As the 71st Annual Tony Awards are set to air this Sunday night, it’s a good time to take a look back at this year’s amazing Broadway season, and the shows and performances that hope to get recognition on Sunday.

As I regrettably was unable to see any Broadway plays this year, I will focus solely on musicals.

Let’s kick it off with the nominees for Best Musical – Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Groundhog Day, and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. 

Despite living in Canada, I was fortunate enough to see all four of these fantastic shows, and I can confirm it was worth every minute of overnight bussing to see them. These shows tell amazing stories that uplift and inspire you, and make you laugh, cry and everything in between, in ways that only the best of theatre can.

While last year’s runaway hit, Hamilton, was ground breaking and deserved the Tony recognition it received, it took away some of the fun of “guessing” who may win — everyone already knew Hamilton would sweep. In contrast, the exciting thing about this year’s race is how evenly matched it is. Honestly, any one of these four musicals could easily win Best Musical, and it would be completely deserved. However, if I had to choose just one…. my heart says Dear Evan Hansen. It destroyed my soul and my tear ducts, and I loved every minute of it.

Best Revival of a Musical is less uncertain, with Hello, Dolly! almost sure to win. I only saw Falsettos and Miss Saigon in this category and thought they were both deserving of the win, so I can only assume that Hello, Dolly! is worthy of the hype.

Moving on to the acting nominees, all I can say is – wow! The categories are stacked this year with absolutely fabulous and awe-inspiring performances. While Bette Midler will almost definitely win Best Actress in a Musical for Hello, Dolly!, the Featured Actress category could go either way – although I’m personally rooting for Falsetto’s Stephanie J Block. Can you belt it out with banana in your mouth?! 

Ben Platt seems poised to take the Tony for Best Actor, giving one of the best performances I’ve ever seen on a stage, but Groundhog Day’s Andy Karl is definitely giving him a run for his money (and with an injury, too!). 

And finally, it seems that the ex-“Elder Price’s” Andrew Rannells and Gavin Creel lead the pack for Featured Actor in a Musical (Although it should be noted that Great Comet’s Lucas Steele literally dances while playing the violin and that is just awesome).

Best Book and Best Original Score contain the exact same nominees as Best Musical, and it will be interesting to see if the Tony voters will award one musical with all three trophies, or try to give each show a different recognition. 

The awards for Scenic, Costume and Lighting Design, Choreography, Direction and Orchestrations introduce some of the other great shows of the season into the awards mix, such as Bandstand and Anastasia, and it will be nice to see them receive some appreciation as well.

It’s sure to be an exciting show this year, and I wish all of the nominees the best of luck!

What was your favorite show this season, and who will you be rooting for on Tony night?

2017 Tony Award nominees

Best Play:
“A Doll’s House, Part 2”
“Indecent”
“Oslo”
“Sweat”

Best Musical:
“Come From Away”
“Dear Evan Hansen”
“Groundhog Day The Musical”
“Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”

Best Book of a Musical:
“Come From Away” — Irene Sankoff and David Hein
“Dear Evan Hansen” — Steven Levenson
“Groundhog Day The Musical” — Danny Rubin
“Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” — Dave Malloy

Best Original Score:
“Come From Away” — Music & Lyrics: Irene Sankoff and David Hein
“Dear Evan Hansen” — Music & Lyrics: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
“Groundhog Day The Musical” — Music & Lyrics: Tim Minchin
“Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” — Music & Lyrics: Dave Malloy

Best Revival of a Play:
“August Wilson’s Jitney”
“Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
“Present Laughter”
“Six Degrees of Separation”

Best Revival of a Musical:
“Falsettos”
“Hello, Dolly!”
“Miss Saigon”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play:
Denis Arndt, “Heisenberg”
Chris Cooper, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Corey Hawkins, “Six Degrees of Separation”
Kevin Kline, “Present Laughter”
Jefferson Mays, “Oslo”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play:
Cate Blanchett, “The Present”
Jennifer Ehle, “Oslo”
Sally Field, “The Glass Menagerie”
Laura Linney, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
Laurie Metcalf, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical:
Christian Borle, “Falsettos”
Josh Groban, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”
Andy Karl, “Groundhog Day The Musical”
David Hyde Pierce, “Hello, Dolly!”
Ben Platt, “Dear Evan Hansen”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical:
Denee Benton, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”
Christine Ebersole, “War Paint”
Patti LuPone, “War Paint”
Bette Midler, “Hello, Dolly!”
Eva Noblezada, “Miss Saigon”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play:
Michael Aronov, “Oslo”
Danny DeVito, “Arthur Miller’s The Price”
Nathan Lane, “The Front Page”
Richard Thomas, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
John Douglas Thompson, “August Wilson’s Jitney”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play:
Johanna Day, “Sweat”
Jayne Houdyshell, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Cynthia Nixon, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
Condola Rashad, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Michelle Wilson, “Sweat”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical:
Gavin Creel, “Hello, Dolly!”
Mike Faist, “Dear Evan Hansen”
Andrew Rannells, “Falsettos”
Lucas Steele, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”
Brandon Uranowitz, “Falsettos”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical:
Kate Baldwin, “Hello, Dolly!”
Stephanie J. Block, “Falsettos”
Jenn Colella, “Come From Away”
Rachel Bay Jones, “Dear Evan Hansen”
Mary Beth Peil, “Anastasia”

Best Scenic Design of a Play:
David Gallo, “August Wilson’s Jitney”
Nigel Hook, “The Play That Goes Wrong”
Douglas W. Schmidt, “The Front Page”
Michael Yeargan, “Oslo”

Best Scenic Design of a Musical:
Rob Howell, “Groundhog Day The Musical”
David Korins, “War Paint”
Mimi Lien, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”
Santo Loquasto, “Hello, Dolly!”

Best Costume Design of a Play:
Jane Greenwood, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
Susan Hilferty, “Present Laughter”
Toni-Leslie James, “August Wilson’s Jitney”
David Zinn, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”

Best Costume Design of a Musical:
Linda Cho, “Anastasia”
Santo Loquasto, “Hello, Dolly!”
Paloma Young, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”
Catherine Zuber, “War Paint”

Best Lighting Design of a Play:
Christopher Akerlind, “Indecent”
Jane Cox, “August Wilson’s Jitney”
Donald Holder, “Oslo”
Jennifer Tipton, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”

Best Lighting Design of a Musical:
Howell Binkley, “Come From Away”
Natasha Katz, “Hello, Dolly!”
Bradley King, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”
Japhy Weideman, “Dear Evan Hansen”

Best Direction of a Play:
Sam Gold, “A Doll’s House, Part 2”
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, “August Wilson’s Jitney”
Bartlett Sher, “Oslo”
Daniel Sullivan, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes”
Rebecca Taichman, “Indecent”

Best Direction of a Musical:
Christopher Ashley, “Come From Away”
Rachel Chavkin, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”
Michael Greif, “Dear Evan Hansen”
Matthew Warchus, “Groundhog Day The Musical”
Jerry Zaks, “Hello, Dolly!”

Best Choreography:
Andy Blankenbuehler, “Bandstand”
Peter Darling and Ellen Kane, “Groundhog Day The Musical”
Kelly Devine, “Come From Away”
Denis Jones, “Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical”
Sam Pinkleton, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”

Best Orchestrations:
Bill Elliott and Greg Anthony Rassen, “Bandstand”
Larry Hochman, “Hello, Dolly!”
Alex Lacamoire, “Dear Evan Hansen”
Dave Malloy, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”