Like many of our readers, the staff at Playbill.com grew up watching the annual awards ceremony and caught our first glimpse of the year's best musicals on Tony night.
In anticipation of this year's honors, Playbill.com decided to go through the nominated (and a few overlooked) musicals to pick the performances we're hoping to revisit at the Tony Awards.
Click through to read our our picks.
After Midnight, Best Musical
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One number simply won't do for After Midnight. Warren Carlyle's dazzling choreography, along with the unique talents of dancers like Julius "iGlide" Chisolm, Virgil "Lil' O" Gadson, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards and Karine Plantadit, means that this one is gonna take a good old-fashioned montage. Hopefully a montage that will include Fantasia Barrino slinking and strutting her way through "Zah Zuh Zaz." |
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| James Monroe Inglehart | ||
| Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann |
Aladdin, Best Musical
We're torn. We'd kill to see the magic of "A Whole New World" as Aladdin and Jasmine soar overhead on a Magic Carpet, but we're banking on the show-stopping production number "Friend Like Me," featuring Best Featured Actor Tony Award nominee James Monroe Iglehart.
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| Jessie Mueller | ||
| Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN |
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Best Musical
The Carole King jukebox tuner, which stars Tony nominee Jessie Mueller as the Grammy-winning musician, is another nominee that calls for a medley. Ask anyone who's played the "Tapestry" album, one Carole King song just won't do. Our hopes? A quick mini-slice of the musical that takes us on Carole's journey from the "1650 Broadway Medley" to "One Fine Day," "Natural Woman" and "Beautiful."
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Best Musical
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"I've Decided to Marry You," the madcap trio that features Lisa O'Hare and Tony Award nominees Bryce Pinkham and Lauren Worsham dueling on opposite sides of a door, is some of the most ingenious staging on Broadway. This choice leaves us without an appearance by Tony-nominated leading man Jefferson Mays, so we'd happily revisit the hilarious "Lady Hyacinth Abroad." |
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| Lena Hall and Neil Patrick Harris | ||
| Photo by Joan Marcus |
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Best Revival of a Musical
How do you pick just one song from Hedwig? Mash-up time! We need to see Neil Patrick Harris completely gilded as he floats in and performs "Tear Me Down" and segues into "Wig in a Box." Any chance we'll get John Cameron Mitchell or Hugh Jackman to don the Hedwig aqua-lung wig and do a cameo?
Les Misérables, Best Revival of a Musical
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You won't find a more rousing number on the Broadway stage this season than "One Day More" from the revival of Les Misérables. Twenty-five years after the musical debuted, the song still has audiences cheering, plus it showcases the entire cast (can we squeeze a Fantine cameo in there?). |
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| Sutton Foster and Joshua Henry | ||
| Photo by Joan Marcus |
Violet, Best Revival of a Musical
Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's driving, folk-rock score finally arrived on Broadway this season with stars Sutton Foster and Joshua Henry, who earned Tony nominations for their work. A medley of "On My Way" and "Let It Sing" is the way to go for Violet on Tony night.
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| Idina Menzel | ||
| Photo by Joan Marcus |
If/Then, Best Score
Our bet is on Idina Menzel performing her show-stopping eleven o'clock number "Always Starting Over" from the Tony-nominated Tom Kitt-Brian Yorkey score.
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| Stephen Pasquale and Kelli O’Hara | ||
| Photo by Joan Marcus |
The Bridges of Madison County, Best Score
Since Bridges of Madison County closed May 18, we're especially looking forward to the possibility of hearing Jason Robert Brown's score performed live again. It's hard to pick, but or wish list includes Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara performing the glorious opening number "Build Myself a Home," or "One Second and a Million Miles," which would also feature (to borrow an apropos phrase from Julie Andrews) the egregiously overlooked Steven Pasquale.
While the following shows weren't nominated in Best Musical, Revival or Score categories, which most often find some air-time during the telecast, we'd still love to see them on Tony night.
Bullets Over Broadway, Best Book
The Tonys wouldn't be complete without a number from Woody Allen's first Broadway musical. Throw in Tony nominee Nick Cordero and the clear choice is the show-stopping gangster dance number "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do."
Cabaret
Welcome Alan Cumming and the Kit Kat Klub back to Broadway with a little "Willkommen," perhaps to open the Tonys?
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| Andy Karl and Margo Seibert | ||
| Photo by Matthew Murphy |
Rocky
Two words: Andy. Karl. He earned his Tony nomination, not only for the physical performance he delivers each night, but Karl took a role that was so Stallone and found a way to make it authentic without feeling like a forced parody. Our hats and gloves are off. But with a show like Rocky, we're gonna need a montage. Let's hope the producers find time to include something from Karl and Margo Seibert, perhaps Ahrens and Flaherty's "Happiness" coupled with "Eye of the Tiger" and one of the dazzling training or fight scenes.
Mary Bridget Davies, Best Actress, A Night with Janis Joplin
A cameo from Tony nominee Mary Bridget Davies, whose uncanny ability to capture Janis Joplin's raspy vocals tore the roof off the Lyceum Theatre on a nightly basis. How about a performance of "Me and Bobby McGee" or "Stay With Me"?
