2024 Tony Awards predictions slugfest: How many nominations will hit play ‘Appropriate’ earn? [WATCH]
“It is a pretty great crop of plays this year, several that have become big commercial hits,” declares Sam Eckmann about the many dramas and revivals in contention for nominations at the 77th Tony Awards. Sam and I met for the very first time this season to discuss the 15 productions eligible for nominations, reviewing our picks in seven of the 11 play categories. Watch our 2024 Tony Awards slugfest above.
In the top category of Best Play, we overlap on four of our five predicted nominees: “Stereophonic,” “Prayer for the French Republic,” “Mother Play” and “Patriots.” While I tentatively pick the upcoming “Mary Jane” by Amy Herzog for the fifth slot, Sam backs “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” by Jocelyn Bioh, saying it “got amazing reviews, enough to break in here.” We also discuss a possible surprise nomination for either “The Cottage” or “Grey House.” The other eligible productions are “I Need That” and “The Shark is Broken.”
WATCH our exclusive video interview with Sandy Rustin, ‘The Cottage’ playwright
As we begin discussing the other big race for Best Play Revival, I mention that the five eligible shows are “all very strong contenders… it feels wrong to leave any of these productions out.” Sam and I match two-for-three with our predictions, both choosing “Appropriate” and “Purlie Victorious,” but I pick the sight-unseen “Uncle Vanya” while Sam backs “An Enemy of the People.” Sam reminds us, “Appropriate is the huge breakout success of the season in terms of plays,” which means it’s the safest choice here. Neither of us are predicting “Doubt” to get nominated: Sam thinks this revival “didn’t do anything dramatically, radically different,” while I point out that the original production was not too long ago and could still be so fresh in the nominators’ minds that this remounting might pale in comparison.
Speaking of “Doubt,” Sam and I both predict Amy Ryan to get nominated; she stepped into the production with extremely limited notice after original star Tyne Daly had to bow out due to illness. We agree on our other three predictions, too, of Sarah Paulson (“Appropriate”), Jessica Lange (“Mother Play”)—“a nice little ‘American Horror Story’ showdown,” I quip—and Rachel McAdams (“Mary Jane”). While I flag a potential nomination for Tony winner Anika Noni Rose (“Uncle Vanya”), Sam warns, “We should never count out Laurie Metcalf,” referring to the two-time Tony winner’s performance in “Grey House.” I proclaim that this category in particular “screams a place where we’re going to get a statistical tie” and additional nominees.
We match 100% on our four picks for Best Actor, too. Our predicted nominees are Leslie Odom Jr. (“Purlie Victorious”), Jeremy Strong (“An Enemy of the People”), Steve Carell (“Uncle Vanya”) and Michael Stuhlbarg (“Patriots”), though both Carell and Stuhlbarg have yet to be seen by Broadway audiences. “If ‘Purlie Victorious’ was still running, Leslie would definitely be my number one,” shares Sam, wondering how the fact that the show closed in early February will affect his win potential. He adds, “I’m really kind of sad not to have Liev Schreiber in my lineup,” referring to the Tony winner’s lead role in “Doubt.” Could this be a category that gets expanded by a statistical tie, too?
Watch our Tony Awards nominations slugfest above to see our discussion of the Featured Actress, Featured Actor and Director categories, and make or update your predictions now.
PREDICT the 2024 Tony Awards nominations through April 30
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