It's That Special Time Again: theatergossip.com's Tony Predictions 2011

HAPPY Tonys night, theater lovers!

The big show, the 65th Annual Antoinette Perry Awards ceremony, starts at 8 p.m. at the Beacon Theater on the Upper West Side of New York. (Just across from Fairway, which is convenient if anyone on the red carpet wants some fresh produce at reasonable prices. And having attended a few Tony evenings in the past, theatergossip.com can tell you that about an hour into the show, it feels like a long time until the post-awards dinner.)

If you're watching from home, tune in to the telecast on CBS, also beginning at 8. If you want to get an earlier start, the awards' official site, tonyawards.com, will begin its live webcast at 6 p.m. and then update live throughout the evening. (Attention, New Yorkers with cable: NY1 begins its Tonys preview show at 6 p.m.) Theatergossip.com will be back tomorrow with a report on the highlights. For now, here are our official predictions:


THE BIGGIES

BEST MUSICAL "The Book of Mormon"

BEST PLAY "War Horse"

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL "Anything Goes"

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY "The Normal Heart"

[AND IF SO, WHO'S GETTING ROBBED: "Good People," which deserves the best play award. "War Horse" deserves best production, which is a totally different animal.]


THE LEAD ACTING AWARDS

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Norbert Leo Butz, "Catch Me if You Can"

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Sutton Foster, "Anything Goes"

BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY Joe Mantello, "The Normal Heart"

BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY Frances McDormand, "Good People"

[GETTING ROBBED? Butz is fabulous and deserves a major prize, but so does Daniel Radcliffe, making his Broadway debut in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," who was scandalously not even nominated. Brian Bedford is remarkable in "The Importance of Being Earnest," but he shouldn't have been nominated in a leading-role category. And McDormand gives a knockout performance, but didja see Lily Rabe's Portia in "The Merchant of Venice"?]


THE SUPPORTING ACTORS

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL John Larroquette, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Laura Benanti in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY John Benjamin Hickey, "The Normal Heart"

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY Ellen Barkin, "The Normal Heart"

[GETTING ROBBED? All deserving winners, but we hate to see these people go home without awards: Edie Falco for "The House of Blue Leaves," Victoria Clark for "Sister Act," Yul Vazquez for "The Motherfucker With the Hat," Judith Light for "Lombardi."]


. . . AND THE DIRECTORS

BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, "The Normal Heart"

BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, "The Book of Mormon"

[GETTING ROBBED? Rob Ashford, who makes "How to Succeed" a peak life experience.]


WANT MORE THEATERGOSSIP? Scroll to read about this week's Gossip Girl and Guy, Carey Mulligan in "Through a Glass Darkly" and John Larroquette (Tony nominee) in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Then search to read about stars and shows including Sutton Foster, Frances McDormand, Lily Rabe, Brian Bedford, Mark Rylance, Josh Gad, "Anything Goes," "The Book of Mormon" and "The Normal Heart."