Tomorrow is the big day! 2018 Tony Awards nominations are announced Tuesday, May 1 beginning at 8:30 AM (you can watch them streamed on the Tony Awards Facebook page). After OCC and Drama Desk nominations, some performances seem to lead the pack while others are up for intense debate. Below are five performances which have not been nominated for OCC or Drama Desks but (IMHO) 100% deserve some Tony love.
1. Alex Newell (Once On This Island)
It only takes a moment to completely steal the show and become an audience favorite, and no one proved that more this season than Glee alum Alex Newell. As Asaka (Mother of the Earth), Newell makes a meal of the showstopper “Mama Will Provide”, and that’s undeniable. He’s singing for the old gods and the new. But he’s also the one you’re watching throughout the show for reactions—the fan snaps, the dress twirls, and the heart that mothers instinctually provide. This is what a featured performance in a musical aspires to be.
2. Joshua Jackson (Children of a Lesser God)
Joshua Jackson is working his ass off as James Leeds in Children of a Lesser God but you don’t see him sweat. For his Broadway debut, the TV star became fluent in sign language, and his role in the show requires intense vocal and emotional stamina. He delivers a truly heartbreaking performance in Act Two when things get real and hard for him and his wife, Sarah (another should be nominee, Lauren Ridloff). By the drama’s end, I couldn’t help but think, “How does he do this, and how does he sustain this?”
3. Paul Alexander Nolan (Escape to Margaritaville)
So let’s get really real for a minute. Best Actor in a Musical has five potential slots, and there are five men eligible. Paul Alexander Nolan 100% deserves that fifth slot. He sells you on this fun jukebox musical—bringing ample charm, killer vocals, and accompanying himself on guitar for every song he sings. He’s also a Broadway mainstay who should be recognized. He’s not someone going back to TV or touring his next album once this gig is done; he’s going to hop right in and find himself another musical to lead.
4. Ariana DeBose (Summer, The Donna Summer Musical)
While we are keeping it at 100: Is disco-era Donna Summer not the Donna you’re going to Summer to see and hear? Ariana serves you EVERYTHING you’re hoping for at a bio-musical about the Queen of Disco. She is serving fabulous looks, slaying those iconic vocals, and reminding you at every spangled, sequined turn that she can out-dance most leading ladies on B’way...effortlessly. She’s technically the featured star of the musical, but she is who you leave the theatre talking about.
5. Lee Pace (Angels in America)
Lee Pace returns to Broadway after his wonderful performance in the Tony-winning The Normal Heart in another seminal work about AIDS in New York, and his work as Joe Pitt is truly next level. He brings layers to this tortured gay Mormon that you haven’t seen before. He is either in tears or on the verge in nearly every scene, and it’s beyond captivating. I don’t think I ever wanted more stage time for Joe Pitt than I did seeing Lee Pace’s performance.
