LETS TALK - Leading Actress in a Musical at the Tony's

[Jessetenny]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:33pm

I know there is a Tony Nominations thread, but want to know your thoughts.

To me, Cynthia Erivo seems like a shoo-in with her rave reviews. 

There is SO much competition though.

Philippa Soo, Audra McDonald, Jessie Mueller, Laura Benanti, and the list goes on! 

Who do YOU think the potential nominees and winner is?

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:44pm

I think you listed 'em all! My prediction—for now—is that Audra, Soo, Mueller, and Benanti will pick up nominations, but Erivo will snag the win. I haven't even seen Erivo yet, but the word of mouth seems extremely telling. Of course, the whole game could change over the next few months as three of these potential nominees haven't even started performances yet...!

[Jessetenny]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 9:47pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "I think you listed 'em all! My prediction—for now—is that Audra, Soo, Mueller, and Benanti will pick up nominations, but Erivo will snag the win. I haven't even seen Erivo yet, but the word of mouth seems extremely telling. Of course, the whole game could change over the next few months as three of these potential nominees haven't even started performances yet...!

 

"

My fiancee bought me The Colour Purple tickets so we will be seeing that the first week of March while we are on vacation in NYC so I'm seriously hoping that Erivo will live up to my expectations :)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:54pm

Tony's what?

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 10:54pm

TONYS.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 2/10/16 at 11:23pm

This is literally the LEAST interesting acting category of the 8.  The 7 other categories all have semi-tight races, at least as of now.  This one is pretty much a lock.  In fact, I would say that this is the second most-likely lock after Hamilton winning Best Musical.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 8:01am

Even though we may already have an idea of who could potentially win, let's still go over the potential candidates for a nomination:

 

Laura Benanti-In her first Broadway appearance since Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, she takes on a role that previously earned Judy Kuhn a Tony nomination in the last revival.

 

Carmen Cusack-She's gonna finally be making her Broadway debut this season, but how will she fare from the competition?

 

Cynthia Erivo-In her Broadway debut, she earned across-the-board rave reviews in the role that earned Whoopi Goldberg her very first Oscar nomination, and a Tony win for LaChanze in the original production. At this point, she does seem to be the favorite to win.

 

Audra McDonald-In her very first Broadway appearance since making history by being the first performer to win six competitive Tonys as well as winning in all four acting categories, she is always great competition. Though this could end up being one of her rare losses (Marie Christine, 110 in the Shade).

 

Jessie Mueller-She may have only just won Lead Actress in a Musical almost two years ago, but from the reviews she gotten out-of-town, she does not seem to disappoint.

 

Phillipa Soo-She could be riding on the overall wave of support for Hamilton.

 

Ana Villafane-In her Broadway debut, she did get rave reviews playing Gloria Estefan in the current hit jukebox/biomusical.

Updated On: 2/11/16 at 08:01 AM

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 10:15am

I think this will actually be quite an interesting race with the potential for 3 former Tony winners and a couple of newcomers competing. 

 

I've seen a few of them and I'll reserve judgment until the rest actually start performing. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 10:18am

Why do people have a rather negative view of Soo? I understand there are some other arguably more mind-blowing lead actress performances on Broadway right now—but she is SLAYING the role of Eliza. If she wins, she wouldn't be "riding on the wave of Hamilton;" she would have won for an objectively beautiful and heartbreaking performance.

[Shrek3]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 10:32am

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

 

She would definitely be riding on the wave of Hamilton's success. She's great in the show but nothing about her role really screams award. It also doesn't help that her category placement is questionable and top of that it doesn't help her that her Co-star Renee has gotten the most praise out of all the women in Hamilton for her supporting role. If Phillipa does get nominated (which is very questionable right now) then her nomination would be a win.

 

Also there's absolutely no chance of her winning for the kind of role she is in. Especially in a year like this. Just to let you know. 

 

An idiotic gif in 3..2...1....

Updated On: 2/11/16 at 10:32 AM

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 10:36am

BroadwayConcierge said: "Why do people have a rather negative view of Soo? I understand there are some other arguably more mind-blowing lead actress performances on Broadway right now—but she is SLAYING the role of Eliza. If she wins, she wouldn't be "riding on the wave of Hamilton;" she would have won for an objectively beautiful and heartbreaking performance.

 

"

Heartbreaking is nice. But the shear magnitude of Cynthia Erivos journey in The Color Purple is hands down the best performance of an actress, in a musical in the past 10 years. The mental, physical, and emotional transformation made by this woman with little to no extra costuming is staggering. She will win the TONY.

Updated On: 2/11/16 at 10:36 AM

[woeisme3]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 10:48am

I think Benanti is a real contender. That role is amazing and so is she.

I think Soo will ride on the Hamilton wave to a nod, but I'd love to see Vilafane get one, she's great.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 10:59am

The Onion 2/12/16

3/4'S OF THE WAY THROUGH THE SEASON, BROADWAYWORLD POLARIZED BY WHICH UNSEEN MUSICAL LEAD ACTRESS'S PERFORMANCE TOWERS OVER THE OTHERS

Stand-by contributor Shoeless Joe From Baltimo Mo quipped that "you just know Jessie Mueller is the one to beat."  Broadway Legend WasIWazirIWaz responded "Shoeless, with all due respect, no way in hell they won't give it to Cynthia Errivo after those reviews I don't give a &*() how good anyone else turns out to be."  

Broadway Star Jenny Any Plotz ruminated more carefully "it doesn't really matter that we've only seen a few performances so far this season, buzz rules the day on Broadway and even what the Tony voters deem to be the best has very little to do with what they actually think is the best, so why shouldn't we exercise the same option to say who we think is the best without possibly being able to know what the hell we're talking about?"  

Swing Lesley Ann What Am I Going To Do About Warren carped "Jenny Any Plotz I think you meant to say "the same option to say WHOM we think is the best, so why shouldn't we...." not "who""   Jenny Any Plotz graciously thanked Lesley, adding "but you know what I meant, Bitch." 
 

Updated On: 2/11/16 at 10:59 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 11:30am

Broadwaystar2 said: "

 Heartbreaking is nice. But the shear magnitude of Cynthia Erivos journey in The Color Purple is hands down the best performance of an actress, in a musical in the past 10 years. The mental, physical, and emotional transformation made by this woman with little to no extra costuming is staggering. She will win the TONY."

 

It really is an unbelievable performance. It's hard to put into words how beautiful and powerful Cynthia's performance is. 

[tazber]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 11:36am

BroadwayConcierge said: "Why do people have a rather negative view of Soo? I understand there are some other arguably more mind-blowing lead actress performances on Broadway right now—but she is SLAYING the role of Eliza. If she wins, she wouldn't be "riding on the wave of Hamilton;" she would have won for an objectively beautiful and heartbreaking performance.

 

"

Just my opinion of course, but I didn't find anything special in her performance at all. In fact the performances were weakest part of the entire show.

Goldsberry and Diggs were the only ones I thought gave really good perfs.

 

 

 

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 11:36am

ljay889 said: "It's hard to put into words how beautiful and powerful Cynthia's performance is."

 

So, would you maybe say that it's TOO BEAUTIFUL FOR WORDS?! 

 

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 11:39am

LOL! That's perfect. 

[rebeccmam31]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 12:30pm

Shrek3 said: "

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

 

 

She would definitely be riding on the wave of Hamilton's success. She's great in the show but nothing about her role really screams award. It also doesn't help that her category placement is questionable and top of that it doesn't help her that her Co-star Renee has gotten the most praise out of all the women in Hamilton for her supporting role."

 

I don't know that I agree with you.  She has, at multiple moments in the show, made me weep.  Sure, some of that is in the writing, but some of it is also her performance.  Her simultaneous vulnerability and strength affect me greatly. She's not putting on a lightweight performance.

 

That said, I also saw The Color Purple, and I would hand that award to Cynthia Erivo right now.  She was transcendently good.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 12:36pm

I am not saying that Soo deserves anything over Erivo or anybody else. I am simply saying that, in my view, she gives a categorically Tony nomination-worthy performance. I've seen her twice, as well as her understudy, Alysha, who was not bad, but made me realize how truly special Soo is in the role. It's when you see somebody else in the role that you realize how much Soo's performance really ends up getting into your emotions. It's a highly nuanced role, and she's done an unbelievable job with it.

[rebeccmam31]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 1:41pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "I am not saying that Soo deserves anything over Erivo or anybody else. I am simply saying that, in my view, she gives a categorically Tony nomination-worthy performance. I've seen her twice, as well as her understudy, Alysha, who was not bad, but made me realize how truly special Soo is in the role. It's when you see somebody else in the role that you realize how much Soo's performance really ends up getting into your emotions. It's a highly nuanced role, and she's done an unbelievable job with it."

 

I agree with all that you just said.

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 1:49pm

***Cynthia Erivo

Audra McDonald

Jessie Mueller

Phillipa Soo

Laura Benanti

***Nobody will match her breathtaking performance in Color Purple***

 

[Stew123]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 1:50pm

I like Jessie Mueller for the win. She is the heart and soul of Waitress.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 4:08pm

Ha. Hilarious.

[Jessetenny]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 4:33pm

Stew123 said: "I like Jessie Mueller for the win. She is the heart and soul of Waitress.

 

"

I think we all know there's no way thats going to  happen with the PRAISE Cynthia has been getting 

[rjm516]

Posted: 2/11/16 at 4:37pm

Cynthia is out of this world and if she doesn't win it's because the Tony can't come close to adequately awarding this performance.