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[0:00] Eila Mell: Hi, I'm Bess Wall and you're listening to Behind The Awards.

[0:12] Bruce Gotlieb: Hello and welcome to Behind The Awards. It is our last Tony Special for this year.

[0:18] Eila Mell: I'm Eila. Can you believe it? I can't believe it. I'm Eila. I am here as always with Bruce and we have our awards expert Matt Stashin joining us today. Hello you guys.

[0:33] Matt Stashin: Hi Eila.

[0:34] Bruce Gotlieb: Hello there. So I mean it's it's the Tonys are right around the corner. How are you feeling?

[0:39] Matt Stashin: I am feeling good. I'm feeling as prepared as I'm going to get. I've resigned to the fact that I will not get to see everything and I'm okay with that. The one show that I think I'm disappointed that I haven't gotten to before Tony's but we'll still have an opportunity after is Every Brilliant Thing.

[1:00] Eila Mell: Yeah. Yeah, that show is so good. I think Daniel Radcliffe is gone now though, right?

[1:06] Matt Stashin: Yeah, well at the time of recording it was his final show.

[1:11] Eila Mell: Oh, okay. Before we ease into our final categories, why don't we take a stroll down the season and talk about our top 10 performances that were given of the 2026 Broadway season.

[1:23] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh my gosh, this knocked me out trying to rank them from, you know, one to 10. That was rough, but I did it. Why don't you start with your number 10?

[1:37] Matt Stashin: All right. My number 10 is Sam Teddy in Two Strangers, Carry a Cake Across New York.

[1:43] Bruce Gotlieb: Okay. Yeah, go ahead.

[1:44] Matt Stashin: No, I was gonna say I'm sure there'll be some, I would imagine there's gonna be some repetition depending on where they are for all of us.

[1:49] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, so I found myself as I'm going through the list really voting, I guess, more for the straight plays than the musicals. And I just think it was, for me anyway, a season where the plays really stood out to me more.

[2:10] Matt Stashin: As much as I love Cats, it was hard though, it was really hard. I had to eliminate some people who I think were fantastic and, you know, this was kind of killer. So, all right, who's next?

[2:20] Bruce Gotlieb: I'll go next. My number 10 was Cynthia Nixon in Marjorie Prime. Somebody we've seen a million times, I don't think she's ever done anything better than this.

[2:27] Matt Stashin: Wow, that's high praise because she's, you know, I mean, she's been working since she was a little kid.

[2:32] Bruce Gotlieb: I know.

[2:33] Matt Stashin: Bruce?

[2:34] Bruce Gotlieb: My number 10 is Lea Michele in Chess. I just think whatever you want to say about the performances, about the show, about all of the things, I just think the vocals that she's giving is unmatched this season.

[2:45] Matt Stashin: So, does that mean that you were surprised that she didn't get the nomination?

[2:54] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, I have gone on record. I was, I was surprised. I don't know that she would have won, but I was surprised that she didn't get in because I think, you know, the nobody's side, like, you know, some of the things she's doing vocally is just really, really, you know, beyond anything else. I think the ruling for Stephanie Hsu in the lead category kind of knocked her out of that position.

[3:30] Matt Stashin: I would agree, yes.

[3:31] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, yeah. That was a little surprise at the end we got. Absolutely. All right. So, number nine is Rose Byrne, Fallen Angels.

[3:37] Matt Stashin: Okay. It was hard to pick one of the two leading ladies, but, you know, I just, so for me, Kelly O'Hara is the more surprising performance and she spent, like, she's so funny. You know, you don't expect her to be as funny, but, you know, I didn't think Rose Byrne should be penalized for doing something that we already know that she can do amazingly well. So, she's my number nine.

[4:08] Bruce Gotlieb: My number nine was Alvin Ehrenreich and Becky Shaw. I just thought he was amazing. It's, you know, he's never been on Broadway before and he's kind of like a stage actor trapped in the body of a movie actor. How's that?

[4:20] Matt Stashin: I loved him in Weapons.

[4:22] Bruce Gotlieb: My number nine is Frankie Glande in Titanic. I know you love him in Titanic.

[4:27] Matt Stashin: I just, you know, obviously his sister, you know, gets the spotlight most of the time. And when I saw it off Broadway, he had already left the show. So, seeing him in this, I didn't know when I expected, you know, having seen other people play the part, but I was really impressed with, you know, the comedy that he brings. His voice is spectacular. So, he really, really stood out for it.

[4:54] Bruce Gotlieb: His Luigi is very funny.

[4:56] Matt Stashin: Oh, funny. Just the way he moves across the stage is Luigi.

[5:01] Bruce Gotlieb: All right, a number eight for me is Leighton Williams, sticking with Titanic. He is fantastic. For me, he is the surprise of the season. I mean, we knew he won the Olivier, but I had never seen him before, and I think he is just incredible in Titanic. He steals the whole show. No offense to Frankie Glande.

[5:21] Matt Stashin: For me, number eight, I put Joshua Henry in Ragtime. Honestly, I thought he was the best thing about the production, about a very good production. I thought he did a great job.

[5:34] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, he's great. Number eight for me is Isabella McCalla for Schmigadoon. I think, you know, she's giving a performance that's, you know, maybe a little bit underrated, and really, just when she's on the stage, you can't take your eyes off of her, and she just really, really is spectacular.

[5:53] Matt Stashin: Yeah, it's not as showy as some of the other roles, and she's so good in it. I think that what she brings to it is, you know, just, I don't know, I actually liked it better on stage, this character, than in the Apple version. Her number was great, you know, I just think she's fantastic in it, and she just brings a lot of heart to it.

[6:21] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, she does. All right, number seven, Christopher Abbott, Death of a Salesman. His part is smaller than you expect Biff to be, because it's split, but boy, is he good. I mean, I believe every second of him, and when he's just gutted at the end, it breaks your heart.

[6:40] Matt Stashin: I mean, that's, you know, you go out, you make an impact through the time that you have, and, you know, he really could get to Tony's. He could, he might get him to Tony, we'll see.

[6:51] Bruce Gotlieb: What do you have, Matt? Number seven, all right, I'm going out on a limb on this one, but I'm going to stand by it. My number seven is Christine Sherrill in Mamma Mia.

[6:59] Matt Stashin: Oh, okay.

[7:00] Bruce Gotlieb: I absolutely thought she nailed it, and it is a part, it is very easy to do that part, very surface, you know, the assumption is people are just going to hear the music and not really care about the story, because it's Mamma Mia. That's kind of the perception of what Mamma Mia is, but I thought she did a fantastic job, and honestly, her version of The Winner Takes It All is one of the most emotional I've ever heard. She brought the house down.

[7:26] Matt Stashin: Oh, fantastic, and she was our guest, so I love to hear that.

[7:31] Bruce Gotlieb: My number seven is Dudley Joseph Jr. in Cats.

[7:36] Matt Stashin: Yeah, he's great.

[7:36] Bruce Gotlieb: I think that, just the energy, everything he brings to the stage, I think I warmed up in the last episode, too. We talked about different things, he's just really, really special.

[7:47] Matt Stashin: Yeah, we did talk about him in our last episode, so I won't belabor the point, but, you know, without him, Cats doesn't work. All right, number six, I'm sticking with Death of a Salesman, and I'm going to go with Nathan Lane.

[8:00] Matt Stashin: Okay.

[8:00] Bruce Gotlieb: It's no surprise that he's wonderful in it, but, you know, he just, he brings such humanity to Wooly Loman, I think. You never know what you're going to get when you see a show that's been done so many times, and I thought that his performance was, you know, unique to him, and I was really moved by it.

[8:22] Matt Stashin: Nice. Okay, my number six is our first repeat performance, I think, because for number six, I have Leighton Williams. I thought he was absolutely hilarious. As he said in his Olivier speech, he won for playing an iceberg, so he has to be doing something special, and he really is.

[8:39] Bruce Gotlieb: Now, is that the only iceberg performance to ever win an Olivier, do you think, Matt?

[8:43] Matt Stashin: I'm going to go out on a limb and say yes, it's not something I've researched, but I'm going to...

[8:48] Bruce Gotlieb: It's a good bet.

[8:49] Matt Stashin: Yeah.

[8:51] Bruce Gotlieb: What do you have, Bruce?

[8:52] Bruce Gotlieb: My number six is Jacob Watson in Ragtime. He has got, like, I think four or so different parts that he plays in the ensemble. Boy, does he steal the stage, and every time he has really, really, really grandiole.

[9:11] Matt Stashin: Didn't he win the first ensemble award?

[9:14] Bruce Gotlieb: He did, yes.

[9:15] Matt Stashin: Yeah, so you're definitely onto something there.

[9:19] Bruce Gotlieb: You deserve it to be so.

[9:20] Matt Stashin: That's right. Number five for me is Danny Burstein, Marjorie Prime. I mean, so Danny, this year, right, we all know he's now the most nominated male performer, and there's a reason. He's so good, and I mean, he's just very, very moving in this show. Really great.

[9:41] Bruce Gotlieb: My number five, I have Susanna Flood in Liberation. I think she carried that entire show on her back, and she just was incredible. The show does not work if that performance is not 100% spectacular. Everything else could be great. Without somebody really special in that role, the show will not hold together, and she nails it.

[10:02] Matt Stashin: I was looking at some video of her now, and I didn't know it was her, and she looks so different. She's got fangs, and she's just... I was like, I know that face, but who is it? And then I realized, oh, she's completely transformed.

[10:16] Bruce Gotlieb: So funny.

[10:18] Matt Stashin: All right, Bruce, what do you have?

[10:20] Bruce Gotlieb: Well, I think we're... This whole top 10 list is like splitting hairs, really, but especially in the top five, I feel like you could... For me, anyway, I could swap any of them with any of them and justify it all, but for me, number five is Marla Mendel, Hi, Timmy. She's doing something that is asked of no other actress this season, and that is not only being the creator, the writer, and all of that, the improv that she's doing, the impersonation, it's just... The lift is super heavy, and it looks like she's carrying a stether with the way that she's able to do it.

[11:00] Matt Stashin: Yeah, yes. It seems to come easy to her, but who knows? I'm sure a lot of work goes into that performance.

[11:08] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, I can only imagine.

[11:09] Matt Stashin: Yeah. So number four, I have Mark Strong. He is fantastic, was fantastic as Edison. I love that show. I know you love the show too, Matt, and I wouldn't be... Well, it's such a tight race. We'll talk about it later with best actor, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets it, but you never know.

[11:30] Bruce Gotlieb: My number four is Sam Tuddy in Two Strangers. I just thought he was fantastic. It's a really difficult role. It really is. To make somebody that's that much of a golden retriever of a human being, it could be so easy to just make him annoying, and he really doesn't.

[11:46] Matt Stashin: My number four is Christine Sherrill in Mamma Mia. I thought that had Val's show been later in the season, had the rest of the field been not as stacked, I think she's clearly on her way to her first Tony nomination. Her Donna, like Matt said, is just brilliant, and you felt everything this woman was giving, so she was spectacular.

[12:20] Bruce Gotlieb: All right. Number three, Laurie Metcalf, Death of a Salesman. Her Linda is very different from other Lindas. I love what she does with it. She and Nathan Lane together are so good and funny, but in a sad kind of way. I just love what she's doing in this show.

[12:41] Matt Stashin: Okay. My number three is Junior LaBeija in Cats. He's the heart of the show, and what they do with that number and with that character really just speaks to why this entire revival exists, and it's beautiful.

[12:56] Bruce Gotlieb: It is. It's a great moment.

[13:01] Matt Stashin: Bruce?

[13:02] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah. My number three is Susanna Flood in Liberation. Picking her out isn't difficult because she narrates the story, but all of the actors in that production, you could pluck any one of them out and put them in, and it'll all be justified.

[13:17] Matt Stashin: Yeah. Absolutely. All right. Number two, Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing. He carries an entire show on his back, but that alone wouldn't make him on my list. It's just how good he is doing it. It is a big ask for any actor, and he's great. He makes the show so much.

[13:45] Bruce Gotlieb: I hope a lot of people got to see it, and I'm excited to hopefully see it again with Mariska Hargitay and Tracee Ellis Ross.

[19:00] Jay Harrison G: Hi, this is Jay Harrison G. You're listening to Behind the Awards. We'll be right back.

[19:07] Eila Mell: So the categories we'll be discussing today are Best Musical, Best Play, Scenic Design of a Musical, Lead Actress of a Musical, and Lead Actor of a Musical.

[19:19] Bruce Gotlieb: All right. Well, that's a lot to dive into.

[19:23] Eila Mell: It is a lot, but let's, I don't know if it's even an ease in because they're all really tough categories.

[19:29] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[19:30] Eila Mell: Let's ease in with Scenic Design of a Musical.

[19:33] Bruce Gotlieb: All right. What are the nominees?

[19:35] Eila Mell: The nominees are Dots for Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show, Soutra Gilmour for Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Rachel Hauck for Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Dane Laffrey for The Lost Boys, and Scott Pask for Schmigadoon.

[19:58] Bruce Gotlieb: All right. Who wants to start? How about you, Matt?

[20:01] Matt Stashin: I'll start. I mean, you could make a case for all five of these. Two Strangers has that deceptively simple luggage set, which was beautiful. Cats has its runway, which is great. But to me, the obvious choice, the will and the should is Lost Boys. That set is breathtaking. As soon as the lights come up, the audience audibly gasped at how just how good the set is. And every time something new came out, it just took your breath away.

[20:30] Eila Mell: I'm going to agree with you. I think it should win. I want it to win, and I think it will. I think Schmigadoon might give it a little bit of a run for its money, but I just think the way the set moves is so interesting.

[20:44] Matt Stashin: I agree with the will win for Lost Boys. I struggled with my want to win because I liked the innovation that Two Strangers is doing with essentially a unit set that transforms throughout the production into playing space for them, which I think is really innovative. But my want to win, I wound up going with Schmigadoon because it's so beautiful.

[21:13] Eila Mell: The dimensions that you get, so it looks like you're in a fantasy world in some instances, but a reality world in other instances, I think is just really, really creative and really ingenious to be able to pull it off. The idea, I think, has been tried before, but maybe not as successfully as Scott Pask is doing it in this production.

[21:56] Matt Stashin: It wouldn't be shocking if it won. It really is a successful set, obviously. When I saw it, I thought, oh, well, this is going to win, and then I saw Lost Boys and I thought, well, now I don't think so, but who knows? And Scott Pask is so talented. He's a Tony winner already, so we'll see what happens.

[22:17] Bruce Gotlieb: All right, well, let's switch gears a little. Best Play. So, our nominations are The Bowsers, Giant, Liberation, and Little Bear Ridge Road.

[22:31] Eila Mell: All right, so I think my want is Liberation. Again, I love the show. I think it will win. I think winning the Pulitzer really gives it an edge. It doesn't necessarily mean it's going to win, but I think it's got a lot of momentum, even though it closed months ago. I think it's still a really strong possibility that it's going to win.

[22:55] Matt Stashin: Yeah, I agree with you. I think the should and the will are going to be Liberation. I think it's closer than it seems at first. I think The Balusters is building up a lot of steam and a lot of buzz, and I think Giant is coming over very well regarded from London. I do think Little Bear Ridge Road does not have a chance, but I think any of the other three genuinely could win.

[23:20] Bruce Gotlieb: I think Giant is really good, but I think it never really peaked the way people thought it was going to. But we'll see. And if The Balusters won, that would be great, too. That would be a real fun choice. So, we'll see. Bruce, what do you think?

[23:35] Eila Mell: I also have Liberation as goals, although I do think The Sleeper or Dark Horse, for no other reason than it's just released at the right time and is really making strides at the right time, is The Balusters. I think winning a couple of other awards outside of the Tonys, I wonder if that plays a factor in.

[23:59] Matt Stashin: I think at one point I figured it was just locked up for Liberation, and now not 100%, really. I'm not sure.

[24:11] Bruce Gotlieb: It's more fun if there's a real race.

[24:15] Eila Mell: Yeah. I mean, Little Bear Ridge Road being included, no, not against anybody who was part of the production, but I didn't think it was going to even be in the conversation because it closed so long ago.

[24:27] Matt Stashin: Yeah, exactly.

[24:29] Eila Mell: I think more for the fact that it's the only nomination the show got. There were other things they could have chosen to nominate it for, and they chose not to, kind of tells me it doesn't have the kind of support it takes to win.

[24:42] Bruce Gotlieb: What categories are you thinking?

[24:44] Matt Stashin: I think Laurie Metcalf could have gotten in for Featured Actress.

[24:47] Bruce Gotlieb: Sure.

[24:49] Matt Stashin: D'Andrea could have gotten in for Featured Actor. The set could have gotten in.

[24:51] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah. I think Laurie Metcalf would have been in the lead category here. Yeah. So that would have been interesting if she had gotten the two nominations, but, you know.

[24:59] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[25:01] Matt Stashin: So many good performances. I don't think it's a crime that she didn't get it. You know, she's in for Death of a Salesman, and I think that's the better performance this season, but she's great in everything.

[25:10] Bruce Gotlieb: All right, Bruce.

[25:11] Eila Mell: All right. We're going to get a little more difficult, I think.

[25:15] Bruce Gotlieb: All right.

[25:17] Eila Mell: Lead Actor of a Musical.

[25:19] Bruce Gotlieb: Okay.

[25:21] Eila Mell: Our nominees are Nicholas Christopher for Chess, Luke Evans for Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show, Joshua Henry for Ragtime, Sam Tutty for Two Strangers, and Brandon Uranowitz for Ragtime.

[25:36] Bruce Gotlieb: All right, Bruce, why don't you start?

[25:37] Bruce Gotlieb: You know, I wonder. Josh and Brandon, do they split votes because they're both in the same production, even though what's being asked of them is completely different? I'm not sure. Does the shadow of performances past, you know, either hurt or help them? Also, I'm not sure. I think that, you know, each of these people that are nominated could make a case for. I don't know if it's as cut and dry. I think Joshua Henry will win. I think what he's doing is Coal House is beautiful and really, really breathtaking.

[26:20] Matt Stashin: What I want is Sam Tutty. I think that he's doing something that we haven't seen necessarily before. We're doing a small show, the length of it could, if you will. And looking at the list of the nominees, it's the one show that is an original piece that is not an existing IT revival or from something else.

[26:47] Bruce Gotlieb: And I like the originality of it all.

[27:17] Matt Stashin: It's his time to win. Kind of like going back a bunch of years ago when Stephanie J. Block won for The Cher Show. Very few people thought The Cher Show was a Tony worthy show or that. But she did not win.

[27:30] Matt Stashin: The one thing that might work against him is what you said, Bruce. Brian Stokes Mitchell was so legendary as Cole House Walker. It is a lot for Joshua Henry to live up to. I think he does a fantastic job. I do think he's a deserving winner. But that is the one thing that people might hold against him. They still remember what Brian Stokes Mitchell did.

[28:00] Matt Stashin: I think that Joshua Henry is as close to a lock as we have this season. I think he's going to win. But I agree with you guys. If I had a vote, I'd give it to Sam Tutty for many of the same reasons. The first being that it's a two-hander. It's an enormous role. His character has so much to do, as does Cole House. There's a lot more support in Ragtime.

[28:30] Matt Stashin: His story isn't completely Cole House's story. Sam Tutty is great. Joshua Henry is great. They're all good. It's just personal preference. There has not been a blueprint for this character in Two Strangers. I give Sam extra credit for that.

[28:52] Bruce Gotlieb: Do you think it helps Joshua as he won the Distinguished Performer for this role? You could only win it once in your career.

[29:22] Eila Mell: Let's move over to Best Musical.

[29:38] Matt Stashin: There is a path for all four of these shows to win. They all have pluses. They all have minuses.

[30:04] Matt Stashin: I think if you look over the last 10 years of musicals, I don't know if any of these shows rank up with a lot of those. There's not a Fun Home in here. There's not a Hamilton in here. There's not an Outsiders. There's not a Maybe Happy Ending. There's no show where everything comes together.

[30:26] Matt Stashin: All of these shows have flaws. All of these shows have things they do really well. I want to win very definitely is Titanic. I think it is the one that comes the closest to absolutely nailing what it is setting out to do, and it is a hard thing to do well. It is the most successful in what it's trying to come across.

[30:47] Matt Stashin: Of the will-win, I think it's going to go to The Lost Boys. I think The Lost Boys is going to win. I think the general trend in the last few years, really the last 10 years almost, has been to reward the smaller, more intimate, more emotional shows.

[31:05] Matt Stashin: A Maybe Happy Ending, a Fun Home, even The Band's Visit. They haven't really honored the big, epic show for a while, and that's what The Lost Boys is doing. The tech of it is so grand and so almost operatic. I think in this year with this group, it's going to put it over the top.

[31:25] Matt Stashin: It kind of reminds me of The Outsiders, and that did win. If that could win, this certainly could also. For me, I think this one is really, really hard to predict. There is no obvious winner here. I'm going to go out on a limb, and I think maybe Two Strangers will take it just for originality, and maybe The Others will also split. I think earlier in the season, it seemed like a lot.

[31:52] Bruce Gotlieb: It did.

[31:53] Matt Stashin: Two Strangers was going to get it.

[31:54] Bruce Gotlieb: It absolutely did.

[31:55] Matt Stashin: Then we got all these shows, but my pick is Schmigadoon.

[32:00] Eila Mell: Okay.

[32:01] Matt Stashin: To your point, Two Strangers is exactly the kind of show they've been honoring in the last few years.

[32:06] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes.

[32:07] Matt Stashin: It is like a Maybe Happy Ending or a Fun Home or the smaller, more intimate, more emotional show. That absolutely would be in keeping, and that would make sense.

[32:17] Matt Stashin: But I think that actually hurts it this year, because Maybe Happy Ending just got it.

[32:21] Bruce Gotlieb: Which is why I went with Lost Boys.

[32:24] Bruce Gotlieb: Will and my wants are Two Strangers.

[32:28] Bruce Gotlieb: I think, for everything you guys said, the Avenue Q of it all, right? You have Wicked versus Avenue Q, and nobody expected Wicked to lose.

[32:33] Bruce Gotlieb: So I do think that people are still—maybe they vote with their heart a little bit more than they vote with a clearer mind.

[32:49] Bruce Gotlieb: Not that any of these votes would be bad, but I feel like there are some times where you see somebody win, and you're like, oh, you know, I felt a good performance with this one, technically, or whatever the case is.

[33:01] Bruce Gotlieb: But I do think any of them—if any of them did win, I wouldn't be like, oh, you know, somebody was robbed of the win.

[33:11] Bruce Gotlieb: But I figure, I made my top ten list. The two of them on the two-hander were at the top.

[33:17] Bruce Gotlieb: How could I not pick it? You know, I just think people may have forgotten it.

[33:22] Bruce Gotlieb: So we'll see. We'll see how it does.

[33:25] Matt Stashin: Yeah, I think in recent years, this is the most evenly matched best musical lineup.

[33:31] Matt Stashin: There isn't one show that has no chance. There is not one show that's running away with it.

[33:35] Matt Stashin: Everything has the same number of pluses and minuses.

[33:39] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, I do think Lost Boys has a lot of momentum right now.

[33:43] Bruce Gotlieb: But, you know, a lot can change in a week, so we'll see.

[33:47] Matt Stashin: You know, and the difference is, is that also where some of these other shows that we've talked about, especially in Best Play, you know, with these four, all of them are still playing.

[33:56] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[33:57] Matt Stashin: So you don't have to remember or think back to what was something.

[34:02] Matt Stashin: You could just go in and see where it is.

[34:05] Matt Stashin: That's the one positive thing with voting happening now, is that they can go back and they can revisit something if they feel like they need to see it again.

[34:16] Bruce Gotlieb: You're saying the plays are all still running?

[34:18] Matt Stashin: No, the musicals. All the musicals.

[34:20] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, right. That's true. Yeah.

[34:23] Matt Stashin: You know, if a voter is on the fence with Liberation versus The Ballisters, they can go see The Ballisters again and see if that sways them.

[34:29] Matt Stashin: They can't do that with Liberation.

[34:36] Matt Stashin: You know, when I was making my list, I actually was trying to look for a little clip of Oedipus just to be reminded of the performances, and I couldn't find anything.

[34:45] Matt Stashin: And I think that, you know, that could hurt it.

[34:48] Bruce Gotlieb: So it'll be interesting to see because the musicals are so accessible.

[34:52] Eila Mell: Sounds like a good weekend. You can go see all four shows.

[34:55] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right.

[34:56] Eila Mell: But for Oedipus, isn't it possible, like, absence makes the heart grow fonder? Like, things tend to be a little bit better in retrospect than when you're watching it.

[35:05] Bruce Gotlieb: Like, it might actually help Lesley and Bill and Mark Strong.

[35:09] Matt Stashin: It might. It didn't help me when I was, you know, making my picks.

[35:14] Matt Stashin: But, you know, that's just me.

[35:17] Matt Stashin: It did make, you know, I did remember how great their performances were. I just wanted to see it again. I just wanted a little snippet to be reminded.

[35:26] Matt Stashin: Liberation is doing something really smart, and they're putting clips of the show on their social media.

[35:31] Bruce Gotlieb: They are.

[35:32] Matt Stashin: So, you know, I think that's a really good idea.

[35:34] Matt Stashin: And, you know, I hope Oedipus will do the same thing in, you know, the last few days we have.

[35:40] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah. We'll see what happens.

[35:42] Bruce Gotlieb: I think the Tony voters have this will come out, obviously, after they've concluded their voting.

[35:48] Matt Stashin: But before the Tonys.

[35:49] Bruce Gotlieb: Correct.

[35:50] Eila Mell: Yes. OK. All right. What's left?

[35:53] Eila Mell: Our final category, best performance by a leading actress in a musical.

[35:57] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, boy.

[35:59] Eila Mell: And our nominees are Sarah Chase with Schmigadoon, Stephanie Hsu for Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show, Caissie Levy, Ragtime, Marla Mindelle, Titanic, and Christiani Pitts for Two Strangers.

[36:17] Bruce Gotlieb: Terry Fink, Across New York.

[36:19] Eila Mell: All right, Bruce, you want to jump in?

[36:21] Bruce Gotlieb: Sure. I do think this one, you do have a little bit of, not as much, even in the playing fields, I guess we'll say. I think there's definitely some shifts in the hierarchy of ranking these women, although they're all doing amazing work up there.

[36:38] Bruce Gotlieb: For me, I think the will win, although hard, because I think you're also, thing with these women are, we're asking for something different from all of them. So I think my will win is Sarah Chase.

[36:56] Bruce Gotlieb: My want to win is Christiani Pitts. I think that of all of the women, Sarah Chase is doing as much of a combination of the skill sets that each of them brings to the table. Her performance is really ruining the comedy, not quite improv, but it feels a little improv in the way that her delivery is.

[37:27] Bruce Gotlieb: Marla, obviously, her improv section is something that is so, so funny and something that nobody else is doing. It was really, really tough in like splitting hairs, but I'm sticking with my original. What I originally wrote down, even though I felt a little tinge to slay, I'm going to go with it.

[37:49] Eila Mell: All right, I mean, you can change it if you want.

[37:51] Bruce Gotlieb: Nope, nope.

[37:53] Eila Mell: Okay.

[37:54] Bruce Gotlieb: I think that Caissie Levy is going to win. I think, you know, Ragtime is a really good show. I think people are going to want to reward it. I don't know if it's going to win Best Revival. It may, it may not. But I think Caissie Levy has a really good chance of winning.

[38:12] Bruce Gotlieb: I would vote for Christiani Pitts for many of the same reasons that, you know, I chose Sam Tutty. Just the ask of her is huge. And, you know, she, you know, she brings a lot to the role of Robin. And also, you know, it's a full acting performance that you don't always get in a musical.

[38:33] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[38:34] Matt Stashin: But Sarah Chase is a great choice, too.

[38:36] Matt Stashin: My want to win is very clear. It's Marla Mindelle.

[38:41] Matt Stashin: Yeah. I just said she gave the performance of the year. Of course, I want her to win. I think for the will win, it's close. It's either, in my head, it's either going to be Caissie Levy or Marla Mindelle. I think they are the two most likely to win.

[38:54] Matt Stashin: I am actually leaning towards Marla Mindelle to win, mostly because I don't think Ragtime is going to win Revival. I think Cats is going to. And I can't picture them giving both lead Tonys to a show that's not going to win the best production.

[39:15] Matt Stashin: So if Joshua Henry is the short thing that all of us seem to think he is, then I don't see him and Caissie Levy both winning and then Cats being best Revival. Even though there's no lead actress in a musical nominated for Cats?

[39:30] Bruce Gotlieb: Yet, I don't see them giving both lead actor Tonys to a show that's not going to be the best production.

[39:36] Matt Stashin: I think they could spread it out a little bit. If I was a voter, though, I wouldn't be concerned about spreading. I wouldn't be concerned about, did I give this show anything? Did I give that show anything? I would just go with my gut, what I thought was the best.

[39:51] Bruce Gotlieb: Right, but I don't think that if they're not going to think of Ragtime for best Revival, they're not just going to be voting for it down the line. It would be that if you're going to give both lead Tonys to the same production, it would almost wind up being a sweep. And if it's not going to win best production, I don't think that's going to happen also.

[40:09] Matt Stashin: I think it could. I think Caissie Levy has a very real shot. I just, that's my main reason for not picking her as my will win. I hope all that made sense. I feel like I babbled.

[40:19] Bruce Gotlieb: Well, we got a fight in, so that was good. I like when we all disagree.

[40:25] Eila Mell: All right, Bruce. Well, I can't believe we've done it. We've wrapped up another season.

[40:31] Eila Mell: It's a wrap on our will win, should win, want to win. And then we'll see what actually does win in just a few days now.

[40:42] Bruce Gotlieb: It'll be very exciting.

[40:44] Eila Mell: Yes, Sunday, June 7th. To remind everybody who doesn't know, although people that are listening to this episode definitely know.

[40:51] Bruce Gotlieb: I think they know, they care.

[40:54] Eila Mell: All right. Well, thank you all for joining us for our season of special episodes. Thank you, Matt, for being with us.

[41:01] Matt Stashin: Anytime.

[41:02] Eila Mell: And we'll see you next Tony season.

[41:05] Eila Mell: And we'll see everyone next time on Behind the Awards.

[41:08] Eila Mell: Bye-bye.