Neil Patrick Harris hosts the 66th Annual Tony Awards.

by Adel Manoukian

The 66th Annual Tony Awards hosted by television star Neil Patrick Harris brought together many talented Broadway stars and alums this past Sunday at the Beacon Theatre. The night went to the musical, “Once” garnering the most wins with 8 Tonys out of 11 nominations. In case you missed the star-studded night, here is a list of other winners in each category.

Musical: “Once.”

Play: “Clybourne Park.”

Revival of a Play: “Death of a Salesman.”

Revival of a Musical: “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.”

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: James Corden, “One Man, Two Guvnors.”

Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play: Nina Arianda, “Venus in Fur.”

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Steve Kazee, “Once.”

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Audra McDonald, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.”

Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Christian Borle, “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Judith Light, “Other Desert Cities.”

Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Michael McGrath, “Nice Work If You Can Get It.”

Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Judy Kaye, “Nice Work If You Can Get It.”

Book of a Musical: Enda Walsh, “Once.”

Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: “Newsies.”

Direction of Play: Mike Nichols, “Death of a Salesman.”

Direction of a Musical: John Tiffany, “Once.”

Choreography: Christopher Gattelli, “Newsies.”

Orchestration: Martin Lowe, “Once.”

Sound Design of a Play: Darron L. West, “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

Sound Design of a Musical: Clive Goodwin, “Once.”

Costume Design of a Play: Paloma Young, “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes, “Follies.”

Scenic Design Play: Donyale Werle, “Peter and the Starcatcher”

Scenic Design of a Musical: Bob Crowley, “Once.”

Lighting Design of a Play: Jeff Croiter, “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

Lighting Design of a Musical: Natasha Katz, “Once.”

That certainly applies to Raul Esparza, whose Leap of Faith received a Best Musical nomination despite a tepid critical reception. Conventional wisdom had it that Esparza would win his first Tony for the vehicle, an overdue honor since his Company perf got passed over for David Hyde Pierce in Curtains a half-decade ago. Well, Esparza’s out and Follies boys Danny Burstein and Ron Raines are in, along with Newsies’ Jeremy Jordan, Once’s Steve Kazee, and Norm Lewis for The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Will this be Jordan’s Thoroughly Modern Millie moment? Or will veteran Burstein emerge with his own long-overdue first win on Tony night?

The Best Actor in a Drama field seems like a fait accompli – Philip Seymour Hoffman will win for Mike Nichols’ current Death of a Salesman revival, though I found his performance over-studied and less alive that of fellow nominee James Corden of One Man, Two Guvnors, a play many thought would make the Best Play field. (It didn’t, falling to a quartet of plays that transferred from Off-Broadway perches either last season or the one before). Also, James Earl Jones was solid in Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, but Best Actor-worthy? Over a terrific John Larroquette in a true leading role? That’s absurd.

The Best Actress categories have been far more interesting to clock over the season, and while the five chosen for Lead Actress in a Drama are a solid bunch, the list leaves out Angela Bassett for The Mountaintop, Tyne Daly in Master Class, and, saddest of all, the wonderful Jennifer Lim in Chinglish. Venus in Fur’s Nina Arianda will give Bennett a run for her money, though I think the latter has it, to some controversy, since the most impressive aspects of her performance as Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow are the musical, not the dramatic ones.

The announcement of a special Tony Award going to Bernadette Peters for her charitable works fueled speculation that she might not get a Lead Actress in a Musical nomination for Follies, and, sure enough, she did not. Instead the field includes one four-time winner – Porgy’s Audra McDonald – and four women who’ve never won, including Jan Maxwell, Peters’ Follies co-star. Dare I say that I’m pulling for a dual Burstein-Maxwell victory? I was also pleased to see Laura Osnes make the cut for Bonnie and Clyde. The show had plenty of problems , particularly a misguided book, but performances were not one of them. (I even prefer Jordan as Clyde to his Newsies turn this year).

Which is why I am saddened that Melissa van der Schyff was left off the Featured Actress in a Musical list for Clyde, especially to make way for Once’s Elizabeth A. Davis. I am, however, happy to see On a Clear Day You Can See Forever’s Jessie Mueller, and hope she makes it to the podium. Josh Young, great but sometimes absent from Jesus Christ Superstar, also scored an early career coup with his nod, but I think Philip Boykin for Porgy has the award. (Lo siento, Ricky Martin – Tony nominators only threw Evita love to more polished co-star Michael Cerveris.)

The featured acting in a play categories are also exciting; nominators certainly threw bones to certain plays that might have gone unrecognized otherwise, like Don’t Dress for Dinner (Spencer Kayden) and Stick Fly (Condola Rashad). Andrew Garfield in Salesman never won me over, but his un-nominated co-star Finn Wittrock did. I also would have liked to see The Lyons’ Michael Esper score a nod, or Thomas Sadoski, who departed Other Desert Cities fairly early in its Broadway run but was terrific. Ditto for his co-star, Judith Light, taking over for Linda Lavin after Desert’s Lincoln Center run. Follow this trail of Broadway casting bread crumbs: Lavin declined reprising the Desert role that went to Light to play Hattie in Follies at the Kennedy Center, a role that Jayne Houdyshell then took on for Broadway so Lavin could take on the lead role in The Lyons. All three ended up with Tony nods. Well played.

Here’s a full list of this year’s Tony nominees below. I’ll have my official predictions in a few weeks.

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html