Now we arrive at the two most competitive categories of the
year: Best Actress in a Play and Best
Actress in a Musical. With so many
sterling performances by Broadway’s leading ladies this year, choosing just one
seems criminal, but I will do my best. Please
keep in mind my two caveats: 1) I have
not seen all of the nominees (at least in the play categories); and 2) Who will win is not necessarily the same as
who should win, a difference I will
explain in more detail throughout the body of the article.
Best Actress in a Play
Nominees:
Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur; Tracie
Bennett, End of the Rainbow; Stockard
Channing, Other Desert Cities; Linda
Lavin, The Lyons; Cynthia Nixon, Wit
Where do I
even begin? All five of these women gave
critically lauded performances in well-reviewed productions, meaning the
eventual winner will be determined as much by buzz as actual merit. While all of the nominees are Tony-worthy, I
think Cynthia Nixon has the least chance of winning. Yes, critics adored Nixon’s turn as a college
professor with terminal cancer, and the same role won actress Kathleen Chalfant
every acting prize she was eligible for when Wit premiered Off-Broadway 14 years ago. But with her show now closed, Nixon doesn’t
have the chance to remind Tony voters how well she stacks up against the
competition.
Linda Lavin
and Nina Arianda have the advantage of being in currently running plays, but
they somehow haven’t amassed the same level of buzz as their competition. Lavin famously passed on the Broadway
transfers of both Follies and Other Desert Cities in order to do The Lyons, and despite her tour de force
performance the show hasn’t really caught on with critics or audiences. Nina Arianda is two for two when it comes to
Tony nods (she was also nominated for her Broadway debut last year), but Venus in Fur opened so long ago that I
fear she’ll be forgotten despite Venus being
in the running for Best Play. She could
be a dark horse candidate, but by definition dark horses are not the most
likely winners.
The real
contenders are Tracie Bennett and Stockard Channing, who are both giving the
type of over the top diva performances Tony voters love. Channing finds every shade imaginable in her
domineering mother character from Other
Desert Cities, and for much of the season was considered the front runner
for this award. But then Tracie Bennett
arrived and became the talk of the town for her performance as a drug-addled,
aging Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow. Convincingly portraying a beloved icon with such
ardent fans is no small feat, and since she utterly dominates Rainbow (as opposed to the more
ensemble-oriented Other Desert Cities),
I think the Best Actress trophy is Bennett’s to lose. I’ll be rooting for Arianda, who has twice
proven she is an extraordinary talent and a superstar in the making, but the
smart money is on Bennett.
Will Win:
Tracie Bennett, End of the
Rainbow
Should Win:
Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
Best Actress in a Musical
Nominees:
Jan Maxwell, Follies; Audra
McDonald, Porgy and Bess; Cristin
Milioti, Once; Kelli O’Hara, Nice Work If You Can Get It; Laura
Osnes, Bonnie & Clyde
There is no
doubt in my mind Kelli O’Hara, with her versatility and crystal-clear singing
voice, will eventually win herself a Tony.
But it won’t be for Nice Work If You
Can Get It, an underwhelming musical that is by no means her best
work. Similarly, if Laura Osnes
continues to improve the way she has since getting her big break in the last Grease revival, she will someday find
herself in possession of the coveted statuette.
But with Bonnie & Clyde unfairly
trounced by critics and having shuttered ages ago, Osnes is also effectively
out of the running.
The
remaining three contenders have each done fantastic work this season, and a
convincing argument could be made for any one of them to win Best Actress. Ultimately, I think being a first-time
nominee will keep the sensational Cristin Milioti from winning, with the Tony
voters reasoning that she has plenty of time left to win the award. That is not a knock against her amazing
performance in Once; I would argue she
is the best thing about that incredibly strong show.
But perennial
Tony favorites Audra McDonald and Jan Maxwell have both exceeded all possible
expectations this year. Jan Maxwell was
a revelation in Follies, stopping the
show twice with her two big numbers. She
made the acerbic Phyllis endlessly compelling, slowly stripping away character’s
icy veneer to reveal the damaged soul underneath. It was a master class in musical theatre
acting, and combined with the fact that this four-time nominee has never won,
that makes her the one the beat in many people’s eyes.
Meanwhile
Audra McDonald, the universally beloved singing actress, has one Tony for each
of Maxwell’s nominations. It would be
perfectly logically for the Tony voters to spread the wealth, especially since
we all knew McDonald would be excellent in Porgy
and Bess, a role she was born to play.
But it is impossible to comprehend just how amazing her Bess is without
seeing it, and I suspect even her biggest fans would find themselves surprised
by what a masterful portrayal it is. McDonald
conveys more with her posture and body language than most actresses can in an
entire song, and some of the most riveting moments in Porgy are the dialogue-free scenes where you watch Bess’ inner
struggle to overcome her self-destructive tendencies. And when McDonald does sing, she achieves such
operatic heights of vocal technique and emotion that it is truly transcendent.
I’ve been
agonizing over which actress is more deserving for months, and in many ways the
race is still too close to call. But
call it I must, and my gut is favoring McDonald, despite her almost
unprecedented four previous wins. Unlike
Maxwell, whose show closed in January, McDonald
is still performing nightly and therefore reminding the Tony voters of her
nearly unmatched talent. Her Bess is one
for the ages, and probably her best work to date, an especially high compliment
when those four other Tony Awards are taken into consideration. But if ever there was a tie for Best Actress,
this would be the year.
Will Win:
Audra McDonald, Porgy and Bess
Should Win:
Audra McDonald AND Jan Maxwell (they are both perfection)
Check back
soon for my Best Actor predictions.
Until then, catch up on my previous Tony articles:
Best Score and Book
Best Direction and Choreography
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