Tony Nominations 2022 Predictions: Here Are The Biggest Questions Facing Voters

variety.com:

Gordon Cox Theater EditorBroadway just wrapped up its first season after the pandemic lockdown, and boy, was it a doozy: After all the delays, COVID surges and cast replacements, a whopping 35 new productions opened, with 15 of them bowing in April alone.As Tony nominations loom, nominators have a lot to consider — and a number of big questions to answer before the May 9 announcement.In addition to the obvious frontrunner, which four shows will round out the new musical category? Even before the season officially ended, the category for new musical — the one award that consistently moves the needle at the box office — had a clear leader.

That’s “A Strange Loop,” Michael R. Jackson’s critically adored, Pulitzer-anointed portrait of a Black queer man writing a musical about a Black queer man writing a musical.

Although none of the season’s other new musicals seem to have the same momentum at the moment, a few titles, at least, look sure to make the cut, with nominators particularly likely to recognize the witty, exuberant pop confection “Six,” which reimagines the wives of Henry VIII as contemporary pop divas, and the delicate craftsmanship of “Girl From the North Country,” which tells a melancholy, Depression-era story with Bob Dylan tunes.

That leaves two slots to fill for a category of five (selected from an eligibility pool of nine, per Tony regulations). Best bets are Broadway’s other Michael Jackson musical, “MJ,” the dance-heavy production that will probably make the list for sheer showmanship (and despite some critics’ reservations), and “Mr.