The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered Broadway theaters for 18 months, the longest shutdown in the history of the Great White Way. We are thrilled that theaters reopened this month; another sign that New York City is making a comeback.

To coincide with the reopening of Broadway, the 74th annual Tony Awards (officially known as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Broadway Theatre) will finally take place on Sunday, September 26 in person at the Winter Garden Theatre. The show was originally scheduled to take place in June 2020 at Radio City Music Hall. Then, there were plans to hold the awards ceremony virtually in late 2020. Nominations were finally announced in October 2020 to honor productions that opened as early as the summer of 2019 and as late as March 2020. Because of the shutdown, only 18 productions are eligible for awards this year, compared to 34 that were eligible in the 73rd annual awards ceremony held more than two years ago.

“Jagged Little Pill,” a musical based on Alanis Morissette’s popular 1995 album of the same name, leads the pack with 15 nominations; Jeremy O. Harris’s “Slave Play” earned 12 nominations, a record for a non-musical play. Other major contenders include “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” adapted from the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film of the same name, with 14 nominations; “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” with 11 nominations; and Matthew Lopez’s play “The Inheritance” with 11 nominations as well.

Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. will host the ceremony airing on Paramount Plus, during which most awards will be handed out. That event will be followed by a two-hour “Broadway’s Back!” concert on CBS at 9 p.m. ET. The concert will feature special performances from the three Tony-nominated Best Musical contenders (mentioned above) followed by the live presentation of the top three awards – Best Play, Best Revival of a Play, and Best Musical.

Who Will Win?

Experts do not predict major surprises in the musical acting categories. Adrienne Warren is expected to win Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Tina Turner in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” And we can confidently predict that “Moulin Rouge!” star Aaron Tveit will win Best Actor in a Musical – as he is the only nominee.

Best Musical will be a tossup between “Moulin Rouge!” and “Jagged Little Pill,” although industry experts expect the former to edge out the latter.

Nearly every industry expert predicts that “Slave Play” will win Best Play, with “The Inheritance” as the underdog pick. In the play acting categories, Mary-Louise Parker is the favorite to take home the prize for her role in “The Sound Inside,” and “Loki” star Tom Hiddleston is expected to win for his performance in the revival “Betrayal.” Speaking of revivals, experts see a tight race between “Betrayal” and “A Soldier’s Play” for Best Revival. Tune in on September 26 to find out who wins!