Sarah Paulson or Jessica Lange?
Coin toss.Appropriate?Purlie Victorious?An Enemy of the People?
Coin toss, coin toss, coin toss.
From left: ‘Stereophonic’, ‘Illinoise’, Sarah Paulson in ‘Appropriate,’ and Jessica Lange in ‘Mother Player’Julieta Cervantes; Matthew Murphy; Belasco Theatre; 2ndStage
Five cast members ofStereophonic?
Get plenty of change.
Here is Deadlines annual roster of predictions for the 2024 Tony Awards,airing this Sunday evening on CBS.
The cast of ‘Stereophonic’Julieta Cervantes
And in any other year, Joshua Harmons searingPrayer for the French Republiccould be a shoo-in.
Its Broadways rock star of 2024.
BEST MUSICAL
Will win:Hells KitchenShouldwin:Illinoise
The first coin toss of this list.
Strong arguments could be made for the gorgeousSuffs, audience favoriteThe Outsidersand dark horse possibilityWater for Elephants.
But Id like to seeIllinoisetake the trophy.
Perhaps the greatest tribute the late genius composer has ever received.
Ill give Lange the slightest of edges if only for that12-minutes of silent desperationthat wasMother Plays most wrenching scene.
Still, I suspect Plunkett, a longtime Broadway favorite, will get the win.
She took home a Tony in 1987, and Tony voters might well think shes overdue for another.
Her performance as a co-dependent alcoholic mother was harrowing, her singing otherworldly.
Picking one of theStereophonicactors over the others is something of a fools errand theyre all that good.
Will Brills performance as the often-drunk, lovesick bass player Reg is perfection.
I doubt Tony voters will remember this show or this performance on Sunday, but I will.
