Band’s Visit”*
