Who Will Be Nominated? Handicapping the Top Show and Creative Categories Before Tony Tuesday

Everyone on Broadway is talking Tonys. Nominations for this year's Tony Awards are announced on Tuesday, May 2 and everyone has an opinion on which shows and talents will be remembered and honored for their work. Broadway.com will throw our own opinions on the big races in the ring over the next few days, telling you the frontrunners, others in the mix and one shoutout to a hopeful that deserves a little push. First up, a look at the top show and creative categories.
 

BEST PLAY


FRONTRUNNERS: A Doll's House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath, Indecent by Paula Vogel, Oslo by J.T. Rogers and Sweat by Lynn Nottage


IN THE MIX: Heisenberg by Simon Stephens and The Play That Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields


BROADWAY.COM SHOUTOUT: Significant Other, a surprisingly moving comedy from Broadway newcomer Joshua Harmon, embraced the poignancy, hilarity and vulnerability of a gay single guy attending the weddings of his female friends. It left audience members with wanting to hug the main character and perhaps feeling a little less alone.

ALSO POSSIBLE: The Encounter by Simon McBurney, Oh, Hello on Broadway by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, The Present by Andrew Upton

BEST MUSICAL


FRONTRUNNERS: Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen and Groundhog Day


IN THE MIX: A Bronx Tale, Anastasia, Bandstand and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812


BROADWAY.COM SHOUTOUT: Beyond the pure genius of pairing veteran leading ladies Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole in powerhouse roles, War Paint explores power, vulnerability and history with affection, humor and intelligence.

ALSO POSSIBLE: Amelie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Holiday Inn, In Transit and Paramour
 

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY


FRONTRUNNERS: Jitney, The Little Foxes and Six Degrees of Separation


IN THE MIX: The Front Page, The Glass Menagerie and The Price


BROADWAY.COM SHOUTOUT: Some productions of the classic Noel Coward comedy Present Laughter can have a whiff of mothballs about them, but not this one. The divine cast, led by the never-better Kevin Kline, mines the play for wit, charm and all of the manic physical comedy required.

ALSO POSSIBLE: The Cherry Orchard and Les Liaisons Dangereuses
 

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL


FRONTRUNNERS: Falsettos and Hello, Dolly!


IN THE MIX: Cats, Miss Saigon and Sunset Boulevard
 

BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY


FRONTRUNNERS: Bartlett Sher for Oslo, Rebecca Taichman for Indecent and Kate Whoriskey for Sweat


IN THE MIX: Sam Gold for A Doll's House, Part 2, Jack O'Brien for The Front Page and Daniel Sullivan for The Little Foxes


BROADWAY.COM SHOUTOUT: The long-awaited first Broadway production of August Wilson's lesser-known Jitney finally got the rich production it deserved thanks to Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s deft casting and deep connection with the playwright’s rhythm, poetry and point of view.

ALSO POSSIBLE: Trip Cullman for Six Degrees of Separation, Sam Gold for The Glass Menagerie and Moritz von Stuelpnagel for Present Laughter
 

BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL


FRONTRUNNERS: Christopher Ashley for Come From Away, Rachel Chavkin for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 and Jerry Zaks for Hello, Dolly!


IN THE MIX: Michael Greif for Dear Evan Hansen, James Lapine for Falsettos and Darko Tresnjak for Anastasia


BROADWAY.COM SHOUTOUT: Matthew Warchus' dazzling precision and flair for theatricality gave Groundhog Day an unexpectedly poignant undercurrent married with nailed-it-on-the-head comedy. Plus, his choice of the pitch-perfect Andy Karl was a stroke of brilliance.

ALSO POSSIBLE: Andy Blankenbuehler for Bandstand, Robert DeNiro and Jerry Zaks for A Bronx Tale and Michael Greif for War Paint
 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE


FRONTRUNNERS: David Hein and Irene Sankoff for Come From Away and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for Dear Evan Hansen


IN THE MIX: Glenn Slater and Alan Menken for A Bronx Tale, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens for Anastasia, Tim Minchin for Groundhog Day and Dave Malloy for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.


BROADWAY.COM SHOUTOUT: Bandstand by Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor sounds like it was minted in 1944 has everything: unforgettable ballads, swinging dance music, heart-lifting anthems. It also shows off the gorgeous voices of leads Corey Cott and Laura Osnes while keeping the story snapping along.

ALSO POSSIBLE: Scott Frankel and Michael Korie for War Paint and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth for In Transit
 

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL


FRONTRUNNERS: Terrence McNally for Anastasia, David Hein and Irene Sankoff for Come From Away and Steven Levensen for Dear Evan Hansen


IN THE MIX: Danny Rubin for Groundhog Day, Dave Malloy for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 and Doug Wright for War Paint


BROADWAY.COM SHOUTOUT: Chazz Palmenteri helped his autobiographical story of growing up way uptown make the leap from one-man show to screenplay to full-blown Broadway musical beautifully.

ALSO POSSIBLE: Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor for Bandstand.
 

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY


FRONTRUNNERS: Andy Blankenbuehler for Bandstand, Denis Jones for Holiday Inn and Sam Pinkleton for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812


IN THE MIX: Peggy Hickey for Anastasia, Kelly Devine for Come From Away and Peter Darling and Ellen Kane for Groundhog Day


BROADWAY.COM SHOUTOUT: In A Bronx Tale, a show rife with macho personalities, Sergio Trujillo’s muscular, energetic work buoyed the show at just the right moments. What fun to see athleticism and exuberance lift this working class tale.

ALSO POSSIBLE: Christopher Gattelli for War Paint, Danny Meford for Dear Evan Hansen, Joshua Bergasse for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Shana Carroll and Daphné Mauger for Paramour
 

Check back tomorrow for a look at the races for actors in plays!