How Patina Miller, Tracy Letts, Holland Taylor and More Could Make History on Tony Night

Fans of the Tony Awards (like us!) love to study the list of nominees to figure out how history might be made if certain shows or performers win. This year, for example, Matilda, Pippin, Cinderella and more are poised to break Tony records, should everything go in their favor. Just for fun, we’ve compiled a list of 10 ways that the Broadway Class of 2013 could go down in Tony history—although these are by no means predictions for what will actually happen. Check out our list of hypotheticals, and tune in to the 67th annual Tony Awards on June 9. Who knows? You just might see a little bit of Tony history!

If Cyndi Lauper wins Best Score for Kinky Boots…
… the pop icon will become the first female composer to win without a writing partner.

If Patina Miller wins Best Actress in a Musical for Pippin…
…the Leading Player will become the first character to earn a Tony for both a man and a woman. (Ben Vereen won in 1973 for the same role.)

If A Christmas Story wins Best Musical…
…it will become the shortest-running Best Musical in history, with just 51 performances. The current record holder is Passion, which won in 1994 and had 280 performances. (If Bring It On wins, it will also set the record with 171 performances.)

If the four nominated actors from Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike win…
…it will mark the first time a play sweeps all four acting categories.

If Tracy Letts wins Best Actor in a Play for Virginia Woolf…
…he will become the first Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright to also win a Tony for acting. 

If Cinderella wins Best Revival and Best Book…
…it will become the first musical revival to be honored for its new book. (David Henry Hwang’s revised book of Flower Drum Song was nominated in 2003.)

If Holland Taylor wins Best Actress in a Play for Ann…
…she will become the first woman to win an acting trophy for starring in a play she wrote. (Harvey Fierstein won for writing and performing in Torch Song Trilogy in 1983.)

If The Testament of Mary wins Best Play…
…the Fiona Shaw vehicle will become the shortest-running show to win Best Play, with just 16 regular performances.

If Pippin wins 8 of the 10 Tonys it's nominated for…
…it will become the most-awarded musical revival (besting South Pacific, which won seven Tonys in 2008).

If Matilda wins all 12 Tonys it is nominated for…
…the show will tie with The Producers for the title of Broadway’s most Tony-decorated musical…until you add in the Special Tony that the four title actresses have won, which bumps up Matilda’s total to 13. (Bonus fun fact: Matilda already holds the record for most Olivier Awards and would then hold the record on both the West End and Broadway.)