\n<\/p>\n
What show and which actors are the leading contenders?<\/strong><\/p>\n Keep an eye on \u201cMaybe Happy Ending,\u201d \u201cDead Outlaw\u201d and \u201cBuena Vista Social Club\u201d in the best musical category, and \u201cPurpose,\u201d \u201cJohn Proctor Is the Villain\u201d and \u201cOh, Mary!\u201d in the new play category. (There will be at least five nominations in each of those categories.)<\/p>\n There are a number of strong contenders for best actress in a musical, but the front-runners seem to be Audra McDonald, already a six-time Tony winner, for \u201cGypsy,\u201d and Nicole Scherzinger, a former member of the Pussycat Dolls, for \u201cSunset Boulevard.\u201d The race for best actor in a musical is more open, but is likely to feature Darren Criss of \u201cMaybe Happy Ending,\u201d Andrew Durand of \u201cDead Outlaw,\u201d Tom Francis of \u201cSunset Boulevard,\u201d Jonathan Groff of \u201cJust in Time\u201d and Jeremy Jordan of \u201cFloyd Collins.\u201d<\/p>\n What about all those celebrities?<\/strong><\/p>\n A few of them \u2014 Sarah Snook of \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u201d and Sadie Sink of \u201cJohn Proctor Is the Villain,\u201d for example \u2014 have a good shot at picking up a nomination. It\u2019s much iffier for some of the others, including Denzel Washington (\u201cOthello\u201d), George Clooney (\u201cGood Night, and Good Luck\u201d), Robert Downey Jr. (\u201cMcNeal\u201d), Mia Farrow (\u201cThe Roommate\u201d), Jim Parsons (\u201cOur Town\u201d) and Nick Jonas (\u201cThe Last Five Years\u201d).<\/p>\n Is there anything we know for certain?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yup! Some noncompetitive awards have already been announced. The actor Harvey Fierstein, a four-time Tony winner (for performing in \u201cTorch Song Trilogy\u201d and \u201cHairspray\u201d and for writing \u201cTorch Song Trilogy\u201d and the book for \u201cLa Cage Aux Folles\u201d), will receive the annual prize for lifetime achievement. The actress Celia Keenan-Bolger, a Tony winner for \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird,\u201d will receive the annual Isabelle Stevenson Award, which recognizes volunteerism. And this year\u2019s Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theater are being given to \u201cGreat Performances,\u201d the PBS arts program; Michael Price, the former executive director of Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut; New 42, which runs rehearsal studios and a children\u2019s theater on 42nd Street; and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n Who determines the nominations?<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a nominating committee made up of people who have considerable knowledge about theater, but who do not work on, or have a financial interest in, any of the season\u2019s shows. The committee started with 65 members, but because of recusals, 54 participated in selecting the nominees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n