Breaking down the Tonys: Best Direction of a Musical
The Outsiders (Photo: Matthew Murphy)
by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder
With the Tony Awards right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to break down each category. Let’s discuss the nominees, predict some winners, and discuss who may have deserved to be on the list.
To check out our previous category breakdowns, click below.
Today, we’re moving on to Best Direction of a Musical. Here are the nominees:
Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along
Michael Greif, Hell’s Kitchen
Leigh Silverman, Suffs
Jessica Stone, Water for Elephants
Danya Taymor, The Outsiders
First and foremost, it must be mentioned how great it is to see this category dominated by women. The increase in female directors on Broadway has been one of the more positive changes I’ve seen over the past decade. In fact, you would have to go back to 2016, when Hamilton won Best Musical, to find the last time a woman was not nominated in this category. And every single person deserves to be nominated this year.
I wouldn’t say there are any surprises here. Early on, I had thought that Rebecca Frecknall was definitely going to be nominated for Cabaret, but that wasn’t necessarily embraced by critics and Tony voters.
I also thought Michael Greif would be nominated for Days of Wine and Roses as opposed to Hell’s Kitchen, but he deserves to be nominated for either.
So who wins? As much as I would like to see Greif finally win a Tony (He should have two by now), I think he still falls short this year. Since Justin Peck isn’t on this list of Illinoise, I think Danya Taymor wins here. I have a feeling The Outsiders is going to gain steam heading into Tonys night.
Interestingly enough, this would be the first time an Aunt and Niece have won this award with Julie Taymor winning for The Lion King back in 1998.