Best Musical
1. Passing Strange (definite)
2. In the Heights (definite)
3. A Catered Affair (definite)
4. Xanadu (very likely)
Commentary: In my view "Passing Strange" will go head to head with "In the Heights" for this prize. Right now, I think "Passing" has the slight edge because of its producers (the Shubert Organization and Elizabeth McCann) who are very well-respected, while some of the producers of "In the Heights" have somewhat strained relationships with the Tony voters. That's not saying that anything is set in stone, and it really is a toss-up between these two shows. (Although on the whole, "Passing" did get better reviews). "A Catered Affair" is the "art" musical of the year and will definitely be nodded, but isn't really in the competitive mix. At this moment I think "Xanadu" will grab the last spot in this category because of its very strong reviews and people will get a kick out of seeing it on the telecast. If "Glory Days" opens to fairly strong reviews, it could easily take the final spot from "Xanadu". The other original musicals this year, "Young Frankenstein", "The Little Mermaid", and "Cry-Baby" are or will be fairly trashed by the press and are extremely unlikely to compete in this category.
2. In the Heights (definite)
3. A Catered Affair (definite)
4. Xanadu (very likely)
Commentary: In my view "Passing Strange" will go head to head with "In the Heights" for this prize. Right now, I think "Passing" has the slight edge because of its producers (the Shubert Organization and Elizabeth McCann) who are very well-respected, while some of the producers of "In the Heights" have somewhat strained relationships with the Tony voters. That's not saying that anything is set in stone, and it really is a toss-up between these two shows. (Although on the whole, "Passing" did get better reviews). "A Catered Affair" is the "art" musical of the year and will definitely be nodded, but isn't really in the competitive mix. At this moment I think "Xanadu" will grab the last spot in this category because of its very strong reviews and people will get a kick out of seeing it on the telecast. If "Glory Days" opens to fairly strong reviews, it could easily take the final spot from "Xanadu". The other original musicals this year, "Young Frankenstein", "The Little Mermaid", and "Cry-Baby" are or will be fairly trashed by the press and are extremely unlikely to compete in this category.
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