>> HASKINS: Coming up on

"Theater Talk"...

Do you vote your heart?

>> VINCENTELLI: I vote with my

heart.

>> HASKINS: Good.

>> GREEN: And, Adam, lacking

one, what do you do?

[ Laughter ]

>> FELDMAN: Thank you.

I honor the privacy of the

ballot box.

>> HASKINS: Wonderful.

♪

From New York City, this is

"Theater Talk."

And it is our annual Tony

predictions show.

I'm Susan Haskins.

And here with me is my co-host,

Adam Feldman, dance and theater

editor ofTime Out New York and

president of the New York Drama

Critics' Circle.

>> FELDMAN: Correct.

>> HASKINS: And we are joined by

our Tony predictors.

Patrick Pacheco of the

L.A. Times, noted author of

this fantastic book, the

"American Theatre Wing," and

also an Emmy winner for

NY1 "On Stage" --

Best Magazine Show this year.

Congratulations, Patrick.

It seems to be your year.

>> PACHECO: [ Laughs ]

>> HASKINS:

Elisabeth Vincentelli,

contributing writer to

The New Yorker and

The New York Times

and co-host of

"Three on the Aisle," our

spin-off.

[ Laughter ]

>> MUSTO: Seems to be your year,

too.

>> HASKINS: Michael Musto of

NewNowNext.com.

Michael, do you have anything

you want to tell our viewers?

>> MUSTO: I missed some of these

shows this season because of an

ailment.

>> HASKINS: All right.

>> MUSTO: But I still got 82%

right in my nomination

predictions, proving you don't

have to see the shows to guess

the Tonys.

>> HASKINS: That's so true.

That's true.

>> MUSTO: Or to even vote on the

Tonys.

>> HASKINS: And Jesse Green.

>> GREEN: I also have something

I want to say.

>> HASKINS: All right.

Who is the co-chief theater

critic ofThe New York Times.

What would you like to say?

>> GREEN: I didn't miss a lot of

the shows this season and I wish

I had an ailment.

>> HASKINS: Now, we're gonna

jump right in, everybody, with

your predictions for Best Play.

"The Children"...

"Farinelli and the King"...

>> ♪ Enchanted

>> ..."Harry Potter and the

Cursed Child," parts 1 and 2...

"Junk," and

"Latin History for Morons."

Hmm.

>> PACHECO: That's really a

tough one.

>> MUSTO: Look, Susan,

"Harry Potter" came from London.

It won awards. It's really long.

It feels like an event.

It doesn't even matter if it's

good.

It's going to win.

>> FELDMAN: I mean, I think it's

a terrific show.

I think it's a terrific

experience at the theater.

The question is -- as a play, is

it as good as, let's say in this

case, "The Children" or "Junk."

>> PACHECO: Well, "The Children"

is clearly a great play, and

"Harry Potter" is an experience,

as you said.

>> FELDMAN: Yeah.

And the thing about the Tonys,

as you know, is that there isn't

a distinction between the

production and the play the way

that there is for musical

categories.

>> PACHECO: Or revivals.

>> FELDMAN: Yeah.

So, what I expect to see this

year is "Harry Potter" winning,

in the same way that "War Horse"

won in its year over, in that

year, a very strong selection of

original plays that were, in my

opinion, clearly superior as

plays.

But "War Horse" was unstoppable.

>> VINCENTELLI: I would say it's

just a horrible year for

American plays.

>> PACHECO: Mm-hmm.

>> MUSTO: On Broadway.

>> VINCENTELLI: On Broadway.

>> PACHECO: Oh, I think

Ayad Akhtar's "Junk" is pretty

good.

He's an American playwright.

>> TOM: Are you threatening me?

>> ROBERT: On the contrary, Tom.

>> VINCENTELLI: Oh, it's deadly.

[ Laughter ]

>> HASKINS: I liked "Junk."

>> PACHECO: I totally disagree.

>> MUSTO: Ever since

"Nicholas Nickleby," something

that prestigious, such an event

is going to win.

It just -- "The Children," you

really think, has a chance?

No, it doesn't.

>> GREEN: No, I don't think it

has a chance.

I think it's a very fine play.

>> VINCENTELLI: It's a better

play-play.

>> GREEN: But to speak to

Elisabeth's point, I think that

a lot of plays kind of scurried

away from this season because

they knew "Harry Potter" was

coming in.

>> HASKINS: You, Elisabeth, and

you, Adam, are Tony voters,

correct?

>> FELDMAN: Mm-hmm.

>> HASKINS: Will you throw your

vote away on "The Children" or

jump in on "Harry --

>> PACHECO: That's a leading

question.

>> HASKINS: That's an

interesting question.

Do you vote your heart?

>> VINCENTELLI: I vote with my

heart.

>> HASKINS: Good.

>> VINCENTELLI: I really

don't -- Yeah.

>> HASKINS: And you?

>> GREEN: And, Adam, lacking

one, what do you do?

[ Laughter ]

>> FELDMAN: Thank you.

I honor the privacy of the

ballot box.

>> HASKINS: Wonderful.

>> MUSTO: He's voting for --

[ Laughter ]

>> HASKINS: Now on to

Best Musical.

"The Band's Visit"...

>> ♪ The kick drum

♪ Spelling out the rhythm of

love ♪

>> ..."Frozen..."

♪

..."Mean Girls"...

>> ♪ She has everything

♪ She gets everything

>> ..."SpongeBob SquarePants."

>> MUSTO: This is another really

hard one.

>> GREEN: Yeah. Really hard one.

>> MUSTO: We knew a year ago it

was going to be

"The Band's Visit."

And let's look at the trajectory

of recent years.

There was "Fun Home" and

"Hamilton" and

"Dear Evan Hansen," plays that

received great acclaim and

awards off-Broadway, moved to

Broadway.

That's a given that, after they

moved, they're going to win the

Tony.

No different this year.

>> PACHECO: It's also a level of

excellence.

I mean, "Band's Visit" is so

original and so bold and so

daring and so "non-commercial,"

in many ways, that you really

want it to be acknowledged by

the Tony Award in order to spike

sales.

>> MUSTO: And you think, "Well,

it's based on a movie."

Well, it is based on a movie,

but it's not an obvious movie.

>> VINCENTELLI: So we're saying

that "Harry Potter" is going to

win because it's bold and it's

commercial and "Mean Girls" is

not going to win because it's

bold and commercial?

Like, I don't understand the --

>> MUSTO: You see a discrepancy

there?

>> VINCENTELLI: I'm not

understanding the reasoning

there.

If bold and non-commercial --

>> MUSTO: But "Harry Potter" is

a prestige event, unlike

"Mean Girls."

"Mean Girls" is just a fun show.

>> PACHECO: I don't think

"Mean Girls" is bold at all.

>> HASKINS: But, Elisabeth, as

you all in the Drama Critics'

Circle awarded the effects and

the staging and the magical look

of "Harry Potter," which it had.

And I wouldn't say that, for

example, "Mean Girls" had new,

innovative staging.

>> VINCENTELLI: But the

advantage of the citation of the

Drama Critics' Circle is that

you can differentiate between

the play and the production

values.

And it's a very careful wording

there.

That said, I agree that

"The Band's Visit" will win and

should win.

>> FELDMAN: And it's not just

excellence.

I mean, it is excellence, but

it's also -- There's a snob

factor.

There's a prestige factor

involved.

I think that, for better, for

worse, "SpongeBob" and

"Mean Girls," even among people

who really like them -- and I

liked both of those shows --

they do seem like shows that are

aimed at some level of children.

And that's true of "Frozen," as

well.

And "Band's Visit" is very much

an adult show.

>> MUSTO: In "Band's Visit,"

there are no show-stopping

numbers.

There's no production numbers.

It's a human, charming,

eccentric thing about a band

that gets stranded in an Israeli

town that's supposed to be dull.

Turns out, it isn't dull.

There's lots of interesting

human interaction.

>> ♪ Now, that's a party

>> MUSTO: "Mean Girls" is a

Broadway animal from beginning

to end.

>> GREEN: But it's interesting

that now -- and I think this is

what you're saying -- that show,

"Mean Girls," that checks those

boxes, is not the one that is

the instant win.

It's the other one, the one that

would, you know, 20 years ago,

would probably never have come

to Broadway in the first place.

>> HASKINS: But for the past few

years, when the Tony voters have

been given the opportunity to

vote for something that's an

innovative work of art, they do

go with that, but now, here, you

have in the plays where --

You're right.

It's not an innovative play, but

all the other plays are gone.

You know, were early in the

season or are gone, where here

was this juggernaut that's just

sitting there.

>> VINCENTELLI: Well, I think a

big difference this year is

that -- I think the favorite

right now would be

"The Band's Visit," but if you

remember, the prestige musical

is not always a shoo-in.

I would always think of the year

of "Caroline, or Change"...

>> FELDMAN: Right.

>> VINCENTELLI: ...versus -- I

think it was "Avenue Q" and

"Wicked," which is a very

similar situation as to this

one.

Another transfer, prestige

transfer, except

"Caroline, or Change"

did not win.

>> HASKINS: I'm going to jump to

Book of a Musical.

So, here, we have

"The Band's Visit"...

>> DINA: You can stay here with

us tonight, if you want to.

>> TEWFIQ: No. No.

You have done too much already.

>> HASKINS: ....Itamar Moses,

"Frozen," Jennifer Lee,

"Mean Girls," Tina Fey, and

"SpongeBob," Kyle Jarrow.

Is Tina Fey's star power,

TV-personality thing going to

carry her into beating

Itamar Moses?

>> PACHECO: I hope not.

>> GREEN: I think so.

>> PACHECO: I hope not.

>> VINCENTELLI: I think so.

>> PACHECO: I really think

Itamar Moses did a much better

job.

>> GREEN: But that's a different

question.

>> HASKINS: That's a different

question.

>> MUSTO: I heard they might

actually put this category on

the telecast, which they usually

don't, and one of the

motivations might they think

Tina Fey could win, and she's

ratings.

I don't know.

I think "Band's Visit" had the

best book.

>> VINCENTELLI: I think there

will be a split of the votes in

there, that Musical will go to

"Band's Visit" and Book will go

to "Mean Girls."

>> PACHECO: I'm going to make a

prediction that Itamar Moses is

going to win for "Band's Visit."

>> FELDMAN: I think it's gonna

be very tight.

This is one of the hardest ones

to predict.

>> HASKINS: Yes, yes.

>> FELDMAN: And I think that

this might -- What might be

working in Tina Fey's favor, in

addition to her celebrity, in

addition to the very good work

that she does on the show, is

that people do have an impulse

to spread the wealth a little

bit.

"Mean Girls" did get

12 nominations.

It's hard to think of that many

other categories in which it has

a very strong chance of winning.

And in the same way that, you

know, "Come From Away" won

Best Director last year for

Ashley, this might get that kind

of award.

Here is an award we can give to

"Mean Girls."

>> HASKINS: And Tina Fey sent

pink pencils to everyone in the

press.

[ Laughter ]

Here's another hard category --

Best Revival of a Musical.

"My Fair Lady"...

"Once On This Island"...

>> ♪ What you are

♪ We made you

>> HASKINS: ...Rodgers and

Hammerstein's "Carousel."

>> GREEN: Wait.

Were the others not written by

anyone?

[ Laughter ]

>> FELDMAN: Anonymous.

>> HASKINS: Well, their estates

are not in there...

>> GREEN: Oh, I see.

>> MUSTO: I would definitely go

with Edward Albee's

"My Fair Lady."

It was just so memor-- Oh, I

mean Rodgers and Hammerstein.

I just think that's gonna win.

>> HASKINS: "Carousel"?

>> MUSTO: "My Fair Lady."

>> HASKINS: Oh, "My Fair Lady."

>> MUSTO: It's a beautiful,

sumptuous production.

The acting was revelatory.

And it just made the show fresh

for me.

>> PACHECO: I think the most

emotional show always wins, and

I think the most emotional show

was "Carousel," in terms of

drawing an emotional reaction.

>> MUSTO: No love for the goat,

"Once On This Island"?

>> PACHECO: Well, you know, I

think that may be, as Adam was

saying about the other

categories, something where they

look for something they can give

that marvelous revival.

But it may not be

Best Revival of a Musical.

Maybe it will be in Scene Design

or --

>> VINCENTELLI: Wait.

Which one is the marvelous

revival?

>> GREEN: "Once On This Island"

is a --

>> MUSTO: Well, do you think

"My Fair Lady" will win or

"Carousel"?

>> GREEN: I think "My Fair Lady"

will win.

There's a lot of discussion

about -- some of it prompted by

me -- about whether "Carousel"

really even bothered to pay

attention to the moment that it

was being revived in.

I feel it did not do that in a

way that "My Fair Lady" --

>> FELDMAN: You mean --

>> GREEN: Yes.

And, well, just what is the

purpose of doing a revival of a

great show like that if you're

not going to see it now in the

relationship to new things that

we've learned in our society?

>> MUSTO: How did it avoid

addressing that in the show?

>> GREEN: Well, they cut the

line that was causing so much

trouble.

>> FELDMAN: Cut some of the

lines.

>> GREEN: Well...

>> HASKINS: About abuse.

>> FELDMAN: I feel like they

generally kind of bulldozed over

the plot elements with all this

gorgeous aesthetic presentation.

So there are these magnificent,

transporting dances.

And I think it's going to win

for Best Choreography.

>> GREEN: Yes, I agree.

>> FELDMAN: And the vocals are

real, you know, opera vocals,

with Renée Fleming doing a guest

appearance.

And everything looks grand, you

know?

But I think that you do lose a

little bit of the texture of the

plot in it, as opposed to

"My Fair Lady."

All of these revivals are really

strong this year.

>> GREEN: Yes.

>> FELDMAN: I would be happy to

see any of them again.

>> HASKINS: It's a hard

category.

>> GREEN: And they were the only

ones, as well.

They were the only three

revivals, and so there are only

three nominees.

>> FELDMAN: Also, the voters are

not the nominators, but to the

extent that the nominators

reflect the voters, it might be

worth pointing out that the

director of "Carousel" is not

nominated for Best Director, and

the other two were.

And, to some extent, that may

reflect some general feeling

about the value of the work that

they did.

>> HASKINS: All right, so, let's

go to Best Revival of a Play.

"Angels in America"...

Edward Albee's

"Three Tall Women...

Eugene O'Neill's -- I guess he's

got an estate now.

And Eugene O'Neill's

"The Iceman Cometh"...

"Lobby Hero"...

and "Travesties."

>> GREEN: This was a great

category.

>> PACHECO: Yeah.

Brilliant. Brilliant.

>> HASKINS: And, oh, did I love

"Travesties."

I might as well say that.

It's not going to win, but

that's a great --

>> FELDMAN: So, by Michael's

standard, which is the longest

and which is the most --

>> MUSTO: I was just gonna say,

"Angels" is long.

It's from London.

It won awards.

It's a prestigious event.

It's got it in the bag.

And it has tremendous

competition.

>> FELDMAN: "Travesties" is an

English play, but --

>> GREEN: It's not long enough.

>> FELDMAN: It's not long

enough.

>> HASKINS: But, now,

"The Iceman Cometh," one of the

greatest American plays -- long.

And then, possibly, rivaling

"Angels in America" as the

greatest American play ever

written.

It really does.

>> PACHECO: "Iceman Cometh"?

>> HASKINS: Yes.

>> MUSTO: "Angels in America" is

actually two plays.

Let's not forget they actually

put two plays that ran

separately on Broadway,

originally, in different

seasons, and they put them all

together.

>> FELDMAN: Well, they ran --

>> MUSTO: It's kind of an

unstoppable juggernaut.

>> HASKINS: They put them all

together and made you pay for

both of them.

Yes, they did.

[ Laughter ]

>> MUSTO: They made you pay?

>> HASKINS: No, I meant --

>> MUSTO: Oh. Someone did.

>> GREEN: So, are we all

agreeing that

"Angels in America"

is likely to win?

>> ALL: Yes.

>> GREEN: And do any of us -- I

dissent from whether it should

win or not.

>> FELDMAN: Well, I think that,

in some ways, for me, the most

perfect revival is

"Three Tall Women."

>> GREEN: I agree.

>> HASKINS: Well, I just want to

say, Glenda Jackson was here

last week.

She's on "Theater Talk."

>> MUSTO: And you're still

alive?

>> HASKINS: She was so fabulous.

>> JACKSON: I don't actually

agree with you that we want

audiences to like us.

We want them to listen and we

want them to laugh in the right

places and be quiet in the right

places.

We don't necessarily want us to

like them.

>> HASKINS: One of the honors of

my life to sit and talk to this

woman.

>> MUSTO: Well, she had just had

a confrontational interview in

theL.A. Times.

>> PACHECO: Yes.

Charles McNulty's classic

interview.

>> MUSTO: Which was a great

article.

>> HASKINS: Maybe, but she was a

darling.

I adored her.

>> MUSTO: She's got the award in

the bag.

I mean, this is a weak field, if

you're looking at some of the

other nominees.

They put in Amy Schumer, who

wasn't really universally raved

about.

They just didn't want to put

Uma Thurman --

>> FELDMAN: This was such a weak

year for that.

And this is when we get to some

of these categories that are

really --

>> HASKINS: Let me name the

other actresses.

>> MUSTO: Susan's crying 'cause

she's friends with Amy Schumer.

>> HASKINS: Yes. Oh, geez.

BFFs, I'll tell you.

>> FELDMAN: Best Actress in a

Play.

>> HASKINS: Glenda Jackson in

Edward Albee's

"Three Tall Women,"

Condola Rashad in

George Bernard Shaw's

"Saint Joan," Lauren Ridloff

in Mark Medoff's

"Children of a Lesser God," and

Amy Schumer in...

>> MUSTO: Steve Martin's

"Meteor Shower."

Obviously, Amy Schumer.

>> FELDMAN: Notice there are

only four nominees, and that's

because of the way that the

rules are structured.

When there are fewer than

nine eligible candidates, they

reduce the --

>> MUSTO: They really didn't

want to put Uma Thurman.

>> HASKINS: And they wouldn't

give it to poor old

Elizabeth McGovern.

>> FELDMAN: No, well, not that

Uma Thurman or Lili Taylor or

Janeane Garofalo --

>> HASKINS: Right, right.

>> FELDMAN: But that only adds

up to eight.

And what really should have

happened -- The reason that this

is happening is that, for

reasons that I could argue about

all day, the two women and the

children were both considered

featured actresses, even though,

you know --

>> VINCENTELLI: That is a crazy

decision.

>> FELDMAN: I mean, there's only

three people in the whole play.

>> VINCENTELLI: Right.

>> HASKINS: But wouldn't that

have been the doing of the

producers to try to hedge their

bets?

>> FELDMAN: Also, the committee

has the right to overrule and

make its own decisions.

And a similar thing happened

this year with "Lobby Hero,"

where they just didn't want to

make any decisions, so they

called them all featured.

And the result of this is that

these two actors, who could

easily have been nominated in

this category, these two women,

who are both wonderful in

"The Children" --

>> PACHECO: Deborah Findlay and

Francesca Annis.

>> FELDMAN: Deborah Findlay is

nominated for Featured.

Francesca Annis is not.

Both of them could easily have

been nominated for Best Actress.

>> GREEN: And easily not won.

>> FELDMAN: And easily lost to

Glenda Jackson, like everybody

else.

>> HASKINS: And, also, it was

interesting to me that, for

example, in "Harry Potter," I

thought the lead was

Anthony Boyle.

That's his name --

Anthony Boyle, who played --

What's his character's name?

>> GREEN: Scorpius.

>> HASKINS: But, yet, they gave

it to Jamie Parker because he

played Harry Potter, although he

really wasn't the leading part.

>> VINCENTELLI: Scorpius gets

more stage time.

>> HASKINS: Yes.

It is about Scorpius.

>> PACHECO: And Laura Benanti

was eligible in a category,

because she easily could have

been nominated instead of

Amy Schumer.

She was a much better

performance in that play.

>> MUSTO: But she was eligible

for Feature, Laura Benanti.

>> HASKINS: Yeah. Yeah.

So, sometimes, the producers

defeat themselves with those.

>> MUSTO: It's really category

fraud.

It's category fraud.

But, obviously, Susan --

Obviously, Amy Schumer is not

going to win.

[ Laughter ]

Glenda Jackson is the surest

thing since --

>> FELDMAN: We're not dissing

Amy Schumer.

I thought she was pleasant in

that.

>> HASKINS: No.

>> MUSTO: This is a slam dunk,

Glenda Jackson.

>> HASKINS: But now let us go to

the Performance by a Leading

Actor in a Play.

Andrew Garfield,

"Angels in America"...

Tom Hollander, ""Travesties"...

Jamie Parker, "Harry Potter and

the Cursed Child," Parts 1 and

2...

Mark Rylance, "Farinelli and the

King"...

and Denzel Washington in

"The Iceman Cometh."

>> VINCENTELLI: It's not a poor

showing for American actors

there.

>> FELDMAN: Not at all.

Although, Rylance and Garfield

are kind of halfsies, both of

them.

>> GREEN: How is Garfield

halfsy?

>> FELDMAN: Well, I think he was

born here and then raised there.

>> GREEN: Oh, okay.

>> PACHECO: Oh.

Didn't know that. Right.

>> FELDMAN: But he calls himself

British-American.

>> HASKINS: So, what do you

think?

What do you think?

>> PACHECO: I think it's going

to be Andrew Garfield, but I

think it's a race between

Andrew Garfield and

Denzel Washington.

>> HASKINS: Denzel -- wonderful.

>> PACHECO: It's an

extraordinary performance.

I just saw it recently.

>> VINCENTELLI: By

Denzel Washington?

>> PACHECO: Yeah. Yes.

>> VINCENTELLI: Whoa!

>> HASKINS: No, and I think --

>> PACHECO: I thought it was

amazing.

I was not looking forward to

another production of

"Iceman Cometh."

>> HASKINS: What do you think?

>> MUSTO: Andrew Garfield.

I mean, Prior Walter is one of

those great roles.

He's flamboyant and he's

abandoned.

He develops AIDS and he's full

of hallucinations.

And Stephen Spinella, in the

original, was one of the most

brilliant performances I've ever

seen.

>> HASKINS: Jesse?

>> GREEN: I think

Andrew Garfield will win, but

I'm not really happy with this

category at all.

I would have trouble if I were

voting.

>> PACHECO: Really?

>> GREEN: Yeah, I didn't like

the acting in

"Angels in America."

I thought it was overacted.

And --

>> VINCENTELLI: In general or

just --

>> GREEN: In general, but

particularly by him.

I did like Tom Hollander in

"Travesties."

So if I were a voter, I suppose

that's how I would vote.

>> HASKINS: Huh.

>> FELDMAN: Wow.

>> HASKINS: And you?

>> FELDMAN: Privacy of the

ballot.

>> HASKINS: Oh, no.

I'm not asking -- I'm asking you

who you think will win.

>> FELDMAN: I think that

Andrew Garfield will win.

But there may be some factors

involved, again, with the

spreading of the wealth.

It depends if people in the

supporting categories, the

feature categories that we're

getting to -- If people end up

voting for "Angels" cast members

there, then they may want to

give something to

"The Iceman Cometh."

>> HASKINS: All right, so, I'm

going to jump to feature very

quickly.

>> VINCENTELLI: I'm going to

say, I hope Denzel does not get

it, if only because if he does,

then he will think, "That's it.

I am ready for 'King Lear,'

which he has expressed the will

to do.

And I really do not think we

need another "King Lear."

>> HASKINS: No, we want

Glenda Jackson's "Lear."

>> HASKINS: Yes, exactly.

That I will go see.

>> HASKINS: That we want.

Best Performance in a Musical by

a Leading Actor.

Harry Hadden...

[ Laughter ]

>> MUSTO: Ham and Eggs.

>> GREEN: No, not Ham and Eggs.

>> MUSTO: All right,

Ham and Bacon.

>> PACHECO: Harry Hadden-Paton.

>> GREEN: Paton. Bacon.

>> ♪ Why can't the English teach

their children how to speak? ♪

♪ This verbal class

distinction...♪

>> HASKINS: Best Performance in

a Musical by a Leading Actor.

Harry Hadden-Paton for

"My Fair Lady," Joshua Henry for

Rodgers and Hammerstein's

"Carousel," Tony Shalhoub for

"The Band's Visit," and

Ethan Slater for

"SpongeBob SquarePants.

>> PACHECO: I hope you're

happier with this category,

Jesse.

>> VINCENTELLI: That's a tough

one.

>> MUSTO: I'm the only one who's

gonna say Tony Shalhoub for

"The Band's Visit."

It's his fourth nomination.

He gave a subtle, sophisticated,

I think, wonderful performance.

>> FELDMAN: I think he won't win

because if he gave a subtle,

sophisticated performance --

>> MUSTO: No, he didn't sing

much.

It's not much of a musical

performance, but who cares?

Rules are meant to be broken.

A lot of people are predicting

the Sponge.

>> GREEN: I think Ethan Slater

probably will win and that

Tony Shalhoub, who I would vote

for, will not for the reason

that Adam said.

>> FELDMAN: I don't know if

Ethan's gonna win.

I think there's a very good

chance that Joshua Henry will

win.

It's a big part.

It's a dramatic part in a way

that -- I think there still

might be some anti-Sponge bias

on the part of the voters.

>> HASKINS: Right.

>> FELDMAN: And they don't think

that the Sponge is --

>> VINCENTELLI: I feel there's a

been a bit of a turning of the

tide recently in favor of

"SpongeBob."

And that could help Ethan Slater

in this.

And we were talking earlier

about the spreading-of-the-goods

thing.

>> FELDMAN: If I were spreading

the wealth, this is one that I

would consider, but I would also

seriously consider

orchestration, sound, costumes,

set as "SpongeBob" --

>> VINCENTELLI: I think it will

get that.

>> HASKINS: But can I ask you,

I mean, well, I'm biased because

we had Joshua Henry on, and it

was magnificent.

>> ♪ Soon, you'll leave me

♪ Off you would go in the mist

of day ♪

>> HASKINS: And Ethan Slater --

I mean, that was enjoyable, but

that, to me, was not what I

think of acting.

>> GREEN: But you're going about

your preference, not about what

might -- And Elisabeth is --

>> VINCENTELLI: It is acting.

It is acting.

>> PACHECO: What is?

>> VINCENTELLI: What

Ethan Slater is doing is acting.

>> HASKINS: Well, he's up on a

stage and he has a great deal of

energy and he's doing a

character voice.

>> VINCENTELLI: That is

absolutely --

>> FELDMAN: Exactly.

>> VINCENTELLI: That is acting.

>> MUSTO: What's Glenda Jackson?

>> VINCENTELLI: That is acting.

>> HASKINS: Very true.

It sounds like acting to me.

>> GREEN: If she did

"SpongeBob" -- If Glenda did

"SpongeBob" --

>> HASKINS: She can do anything.

>> VINCENTELLI: And, also, to go

back to the Tony Shalhoub, which

I also very much liked, but I

don't think it's a

musical-theater performance,

per se.

>> PACHECO: Yeah, but it's still

a performance.

>> VINCENTELLI: It is.

>> PACHECO: Yeah.

>> HASKINS: Yeah.

>> FELDMAN: I think everyone

except for Higgins probably has

a realistic shot this year.

>> HASKINS: Although, he was --

I loved him, but he's not gonna

win.

>> GREEN: Hadden-Paton.

>> HASKINS: Hadden-Paton.

So now on to Best Performance by

a Leading Actress in a Musical.

Lauren Ambrose, "My Fair Lady,"

Hailey Kilgore,

"Once On This Island," LaChanze,

"Summer: The Donna Summer

Musical," Katrina Lenk,

"The Band's Visit,"

Taylor Louderman, "Mean Girls,"

and Jessie Mueller, "Carousel."

>> MUSTO: I think it's between

Katrina Lenk and Lauren Ambrose.

>> PACHECO: I think it's

Katrina Lenk.

I think she's just brilliant in

this show.

And I think she's given us a

series of brilliant performances

since "Once" and including

"Indecent" last season.

I think she's amazing.

>> MUSTO: She's the

Angelina Jolie of Broadway,

don't you think?

>> GREEN: Because of her

cheekbones?

>> MUSTO: She just has that kind

of magic to her.

But I think it's going to be

Lauren Ambrose, 'cause she

reinvents a classic role.

She's onstage a lot.

>> HASKINS: Yes.

>> MUSTO: She has like

10 costume changes.

And her acting choices, to me,

really resonated in each scene.

>> PACHECO: Huh.

>> HASKINS: What about you?

>> FELDMAN: Oh, I also think

it's between the two of them.

But my guess would be that it's

gonna be Katrina Lenk.

I think that the charisma of

that performance and the just

the sheer number of people that

I've heard talking about that

performance.

>> PACHECO: What do you think,

Jesse?

>> GREEN: Oh, I think

Katrina Lenk will win.

>> HASKINS: Finally,

Best Original Score Written for

the Theater.

"Angels in America"...

♪

..."The Band's Visit"...

>> ♪...the dance

♪ You see the wind moves the

trees is ♪

>> HASKINS: ..."Frozen"...

>> ♪ It's finally come

♪ Come to knock down the door

♪ I can't hide this time

♪ Like I hid before

>> HASKINS: ..."Mean Girls"...

>> ♪ A revenge party

♪ A party that ends with

somebody's head on a spike ♪

>> HASKINS: ...and

"SpongeBob SquarePants."

>> GREEN: By everybody.

>> FELDMAN: Everybody. Yeah.

>> PACHECO: I think it's gonna

be "Band's Visit."

>> VINCENTELLI: Yes.

>> GREEN: If it isn't, then they

should shut down the Tonys.

>> VINCENTELLI: Yeah, I

completely agree.

>> GREEN: David Yazbek has

deserved it probably several

times before, and this is his

best work ever.

>> VINCENTELLI: And I loved how

it's completely different from

anything he's done before.

>> HASKINS: Yeah.

>> VINCENTELLI: It's a big

departure for him.

It's just great.

What an achievement.

>> HASKINS: Just one last

question.

What do you think will get the

most Tonys?

>> PACHECO: The most Tonys.

>> FELDMAN: "Band's Visit."

>> PACHECO: I think it's

probably gonna be one of the

revivals.

I think it's gonna be

"Angels in America" will get the

most Tonys.

>> HASKINS: Do you think

Nathan Lane's going to get it?

>> PACHECO: I do.

>> HASKINS: Do you?

Do you think Nathan Lane will

get it?

>> VINCENTELLI: I hope not.

I did not like his Roy Cohn.

I really did not.

>> PACHECO: I mean, it's a tough

category.

If you want to rattle them

off...

>> HASKINS: Best Performance by

a Featured Actor.

Anthony Boyle, ""Harry Potter

and the Cursed Child,"

Michael Cera, "Lobby Hero,"

Brian Tyree Henry, "Lobby Hero,"

Nathan Lane, "Angels in America,

and David Morse for

"The Iceman Cometh."

>> PACHECO: Wow.

What a great category.

>> VINCENTELLI: David Morse for

me.

>> HASKINS: You do?

>> VINCENTELLI: Saving grace of

that production.

>> PACHECO: Yeah.

Amazing performance.

>> MUSTO: But you're predicting

him to win?

>> VINCENTELLI: Oh. Predicting?

Predicting, I think it's going

to be Nathan Lane.

>> GREEN: Yeah, I think so.

>> VINCENTELLI: I think it's

just not a good idea.

>> GREEN: I agree, but I would

vote for Brian Tyree Henry.

>> MUSTO: Michael Cera was

brilliant.

>> GREEN: And they could have

included Chris Evans, too, as

far as I was concerned.

And, as I say, give an award to

his mustache.

>> MUSTO: Nathan Lane should

have like seven Tonys by now.

I think he only has two.

>> HASKINS: So, I'm gonna go out

on a limb for Anthony Boyle.

There you go.

>> PACHECO: I'm revising it.

Actually -- actually,

"Harry Potter" will win the most

Tonys.

>> FELDMAN: Yeah, my guess is

that "Harry Potter" --

>> PACHECO: "Harry Potter" will

win the most Tonys.

>> MUSTO: I say "Rocktopia."

>> VINCENTELLI: I think,

actually --

>> GREEN: Which we don't know if

it's eligible.

>> FELDMAN: Write-ins.

Write-in ballot.

>> VINCENTELLI: But I think

"SpongeBob" could get the most

Tonys for a musical because it

will get a lot of --

>> HASKINS: Elisabeth, I think

you are mad.

>> MUSTO: And they added

categories.

There are extra categories this

year.

>> VINCENTELLI: And if you

count, you know, all those

categories, like, that are not

televised --

>> GREEN: Best Crustaceans,

Best Cephalopods.

>> HASKINS: And it's gonna get

best balls jumping through --

>> FELDMAN: "Escape from

Margaritaville" was given

strong...

[ Laughter ]

...The Beach Ball in the

Audience category this year.

>> MUSTO: "Home for the

Holidays."

>> VINCENTELLI: Although, I

would give the Best Confetti to

"Summer."

Did you see those huge silver

confetti they had?

That was great.

>> PACHECO: Those performances

were great, though.

>> FELDMAN: Is there a Broadway

show where there wasn't snow

this year?

[ Laughter ]

>> HASKINS: All right, all

right, all right.

It's almost time for the

ceremony.

I just want to -- I'm gonna hold

up Patrick Pacheco's book again,

everyone.

Thank you so much,

Patrick Pacheco,

Elisabeth Vincentelli,

Michael Musto, Jesse Green.

Adam Feldman, a courageous job

as the co-host.

>> PACHECO: "Courageous."

>> HASKINS: We'll see you right

after the Tonys.

Thank you, everyone.

>> MUSTO: Yay!

>> FELDMAN: It's a wrap!

>> ♪ Only me

>> ♪ Only you and the sun

>> ♪ Only me

>> ♪ Only me when the moon is

>> ♪ All around me

>> ♪ It's only you

♪ And the sun and moon and

stars are gone ♪

♪ What's left is only you

>> ♪ Will you answer me?

♪ Answer me

>> HASKINS: Our thanks to the

Friends of "Theater Talk" for

their significant contribution

to this production.

>> ANNOUNCER: We welcome your

questions or comments

for "Theater Talk."

Thank you.