Best Actor in a Musical
1. Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights (definite)
2. Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George (definite)
3. Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair(definite)
4. Paulo Szot, South Pacific (likely)
5. Stew, Passing Strange (likely)
Commentary: Lin-Manuel Miranda is the star and co-author of a vibrant new Broadway musical and is absolutely the front-runner in this category to win the Tony. He is guaranteed a nomination. Daniel Evans was widely praised for his performance, and he is the most real threat to Lin-Manuel Miranda, but since he has already won an award for this role in London I think it is somewhat less likely to happen here again. He is also guaranteed a nomination. Tom Wopat is the dark-horse to win the Best Actor Tony. He is receiving excellent buzz about his eleven-o'clock number ("I Stayed") and he is a well-respected industry veteran. He is also guaranteed a nomination. Paulo Szot has been getting very positive reviews on his performance in a very difficult role. It is very likely that he will get a nomination, but it does seem unlikely that he will actually contend for the award. Stew serves as the narrator and primary vocalist for the show which he also co-wrote, and it makes sense for him to take the final spot in this category. The three other actors who could sneak into this category are Cheyenne Jackson who stepped in to save "Xanadu", Roger Bart who received mediocre reviews for "Young Frankenstein", and James Snyder who during the preview process has received only negative reviews for "Cry-Baby". I suspect that if the nominators don't want to nominate Stew in this category, Cheyenne Jackson will likely be the one benefiting.
1. Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights (definite)
2. Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George (definite)
3. Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair(definite)
4. Paulo Szot, South Pacific (likely)
5. Stew, Passing Strange (likely)
Commentary: Lin-Manuel Miranda is the star and co-author of a vibrant new Broadway musical and is absolutely the front-runner in this category to win the Tony. He is guaranteed a nomination. Daniel Evans was widely praised for his performance, and he is the most real threat to Lin-Manuel Miranda, but since he has already won an award for this role in London I think it is somewhat less likely to happen here again. He is also guaranteed a nomination. Tom Wopat is the dark-horse to win the Best Actor Tony. He is receiving excellent buzz about his eleven-o'clock number ("I Stayed") and he is a well-respected industry veteran. He is also guaranteed a nomination. Paulo Szot has been getting very positive reviews on his performance in a very difficult role. It is very likely that he will get a nomination, but it does seem unlikely that he will actually contend for the award. Stew serves as the narrator and primary vocalist for the show which he also co-wrote, and it makes sense for him to take the final spot in this category. The three other actors who could sneak into this category are Cheyenne Jackson who stepped in to save "Xanadu", Roger Bart who received mediocre reviews for "Young Frankenstein", and James Snyder who during the preview process has received only negative reviews for "Cry-Baby". I suspect that if the nominators don't want to nominate Stew in this category, Cheyenne Jackson will likely be the one benefiting.
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