The Awardist Tony Awards Here are our predictions for who will win at the Tony Awards By Jessica Derschowitz Jessica Derschowitz Jessica Derschowitz is the former digital features director at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2022. EW's editorial guidelines Published on June 4, 2019 04:02PM EDT Photo: Matthew Murphy (3); Joan Marcus; Jan Versweyveld; Julieta Cervantes; Little Fang Photo This year’s Tony nominees tell a tale of two (New York) cities: the huge, commercial productions commonly mounted these days on Broadway marquees (like Tootsie and Beetlejuice), and the influx of experimental, downtown-feeling pieces like Hadestown and What the Constitution Means to Me. The creative clash has led to a bustling season, with a whopping 10 musicals and 15 plays up for this year’s Broadway honors, which will be handed out Sunday, June 9 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, with host James Corden. For your consideration, here are our predictions in the major categories: Best Musical The Nominees:Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the TemptationsBeetlejuiceHadestownThe PromTootsie We left our hearts in Hadestown, an inventive retelling of ancient Greek myths — and Tony tastemakers agreed: It’s the most nominated show of the year, with a total tally of 14. It’s facing some big-name competition (particularly from Tootsie, with another potential spoiler in feel-good underdog The Prom), but we expect this year’s Best Musical crown will take the road to Hell. Best Play The Nominees:Choir BoyThe FerrymanGary: A Sequel to Titus AndronicusInkWhat the Constitution Means to Me When Tony nominations were announced on April 30, two of the biggest snubs were the omissions of Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Lee Hall’s Network in this category. This seems to leave the lane open for The Ferryman, Jez Butterworth’s acclaimed epic about a Northern Irish family and its secrets — but it’d be an exciting surprise if Heidi Schreck’s extremely personal and politically timely What the Constitution Means to Me pulls off an upset. Best Revival of a Musical The Nominees:Kiss Me, KateRodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! There were only two musical revivals eligible this year — the refreshed Cole Porter classic starring a fierce Kelli O’Hara, and Daniel Fish’s stripped-down, “sexy” Oklahoma! that critics have been buzzing about. The prize is destined to go to the latter, and we’re more than OK(lahoma!) with that. Best Revival of a Play The Nominees:Arthur Miller’s All My SonsThe Boys in the BandBurn ThisTorch SongThe Waverly Gallery Three of the plays in this category have already finished their runs, but hopefully Tony voters won’t forget about Lila Neugebauer’s poignant staging of The Waverly Gallery. Its biggest competition will be the powerful (and still-playing) All My Sons. Leading Actor in a Musical The Nominees:Brooks Ashmanskas, The PromDerrick Baskin, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the TemptationsAlex Brightman, BeetlejuiceDamon Daunno, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!Santino Fontana, Tootsie A show like Tootsie lives or dies by its lead, and Fontana earned near-universal praise for his turn(s) as Michael Dorsey and Dorothy Michaels — charming audiences while handling the dual role’s challenging vocal demands and frequent costume changes. We also swooned for Damon Daunno’s guitar-playing cowboy and cackled at Alex Brightman’s hilarious, fourth-wall-breaking Beetlejuice, but this’ll be Fontana’s night. Leading Actress in a Musical The Nominees:Stephanie J. Block, The Cher ShowCaitlin Kinnunen, The PromBeth Leavel, The PromEva Noblezada, HadestownKelli O’Hara, Kiss Me, Kate Three actresses may share the role of Cher in the icon’s bio-musical, but Block — as “Star,” the main diva of that trio — stands out with a charismatic performance that’s as sparkling as a Bob Mackie ensemble without veering into caricature. Leading Actor in a Play The Nominees:Paddy Considine, The FerrymanBryan Cranston, NetworkJeff Daniels, To Kill a MockingbirdAdam Driver, Burn ThisJeremy Pope, Choir Boy This one’s a battle between Bryan Cranston’s “mad as hell” Howard Beale in Network and Jeff Daniels’ understated portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, with Adam Driver’s go-for-broke performance in Burn This not far behind. At this point, we’d say the scales tip towards Cranston, but this feels like one of the tightest races at the Tonys this year. (Side note: This might not be his year to win, but don’t forget the name Jeremy Pope — a double nominee for playing Eddie Kendricks in Ain’t Too Proud and his leading role in Choir Boy.) Leading Actress in a Play The Nominees:Annette Bening, Arthur Miller’s All My SonsLaura Donnelly, The FerrymanElaine May, The Waverly GalleryJanet McTeer, Bernhardt/HamletLaurie Metcalf, Hillary and ClintonHeidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means to Me Lead Actress poses another stacked category, with 87-year-old Elaine May (in her first Broadway appearance in more than 50 years) favored for her wrenching turn in Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery. But no one is immune to competition from a category mate like Annette Bening, who gives a tremendous performance in All My Sons. Featured Actor in a Musical The Nominees:André De Shields, HadestownAndy Grotelueschen, TootsiePatrick Page, HadestownJeremy Pope, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the TemptationsEphraim Sykes, Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations André De Shields is spectacular as Hadestown‘s silver-suited Hermes, commanding the stage as he guides Orpheus and the audience through the show’s descent into the Underworld. Could one of the Temptations stars dethrone him? Possibly, but it seems more than likely the 73-year-old Broadway legend will be the winner this weekend. Featured Actress in a Musical The Nominees:Lilli Cooper, TootsieAmber Gray, HadestownSarah Stiles, TootsieAli Stroker, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!Mary Testa, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! Honestly, everyone here deserves to win — and same goes for some of the actresses who didn’t make the category (justice for Beetlejuice‘s Leslie Kritzer and Head Over Heels’ Bonnie Milligan!). But based on the lineup here, we’d say it’s down to Amber Gray for her electric Persephone and Ali Stroker for her charismatic, flirtatious Ado Annie. It’s a close one, but we’ll go with Gray taking the win. Featured Actor in a Play The Nominees:Bertie Carvel, InkRobin De Jesús, The Boys in the BandGideon Glick, To Kill a MockingbirdBrandon Uranowitz, Burn ThisBenjamin Walker, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons Look for Bertie Carvel to match his Olivier Award from Ink‘s London run with some stateside hardware for his role as a young Rupert Murdoch in the early days of his news empire. Benjamin Walker could also be an appealing dark horse contender, however, for his emotional turn in All My Sons. Featured Actress in a Play The Nominees:Fionnula Flanagan, The FerrymanCelia Keenan-Bolger, To Kill a MockingbirdKristine Nielsen, Gary: A Sequel to Titus AndronicusJulie White, Gary: A Sequel to Titus AndronicusRuth Wilson, King Lear The 41-year-old Celia Keenan-Bolger threads a very difficult needle in playing the young Scout Finch, who serves as the narrator of Sorkin’s Mockingbird — and nails it. Expect Tony voters to reward her for those efforts. Related content: See the full list of 2019 Tony nominees Darren Criss, Billy Porter, Tiny Fey among first round of 2019 Tony Awards presenters James Corden announced as 2019 Tony Awards host