Ready, Set, Tony! All About the Five Showstoppers in the Leading Actress in a Musical Category

When the Tony Awards telecast begins on Sunday, June 9, 40 nervous and excited actors will take their seats at Radio City Music Hall, hoping to win Broadway’s biggest prize. Throughout the season, Broadway.com has photographed and chatted with the stars at press events, opening nights and visits to our studio. In advance of the 73rd annual Tonys, we’re looking back at all of the season’s nominees. For our final deep dive, the category of Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.

STEPHANIE J. BLOCK | THE CHER SHOW
Before Stephanie J. Block sang a duet of “Turn Back Time” with Cher on opening night of The Cher Show, before Cher tweeted star emojis to Block, before Block collected a stack of rave reviews for her performance, the Broadway vet had a heart-to-heart backstage chat with the superstar. "I said [to Cher], 'I admire you greatly, but I want to let you know that I am an actress playing a part,'" Block revealed on Show People. "‘I’m not looking to fly into stardom because I am playing you, or to ride your coattails. I’m a mom and a wife, and I’ve been hired to play this role.’" Cher loved it—and Block’s attitude freed her to create a three-dimensional theatrical portrait that captures the voice, the glamour and the honesty of Cher. Block’s triumph comes after more than 15 years of Broadway roles ranging from Liza Minnelli (in The Boy from Oz), Elphaba and the Pirate Queen to Tony-nominated performances in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Falsettos. Now it’s back to the Tonys for channeling the ultimate pop goddess. "I have embraced a lot of who I am by playing Cher," Block said in a Fall Preview feature. "Stepping into her shoes is amazing and freeing."
 

CAITLIN KINNUNEN | THE PROM
Playing the calm center in a Broadway musical storm isn’t easy, but Caitlin Kinnunen hits exactly the right notes as Emma in The Prom, a gay high school student who longs to bring a girl to the prom. Caught between bullying classmates in her Indiana hometown and a group of narcissistic Broadway actors who swoop in protest the cancellation of the dance, Kinnunen navigates the craziness with quiet grace; appropriately enough, her first song is "Just Breathe." "Emma is a real person dealing with real issues," the actress said on #LiveAtFive. "I feel a responsibility to take care of her and make sure she is portrayed in an honest and truthful way." Kinnunen made her Broadway debut a decade ago, at age 16, in Spring Awakening and played the daughter of her category-mate Kelli O’Hara in The Bridges of Madison County. She has used her Prom public presence to speak out about her own sexual orientation (lesbian icon Ellen Page is her dream Tony date!), body positivity and for those, like her, who live with Type 1 diabetes. "This show has taught me so much about my strengths and having courage and believing in myself," she said the morning the Tony nominations were announced. "That has been the greatest lesson."
 

BETH LEAVEL | THE PROM
Beth Leavel perfected her portrayal of a comic diva as the tipsy title character in The Drowsy Chaperone catapulting herself into leading lady status on Broadway while taking home a 2006 Tony Award. In real life, Leavel is the ultimate team player, but she has no problem revving it up as egocentric and utterly oblivious star Dee Dee Allen in The Prom. In a role crafted especially for her by Drowsy writer Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin (who worked with the actress on Elf), Leavel leaves audiences laughing while her character undergoes a change of heart during a prom-planning trip to Indiana. "She discovers her humanity," the actress noted on Show People. "She sheds her diva-ness and finds some kind of authenticity again." It’s been eight years since Leavel’s second Tony nod (for Baby It’s You!), and she couldn’t be happier to be honored for an original musical she helped develop. "No role has meant more to me than Dee Dee Allen, and no show has touched my heart more than The Prom," she said on #LiveAtFive. "It’s different this time," she added of her 2019 Tony nomination. "It’s really personal."
 

EVA NOBLEZADA | HADESTOWN
Two years after navigating the theatrical awards circuit at age 21 for her sensational Broadway debut in Miss Saigon, Eva Noblezada is headed back to the Tonys for her portrayal of Eurydice, a scrappy tomboy who falls in love at first sight with Orpheus (Reeve Carney) and goes to hell and back in Hadestown. "She’s a survivor," Noblezada said of her character on Show People. "She’s a tough girl, so I wanted to make sure that she was relatable and not a mute, not a victim." In a 10-minute sequence near the top of the show, the young actress sets the mood for everything that follows with her gorgeous performance of three songs by Anais Mitchell, "a prophet and a poet and a fairy," Noblezada quipped on opening night. "The music is one of the most incredible things I’ve had the privilege of listening to, let alone singing." Reflecting on her affinity for strong heroines (Kim in Miss Saigon, Eponine in the West End’s Les Miserables and now Eurydice), she said, "I’m a black-and-white personality, so I think that makes these hugely emotional roles easy for me to play. I love the drama of having the audience with me."
 

KELLI O'HARA | KISS ME, KATE
Beyond the opportunity to deliver swoon-worthy renditions of Cole Porter’s "So In Love" and "Wunderbar," Kelli O’Hara wanted to help reset the role of volatile actress Lilli Vanessi in the Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate. "We tried to think about where we are in 2019 as opposed to ’47, when this musical was written," she explained in a Spring Preview feature. So, no more being "ashamed that women are so simple" (it’s "people" now); no more Taming of the Shrew-style spanking. Instead, O’Hara uses her innate star quality to create a nuanced portrait of a smart woman balancing ambition and passion without apology. The result garnered the actress’ seventh Tony nomination since 2005, including a win for The King and I in 2014 that inspired a celebratory time-step on stage at Radio City Music Hall. "The biggest surprise in my life is that the Tonys have become such a big part of my career," O’Hara said on #LiveAtFive, "because I promise to God I would be right here, doing any show they would let me do, without any award to inspire me. My dream was the work, and the dream continues to be the work."
 

Photos: All photos by Caitlin McNaney for Broadway.com | Design: Ryan Casey for Broadway.com