Well, we’re just a few days away from The 2018 Tony Awards, and it’s going to be a big night! Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical both have 12 nominations, closely followed by Angels in America, The Band’s Visit, and the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein‘s Carousel with 11 each. Rounding out the double-digit nominations are Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two and the revival of My Fair Lady, each with 10.
I grew up watching the Tony Awards, but the first telecast I truly remember is from when I was in college in 1987 and Angela Lansbury (Mame, Sweeney Todd) hosted. Maybe I remember it because it was the first one where I had a VCR (remember those, kids?), and I must have watched the show a dozen times after it first aired. I was devastated when the videotape broke years later, thinking I’d never be able to see those much-loved numbers again, but then the Internet arrived!
That year was also the first time I went to an actual Tonys Party, and it was such a memorable evening. Angela Lansbury was a stunning host. The current shows were well represented: Me and My Girl kicked off with an exuberant “Lambeth Walk”, the cast pouring off the stage into the audience, and Les Miserables offered a stunning performance of “One Day More” as well as performances from the companies of Rags and Starlight Express. This was also one of the years when they performed snippets of the nominated plays (including August Wilson’s Fences). There was a special tribute to Robert Preston, whose leading ladies Bernadette Peters (Mack and Mabel), Barbara Cook (The Music Man), and the legendary Mary Martin (I Do! I Do!) paid tribute to their co-star who had passed away that year. But for me it was Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur reuniting to perform the number “Bosom Buddies” from Mame that I will never forget. They were both riding a huge resurgence of popularity on TV at the time, Lansbury on Murder, She Wrote, and Arthur on The Golden Girls. I can remember many friends being so surprised that they had been major Broadway musical performers.
There are so many wonderful performances from the Tony Awards telecasts over the past 50+ years that I could spend days covering them all. But what will be the standout this year? What are your favorites from the past? As has become a StageAgent tradition the past few years, here’s your Tony Awards ballot. Print it out and share it with friends! Then check out a few of the categories below and see who you’ll vote for. Have a great Tony Night!
Best Play
- The Children, by Lucy Kirkwood
- Farinelli and The King, by Claire van Kampen
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two, by Jack Thorne
- Junk, by Ayad Akhtar
- Latin History for Morons, by John Leguizamo
Best Musical
- The Band’s Visit
- Frozen
- Mean Girls
- SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Best Revival of a Play
- Angels in America
- Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
- Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
- Lobby Hero
- Travesties
Best Revival of a Musical
- My Fair Lady
- Once on This Island
- Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
- Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
- Tom Hollander, Travesties
- Jamie Parker, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
- Mark Rylance, Farinelli and The King
- Denzel Washington, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
- Glenda Jackson, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
- Condola Rashad, Saint Joan
- Lauren Ridloff, Children of a Lesser God
- Amy Schumer, Meteor Shower
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
- Harry Hadden-Paton, My Fair Lady
- Joshua Henry, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
- Tony Shalhoub, The Band’s Visit
- Ethan Slater, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
- Lauren Ambrose, My Fair Lady
- Hailey Kilgore, Once On This Island
- LaChanze, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
- Katrina Lenk, The Band’s Visit
- Taylor Louderman, Mean Girls
- Jessie Mueller, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
- Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
- Michael Cera, Lobby Hero
- Brian Tyree Henry, Lobby Hero
- Nathan Lane, Angels in America
- David Morse, Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
- Susan Brown, Angels in America
- Noma Dumezweni, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two
- Deborah Findlay, The Children
- Denise Gough, Angels in America
- Laurie Metcalf, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
- Norbert Leo Butz, My Fair Lady
- Alexander Gemignani, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
- Grey Henson, Mean Girls
- Gavin Lee, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical
- Ari’el Stachel, The Band’s Visit
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
- Ariana DeBose, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
- Renée Fleming, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
- Lindsay Mendez, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel
- Ashley Park, Mean Girls
- Diana Rigg, My Fair Lady
The 72nd Annual Tony Awards will be held on Sunday, June 10, 2018, and broadcast on CBS. Check local listings for times.
