Going for 2013 Tony Gold! Handicapping the Race for Best Featured Actress in a Play

2013 Tony Forecast

by Broadway.com Staff • Apr 24, 2013

It's Tony time on Broadway, and as always, we can't stop thinking about who'll be going for the gold on June 9! In anticipation of the 2013 nominations, which will be announced on April 30, we're clocking 14 of the top races. Take a look at our forecast, including frontrunners, hopefuls and a “shout out” to one performer or show we hope the Tony nominators won’t forget. Below, a cheat sheet on the race for Best Featured Actress in a Play.

FRONTRUNNERS
Judith Ivey, The Heiress
When a supporting character steals the show, a Tony nomination often follows—and Ivey’s flawless, heartwarming Aunt Lavinia is a prime example of that rule.

Judith Light, The Assembled Parties
With her unsurpassed skill at delivering comic zingers, Light seems assured of a nod a year after her Tony win for a similarly outspoken matron in Other Desert Cities.

Condola Rashad, The Trip to Bountiful
With the exit of Kristine Nielsen from this category, 2012 nominee Rashad, who was singled out by reviewers for her quiet grace in scenes with Cicely Tyson, becomes a frontrunner.

IN THE MIX
Carrie Coon, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
In the awards-bait role of Honey, Coon was a hilarious drunk who also mined the character’s sorrow.

Cady Huffman, The Nance
Funny, tough and touching: Tony winner Huffman makes her aging burlesque stripper a crowd-pleaser.

Yvonne Strahovski, Golden Boy
Critics were wowed by this newcomer’s performance as the object of the title character’s desire.

Maura Tierney, Lucky Guy
Tierney holds her own a cast filled with men as the smart and sensible wife of Mike McAlary (Tom Hanks).

Vanessa Williams, The Trip to Bountiful
Williams goes head to head with Cicely Tyson as a demanding daughter-in-law and lives to tell the tale.

Also possible: Kate Arrington (Grace), Ellen Burstyn (Picnic), Shalita Grant (Vanya and Sonia…), Maggie Grace (Picnic), Jessica Hecht (Harvey), Marin Ireland (The Big Knife), Elizabeth Marvel (Picnic), Debra Monk (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Clemence Poesy (Cyrano de Bergerac

BROADWAY.COM SHOUT OUT
Mare Winningham, Picnic
On paper, this Midwestern matriarch reads like a nagging harpy. Winningham did the impossible, making Flo a loving mom dedicated to helping her daughters achieve a better life.